Some history of the on the Villa Tavern on Villa Street at Lozells in Birmingham in the county of Warwickshire.

Birmingham | Villa Street | Villa Tavern

The Villa Tavern was located on the western side of Villa Street, roughly halfway between Nursery Road and Wills Street. In the latter part of Queen Victoria's reign the premises was numbered 147. This was following a re-numbering of the street - the earlier address being No.51. Whilst parish boundaries are clearly defined, different areas are a little more complex. Some references to the Villa Tavern suggest it was in Hockley but I tend to steer towards Lozells as the building was towards the northern end of the thoroughfare. Certainly, the Villa Tavern was included in Aston during early census surveys as it was north of the Hockley Brook. Technically, therefore, it was not a Birmingham pub until midway through its lifespan.

© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.

I have marked the location of the Villa Tavern on the above map extract surveyed in 1886 and published three years later. From this image it would seem that, unlike many of the neighbouring properties, the building was on the edge of the building line. However, as can be seen from the photographs on this page, this was evidently a later extension from the original structure, taking the tavern up to the edge of the pavement. There is a cluster of outbuildings marked to the rear of the premises, along with a veranda. Note also the entry or passage adjoining to the south of the property. This may have been open at one time but was built over at a later date.

© Image adapted from sale photographs of The Vintage Wrist Watch Company of Worcester and reproduced with kind permission.

The immediate surroundings of the Villa Tavern were largely residential in the 19th century. However, as can be seen on the map extract, a large watch manufactory was virtually next to the pub. The watch shown above dates from 1883, slightly earlier than the map. The case is silver and features the hallmarks of the English Watch Company and the initials R. B. These initials represent Robert Bragge, head of the company at this time. The firm had taken over existing premises in 1875. Construction of the manufactory at Villa Street was supervised by Aaron Lufkin Dennison, an entrepreneur who had attempted to crack the American market. The plant and machinery installed inside the works was transported from Massachusetts when he found investors in Birmingham following the failure of the Melrose Watch Company. Formed in 1871, the new enterprise was named the Anglo-American Watch Company Limited.¹

Aaron Dennison was initially in charge of the Villa Street works but, perhaps because of the failure to successfully export to the United States, the result of an economic slump in America, coupled with excessive import duties, the venture floundered. Kelly's directory published in 1872 listed Robert Wilson as the manager of the manufactory.² However, in the following year White's directory of Birmingham recorded Aaron Dennison as manager.³ Perhaps in a bid to focus on different markets, the trading name was changed to the English Watch Company but the business went into liquidation in 1875. The premises, machinery and stock-in-trade were subsequently acquired from the liquidators by William Bragge for the sum of £5,500.⁴

It is worth mentioning that, due to the contribution Aaron Dennison made to machine-made watches, his grandson, Major Gilbert Dennison, when serving as chairman of the local advisory committee for Post Office services, was chosen to officiate at the inaugural ceremony for the Speaking Clock in Birmingham in November 1938. His duties included dialling TIM to hear the "Golden Voice" of Jane Cain, the woman who had won a competition to be the voice of the speaking clock.⁵

Although born in Birmingham, William Bragge, an engineer and antiquary, had prospered in Sheffield where he was elected mayor. He enjoyed a remarkable career during which he had "carried out the lighting of the city of Rio de Janeiro with gas, and followed this by surveying the first railway constructed in Brazil, for which he received several distinctions from the emperor Don Pedro." ⁶ Day-to-day management of the Villa Street manufactory was handled by his brother, Robert Bragge, his initials being featured on the timepiece above. He had been a watchmaker from his early days and had years of experience of the trade.
Note : I double-checked the entry in the Dictionary of National Biography and it does state William Bragge was elected mayor of Sheffield. However, his name does not seem to appear in the list of mayors for the city.

© Extract from Birmingham Mail : January 16th, 1877 Page 3.

Well, if you have arrived at this page to read about the Villa Tavern you may be wondering why I am banging on about the adjacent factory? When writing about the history of a tavern, I like to place it within its contextual setting, combined with a little social history. After all, pubs did not operate in isolation and formed a symbiotic relationship within their locale. And, as can be seen from the letter sent by Robert Bragge to the Birmingham Mail in January 1877, the manufactory had accommodation for 300 employees. In addition to local residents, this provided the Villa Tavern with a very strong customer base. Back in the day it was deemed acceptable to have a pint or two during the lunch hour, even if the individual was operating dangerous machinery. Publicans would also line the counter with full glasses of ale in time for the sound of the hooter at the end of the day's shift. The first beer was generally consumed by thirsty workers in double-quick time.

Before looking at the Villa Tavern in some detail, and because we can only see the watch manufactory on a map, it is worth reading a vivid description of the works by a reporter for the Birmingham Mail in 1877. The journalist was possibly dispatched by the newspaper in response to the letter sent in by Robert Bragge. The paper published : "The works of the company are situated in Villa Street, Handsworth, and the chance passer-by would never imagine that a manufacture of any magnitude could be carried on here. A little front office with an unpretentious brass plate on the door is all that indicates to the stranger that there is in existence "the English Watch-Making Company;" but pass through the office and enter the courtyard and you will be surprised to see an immense factory rearing its head. The building consists of three main shops and a cluster of smaller ones in which processes of a character subsidiary to the general manufacture are carried on. Altogether there are sixteen separate shops, and as there are many processes to go through before a watch is made by machinery, the arrangement for the location of the workpeople is according to a well matured system .... the greatest care and anxiety is manifested for the health and convenience of the workpeople. The rooms are all lofty and well-ventilated and kept very clean. By means of steam pipes they are warmed throughout to a suitable temperature, and there is an entire absence of dust which in many factories exercises an injurious influence on the health of the workpeople." ⁷

The story of the Villa Tavern is older than the watch manufactory. The building was trading a couple of decades before Aaron Dennison executed the plans for his new factory. The Villa Tavern opened in the 1840s. John Robbins is the earliest reference I have seen for the premises. I think he may have been a key figure within the local Jewish community. Certainly, he was running the fully-licensed pub with his wife Eliza by 1849. The couple came and went several times during the mid-19th century, perhaps suggesting that they had signed a lease for the pub and either sub-let the property to other people or installed managers to run the place for them.

John Robbins was a button-stamper and maker by trade and seemed to concentrate on this career path rather than serving beer. It is possible that he sub-let the house but a couple of the tenant-publicans failed in the business, forcing John Robbins to take over the licence until he found another couple to run the pub. He was generally close at hand because his workshop was close to the Villa Tavern.

Christopher Cooke is one publican that spent a short period in Villa Street. He was running the Villa Tavern by the end of 1851 and started up a £50 Society on January 12th 1852, a savings scheme that sprang up in the Victorian period and were operated from many public-houses.⁸

John Robbins took over the licence again before Joseph Lingard became the publican in the mid-1850s. He divided his time between the pub and working as a brass tube maker. His wife Sarah no doubt kept the Villa Tavern going when he was earning another income grafting in a factory. The couple would later run the Wellington Inn on Bridge Street West.

Following another stint by John Robbins, John Pickering became the licensee in the mid-1860s. It was not a successful time for the publican. He lasted until the Spring of 1868 when the licence was transferred back to John Robbins, the Villa Tavern's boomerang, on May 13th 1868.¹⁰ John Pickering was declared bankrupt in June 1869, following which he and his wife Ellen moved to lodgings at Sutton Place in Lennox Street. He had tried to pick up the pieces by working as a clerk and warehouseman. He lost his wife but recovered his career and subsequently kept a linen drapery on Aston's High Street.

© Extract from Birmingham Daily Post : Nov. 2nd, 1871 Page 1.

Ownership of the Villa Tavern changed towards the end of 1871. John Robbins, button maker and several times licensee of the public house, retired to Poplar Place in George Street. The above advertisement appeared in the press during November 1871 and it is the first reference I have seen that there was once a brewery to the rear of the Villa Tavern.¹¹ It would appear that, like the neighbouring Vine Inn, the Villa Tavern was once a homebrew house. The pub itself featured a smoke-room, bar and tap room.

William Thrustance was recorded at the Villa Tavern in 1871. He and his wife Emily moved from the Latimer's Arms in Latimer Street so jumped from beer house status to that of a fully-licensed house. An extension of Upper Gough Street and close to Saint Thomas's Church, Latimer Street was later called Ridley Street - it is not to be confused with the Latimer Street at Lee Bank which was formerly known as Latimer Street South. Prior to the Latimer's Arms, William and Emily Thrustance had kept the Anchor Inn on Islington Row. Their stay at the Villa Tavern was, however, brief and by 1873 they had moved to the Dolphin Inn on Irving Street. They seemed to enjoy that pub more and remained there for some years. The couple did well for themselves and eventually retired with some wealth to Ferndale Cottage in Shirley.

It would seem that the Villa Tavern was still producing homebrewed ales in the 1870s because George Heeley's son, William, was recorded as a brewer. The Heeley family had previously kept the Navigation Inn on Oxford Street.¹² Born in the town around 1820 George Heeley married Ann Lydia Poolton in August 1845 at the Church of Saint Peter in Harborne.¹³ Their early matrimonial home was on Little Hampton Street from where George Heeley worked as a button-maker. He surrendered the licence of the Navigation Inn on Oxford Street in May 1872, by which time he was probably running the Villa Tavern under a protection order. By this time the watch manufactory had been established. Living immediately next to the Villa Tavern was the jeweller, Robert Ward. He had been here since the very early days of Villa Street being laid out. He had named his property Alpine Cottage but his relative peace, and possibly some daylight, had no doubt been ruined by the construction of the new factory.

© Extract from Birmingham Mail : February 7th, 1887 Page 1.

As can be seen from the above notice in the Birmingham newspapers, George Henry Edwards was mine host of the Villa Tavern by February 1887. He held regular meetings of the Birthnight Society, a term that has two meanings. The first is that patrons of the pub would gather, and make merry at the expense of the members whose birthday happens to have fallen during the preceding week. They were regarded as very harmonious and convivial evenings. However, I have seen a reference to the same term meaning that a Birthnight Society is "avowedly established upon political grounds and intended for the express purpose of keeping under a regular union among the Conservative party." Judging by the newspaper notice in which George Edwards stated that "all friends are cordially invited," it would appear that it was an evening of singing rather than one of political discourse. George Edwards also attempted to launch a Dramatic Club at the Villa Tavern and in January 1890 advertised for new members to come "with a view to stage."

An account of another social event held at the Villa Tavern later in the year revealed that George Edwards had previously kept the White Horse on Victoria Road in Aston. On Thursday 15th December, 1887, he hosted the annual dinner of the Villa Tavern Birthnight Society. The spread, it was reported, was of a "splendid character, both for quality and quantity, and was served in Mr. Edwards' well-known style." Upwards of 60 gentlemen attended the event, and partook in the dinner, before a convivial evening of songs and readings. The annual dinner was held in a new room built by George Edwards, the landlord using the event as the opening night of this addition to the premises. It was described as "ample in size, substantially built, and beautifully decorated." ¹⁴

The new function room was the reason that George Edwards was made to appear before the Aston Police Court during the following April. The publican was summoned for erecting a building without giving notice to the Surveyor of the Local Board, a body represented in court by Mr. Ansell. The complaint against George Edwards was that he had erected a new building at the rear of the Villa Tavern without being granted permission. From the case notes it was reported that "the rear the of the Villa Tavern was an open space or yard, which the publican had covered with a roof of corrugated iron, converting the place into a concert room, with a boarded floor, and a stage at one end." It was stated that, "in order to make the roof perfect, George Edwards had raised one of the three walls which formed the sides of the building." The case hinged on the fact that the Local Board had failed to prosecute within a designated six month period from when the building work commenced. Mind you, it was a close shave. In the end the Bench dismissed the summons and the building was allowed to remain.¹⁵ In celebratory defiance, George Edwards splashed out on advertisements in the local newspapers that he had a large function room available for functions, social events, complete with in-house catering.

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During this period there was one day in the calendar year in which sales inside the Villa Tavern would have been quiet. The reason for the slump in takings was due to the employees of the watch manufactory embarking on their "Annual Wayzgoose" laid on by the management of the English Watch Company. For example, in September 1888, a party of some 90 male employees piled into three large brakes and headed to the Prince of Wales Inn at Hagley. The brakes were supplied by the Birmingham Tramway Company, and superintended by Mr. Jeanes, of the Finch Road stables. The journey was described as pleasant, though everyone had to clamber out of the carriages when they arrived at the top of Mucklow Hill at Halesowen. The men then had a forced march down the hill as it was deemed too dangerous for such a heavy load to career down the long steep incline. Arriving at mid-morning, the interval until lunch was occupied with a cricket match, games of bowls, quoits and football. Host Everton was praised for the dinner served up in excellent style. The nosh was worked off a little by a ramble over the neighbouring hills before returning home in the evening. Disappointingly, there was not much detail reported on the trip enjoyed by the women who worked at the watch factory. Together with a few friends, they visited Upper Arley on the River Severn.¹⁶

We are getting close to the period when the larger brewery concerns of Birmingham started to buy up public-houses in order to develop tied-estates in which to retail larger volumes of their products. I do not know the date of purchase but the Villa Tavern was definitely snapped up by Holder's Brewery Ltd.

© Extract from the entry for the Villa Tavern in the Birmingham Licensing Register.

The Villa Tavern's ownership is recorded in the licence register compiled by the Magistrate's office and this shows a rather unusual pattern for this public-house. Generally, a pub is usually purchased by a common brewery in the late 19th century and then ownership changes as the brewery is acquired by a larger rival. So, for example, a Holder's house would typically remain with the Aston-based brewery until they were taken over by Mitchell's and Butler's in 1919 - and this can be seen in the register. The pub would usually remain with the Cape Hill brewery until the licence was extinguished or until the merger of Mitchell's and Butler's with Bass, Radcliff and Gretton Ltd. in 1961. However, this was not the case at the Villa Tavern as the public-house was taken over by Joseph Charles Egginton. He was involved with a number of pubs in the Coventry area but during the First World War was residing at the Royal Oak at Dudley Port, a pub that was once also a Holder's house until they were taken over by Mitchell's and Butler's. I suspect that some form of wheeler-dealing or property exchange took place but, in the absence of any documents, this is conjecture on my part. The Villa Tavern was eventually taken over by Atkinson's Brewery Ltd. The Villa Tavern can be seen in the company's livery in the photograph dating from 1933. The pub would sell their beers until 1959 when the company was taken over by Mitchell's and Butler's.

The gracefully-named Henry Heaven was the licensee of the Villa Tavern in the early 1890s.¹⁷ Like many of the previous incumbents he had to earn an income in a local factory whilst his wife kept the pub open during the day. The machinist had married Amy Heath in 1885 and, by the time the couple were running the pub, they had two sons, Harold and Charles. The boys were both born in Smethwick so it would seem that Henry Heaven had moved over the county border in order to find work. This was a blueprint for the family as his father, a blacksmith by trade, had uprooted from Mangotsfield in Gloucestershire, the birthplace of Henry Heaven, in order to ply his skills in Birmingham.

Henry and Amy Heaven committed to the licensed trade, though once again the allure of the Villa Tavern did not induce the couple to stay for any length of time. The couple would later run the White Swan in Victoria Road at a time when the pub was operated by Rushton's Brewery Limited. After working for two of Birmingham's large breweries, Henry and Amy Heaven managed to gather the finance to buy their own pub. In a rate book compiled in 1906, Henry Francis Heaven was recorded as owner and publican of the Swan with Two Necks in Lawley Street.

Meanwhile at the adjacent watch manufactory there was something of a rollercoaster in fortunes. The English Watch Company had developed a domestic market, along with some success exporting to countries within the Empire. At a dinner held at the Great Western Hotel in December 1891 it was stated that the business had used 17,000 ounces of silver during the year in the making of watch cases.¹⁸ However, the company were still reliant on some Swiss components, a dependency that was problematic and betrayed public's perception of the company name. This landed them in trouble with the London Watchmakers' Protection Society.

Despite an increase in production, some of which was achieved in upgrading the plant and machinery, the company was unable to pay a dividend for three years in succession in the late 1880s, forcing the resignation of the manager, Charles Haseler. The company stumbled on until February 1895 when, during an Extraordinary General Meeting, held at the Grand Hotel on Colmore Row, a resolution was passed that the company should be wound up voluntarily.¹⁹

© Image from author's photographic archive. DO NOT COPY

By the end of the 19th century the factory next to the Villa Tavern was occupied by the Claremont Cycle Manufacturing Co. Ltd., a firm that had previously built cycles in Bishop Street. It was in 1892 that the cycle manufacturer William Russon went into partnership with W. C. Lloyd, the financial backer of the enterprise. Together, they established a cycle factory in Sherbourne Road at Balsall Heath. Rapid growth resulted in them moving to new premises in Bishop Street. In 1896 the Claremont Cycle Company Ltd. was rolling out 150 bicycles per week.²⁰ The move to Villa Street seems to have been the result of a financial dispute between the partners. William Russon had established the Colossal Cycle Company, again with W. C. Lloyd, but this was broken up and Russon continued independently in Lancaster Street before opening a string of shops trading as "The Main Wheeleries." He was declared bankrupt in 1904. The Villa Street factory of the Claremont Cycle Manufacturing Co. Ltd. was wound up in the early Edwardian period.

In the last years of the 19th century Henry James Melhuish was the publican at the Villa Tavern. He kept the Holder's house with his wife Mary Ann. This couple certainly introduced a different accent to the place as Henry was born in 1857 at Bridgewater in Somerset, whilst Mary Ann hailed from Rhymney in Monmouthshire. The couple had previously kept the Plume of Feathers on Miles Street in the Spring Vale area of Bordesley.

The Villa Tavern appears to have been unoccupied at the time of the 1901 census. Perhaps Holder's Brewery Ltd. were upgrading the property. Certainly, Henry and Mary Ann Melhuish emerged shortly afterwards at The Compasses at High Street Deritend, a tavern also operated by Holder's.²¹ Perhaps the brewery relocated the couple whilst work was conducted at the Villa Tavern?

It is satisfying sometimes that, during the research of publicans, one can find part of the story behind people's movements. Looking back on Henry Melhuish, it can seen that he was born at Bridgewater but his father's work on the railways took him to Monmouthshire which almost certainly explains how he met his wife. However, when looking at the family household in a cottage at Llanfrechfa during the early 1870s, one finds his younger brother Seymour. He would later work as a plumber in Taunton where his father had once again moved for the railway company. Meanwhile Henry made his way to Worcester with his young wife before they settled in Birmingham.

At around the same time that Henry and Mary Ann Melhuish were moving their things from the Villa Tavern to The Compasses, younger brother Seymour, along with his wife Leonora Florence Coombs, moved to Kingswinford to briefly manage the Leopard Inn in Summer Street.²² Perhaps his elder brother suggested life was good at Birmingham, because soon after Seymour and Leonora took over the helm at the Barton's Arms in High Street Aston.

Mary Ann Melhuish died in early 1906. Two years later Henry married again, the ceremony with Elizabeth Ann Dawes taking place in August 1908 at St. Martin's Church. The couple may have installed a live-in manager or servant because they resided at No.39 Golden Hillock Road. However, around the end of the Edwardian period they moved out to Ward End to run Ye Olde Barley Mow. The couple only stayed at Ward End for a few years before they moved again, running the Hare and Hounds on Marsh Hill at Erdington. Henry and Elizabeth clearly liked their new location and remained there until the early 1930s. Elizabeth died in March 1932 by which time Henry had given up the pub game. However, together with his daughter Marion, he was recorded as a wine and spirits merchant at Gravelly Lane. He died at Western Road in March 1944 and left a little nest-egg to Marion who had married Thomas Wright Wilkinson.

Edward and Agnes Glover were running the Villa Tavern at the start of King George V's reign. The son of a baker, Edward Glover was born in Leominster in Herefordshire. As a young man, he lived at the Stour Valley Inn on the corner of Monument Road and Great Tindal Street where he worked as a barman for Caroline Morton.²³ In February 1892 he married Agnes Suckling at Saint Mark's Church. The couple may have spent some time at Wolverhampton because their daughter Hettie was born there in 1894. However, by 1901 they were back in Hockley and running the Great Western Inn on Icknield Street.

© EMPICS Sport. This image is available for purchase - click on the photograph for more details.

Frank Stokes had become a 'celebrity' publican of the Villa Tavern by 1913. He had recently hung up his football boots after a distinguished playing career. As a left full back, he started his career with Port Vale, his local team. He moved to Reading for two seasons before joining Birmingham when they were known as Small Heath Alliance. He made his first team debut at Muntz Street on October 12th 1903 in a Charity Cup match. His first league match was versus Blackburn Rovers a week later on October 17th. During his ten years with Birmingham he was reserve to the England full-back and Blackburn Rovers legend Bob Crompton. For his service to the club, the proceeds of a game against Manchester City in October 1909, was a benefit to Frank Stokes. He signed for Worcester City at the start of the 1910-11 season but this was the twilight of his playing days. A serious knee injury put paid to his career by the time he was 30 years-old. When he stopped playing he became a publican but seemed to move around a fair bit before settling down. At the time of the 1911 census he and his wife May were running the Bath Tavern in Brougham Street. Frank Stokes was born in Burslem in The Potteries whilst May hailed from Derby. They had a son named Frank who was born just a few weeks before the census was undertaken. He would train to be a dentist in adult life. The couple would later have two daughters, Marion and Eileen.

After a spell at the Villa Tavern, Frank and May Stokes moved to the Crown and Anchor on Watery Lane. They had moved by the outbreak of World War One. Indeed, not long after they had moved to Bordesley, Frank Stokes got into a lot of trouble when he accused Jacob Freedman of being a German. In fact, Jacob Freedman, a resident of Speedwell Road who had a jeweller's shop in New Street, was Russian by birth but a naturalised citizen. However, such allegations caused a lot of issues for the accused as the public generally reacted in a very poor manner. In some cases, traders would be driven out of business. Jacob Freedman sought legal advice to defend his reputation and Frank Stokes was forced to publicly apologise for his actions in November 1914.²⁴

Following the First World War, Frank and May Stokes moved to the Swan Hotel at Coleshill for several years. However, they returned to Birmingham to run the Roebuck on Broad Street for a good number of years. It is hard to keep up with the constant movements of the Stokes family. However, another pub I have found them running in the late 1930s was the Great Western Hotel at Acock's Green.

It was reported that at the beginning of the Second World War Frank Stokes retired to Broadway but when hostilities ceased he took over the Coventry Cross at Kenilworth. Frank and May Stokes finally hung up their bar towels around 1952 and moved to Hill View at Baddesley Clinton near Chadwick End. Frank Stokes died there in 1957 at the age of 76.²⁵

© Image from author's photographic archive. DO NOT COPY

Albert Hill was the publican of the Villa Tavern throughout the First World War, following which Albert Price took over behind the servery. I have found a few details about this man - it is an unusual story and I wish I knew more because there is seemingly a lot between the lines. The son of a carter, Albert Price was baptised in June 1881 at Ladywood in 1881, though his parents were living in Rocky Lane at Nechells in Aston. By the start of the Edwardian period the Price family had moved to Byron Road in Small Heath where Albert, at the relatively young age of 21, was documented as a manager in the timber trade.

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Albert Price married Maria Stevens in April 1905 and the couple established a home in Byron Road. During the First World War Albert and Maria Price moved to Hockley where they rather curiously took over a grocery shop and off-licence. After more than five years selling beer for consumption off the premises, they moved to the Villa Tavern where they could socialise with their patrons. The couple's stay was however brief with Albert going back to work with wood. Indeed, in 1925 he established his own timber business in Bennett's Hill. Commuting from his home at No.68 Dora Road, Albert Price was industrious and, working with his son Cyril, the enterprise was successful.

© Image from author's photographic archive. DO NOT COPY

Maria Price became very ill in the early 1930s and was confined to bed for several months. She was just getting out-and-about when tragedy struck in 1933 as she died after being involved in an accident in the car driven by her husband. Albert Price told the subsequent inquest that his wife had been very ill for years. He was driving the car when it skidded into a stump on the Digbeth side of Park Street. He told the coroner that he had a Mr. Warren sitting in the front seat with him and in the back of the car were his wife, Mrs. Warren and his daughter. The former publican stated that the near-side rear brake-drum of his car had three times been reached by oil, which caused the wheel to lock at the slightest application of the brake. Since the accident, he added, it had been found that apparently the wheel had locked in this way. He went on to say that, at the time of the accident, he applied his brake, when he was travelling at about 25 miles an hour. The car started to skid and turned broadside. The off-side of the back of the car, where his wife was sitting, struck the post. The two other passengers in the back were thrown against his wife. "If the tram-lines had not been there," continued Albert Price, "I should have got out of the skid." The jury expressed an opinion that Albert Price used due care, and that the cause of the accident was a faulty rear brake.²⁶

In the same year [1933] Albert Price moved the timber business to Washwood Heath Road at Ward End. The widower bought a house a little further towards Castle Bromwich and employed a housekeeper and domestic to do the chores. His son Cyril moved into No.53 Douglas Avenue with his wife Margery. The will of Albert Price makes for interesting reading. The success of the business can be gauged by the fact he left an estate of £100,723. However, many eyebrows were possibly raised when the newspapers reported that his secretary was the main beneficiary. She had worked for Albert Price when she left the Aston Commercial School until his death on May 19th 1960. Under the will, Miss Beatrice Rooker of Standlake Avenue in Ward End, was to receive £15,500 on trust for life and a cash sum estimated at £12,000. Albert's son, Cyril, was simply left his father's bureau bookcase. His father had stated that he had made no other bequest to him as he was otherwise well provided for.²⁷

During its history, nobody really stuck at it at the Villa Tavern. Publicans came and went - never a great sign for a boozer. Mind you, if the locals did not particularly like the gaffer at least it was not long before another incumbent arrived. This was the case in the 1920s when at least eight different people held the licence of the pub. After a brief spell under the ownership of the aforementioned Joseph Egginton and his wife Annie, Henry Lapidus took over the reins. I imagine that in later years he made strenuous efforts to hide the fact that his middle name was Adolph.

Henry Lapidus was certainly no stranger to pubs. His father Samuel, a former chandelier-maker from Ledbury in Herefordshire, kept a couple of Birmingham boozers with his Worcester-born wife Elizabeth. In 1891 the couple were running the Compasses Inn on Great Francis Street. Henry lived there with his parents whilst working as a brass founder.²⁸

Henry Lapidus was still living with his father, a widower, when he was manager of The Crown on Church Road in Aston. Henry had evidently become a skilled worker and was recorded as an art metal worker in the 1911 census.²⁹

1911 was a life-changing year for Henry Lapidus. He got married and later made a career change. His friends may have joked that he was having a mid-life crisis! He married Annie Matilda Garraty of Saltley in July 1911 and lived for a short period in Harrison Road before the couple took over at the Queen's Head on Farm Street.

© https://billygarraty.com/ and used with kind permission - click on the photograph for more information on Billy Garraty.

Annie Lapidus was the sister of Billy Garraty, a prolific goalscorer for Aston Villa between 1897 and 1908, a period when the club were regarded as the best in England. In his youth he played for Highfield Villa, Lozells F.C. and Aston Shakespeare before signing for Villa. Billy Garraty won the man-of-the-match award in the 1905 F.A. Cup Final in which Aston Villa beat Newcastle United 2-0. Surprisingly, he only played one game for England and can be seen above in his shirt worn against a game versus Wales in 1903. After a brief spell with Leicester Fosse, he signed for West Bromwich Albion in 1908 scoring 22 goals in 59 games.

Once Billy Garraty's football days were over I believe he worked for Ansell's on the drays before becoming a publican for the brewery. He was manager of Ye Olde Green Man at Erdington. His sister Annie, along with Henry lived above the pub for a while and this is possibly where they decided that a life running a pub was for them.

Henry and Annie Lapidus were running the Queen's Head on Farm Street by 1920. Within a few years they moved the short distance to the Villa Tavern. Their stay in Villa Street was however brief and, by 1925, they moved to the Aston Tavern on Aston Hall Road. They remained at the latter house for over a decade when Henry Lapidus died on Boxing Day in 1935. He left over £1,461 in his will which, in those days, represented a successful working life. His young brother Alfred died a few months later. He too had been a publican and had once been the landlord of the Beggar's Bush Hotel at New Oscott. At the time of his death he was running the Liverpool Arms Hotel at Beaumaris on Anglesey.

Harry and Violet Cox were behind the servery in the mid-1920s. They later took on a shop in Freeth Street but returned to the licensed trade to run the Dolphin Inn on Charles Henry Street. Henry Benjamin Hawthorne moved to the Villa Tavern after a short spell running the Queen's Head on Burbury Street. After running the pub around 1930, Samuel Deakin moved to No.79 where he kept a shop.

The neighbouring manufactory saw a number of uses before the premises was occupied by Southall and Smith Limited. Founded in 1902, Southall and Smith Limited had moved to Villa Street in order to meet demand by increasing production in larger premises. Manufacturing automatic weighing machines for commodities such as tea and flour, the firm moved into the former watch manufactory at the end of the Edwardian period. W. and T. Avery acquired a fifty per cent stake in the business in 1920, finally taking over the company by 1928. It would seem that the Villa Street operation continued with a large degree of autonomy. The works grew in size in a somewhat piecemeal fashion.

© Image from author's photographic archive. DO NOT COPY

Dating from 1933, the above photograph shows that the company had occupied the former house next door to the Villa Tavern. White lettering for Southall and Smith can be seen in the window - well, most of the letters at any rate. Indeed, some of the lettering had also fallen off the window pane of the Villa Tavern. At this time the pub was operated by Atkinson's Brewery Ltd. Above the etched-pane the lettering shows that billiards and snooker was played at the Villa Tavern. The right-hand door was for the outdoor only, a key component of the pub's trade. The front of the building, a later extension to the original structure, is quite unusual and a rather ungainly and inelegant affair.

I have dated this to around 1933 as the licensee plate states that the Villa Tavern was being kept by Edgar John Leeson. Born on New Year's Eve in 1901, his formative years were spent in Gooch Street where his father worked as a jeweller and watchmaker. Both his mother and father had moved to Birmingham from Coventry. At the end of the 19th century Edgar senior had opened the shop in Gooch Street. In the Edwardian period however the family moved to the High Street at Stirchley. Edgar was a schoolboy at this time but his elder sisters all worked at the Cadbury Chocolate Factory at Bournville. His father relocated his business to Smallbrook Street around the time of World War One. Edgar was still living above the shop with his parents in the mid-1920s. He was working as a watch repairer himself when he married Winifred Annie Hampton at Holy Trinity Church at Birchfield in December 1932. The Villa Tavern was probably their first matrimonial home. After their spell running the Villa Tavern they moved to Grange Road at Small Heath. However, it was not the end of their association with the licensed trade. By the start of the Second World War the couple were stewards of the ex-Service Men's Memorial Institute on the Pershore Road at Cotteridge.

© Image from author's photographic archive. DO NOT COPY

In terms of the pub, this photograph is chronologically out of synch as it dates from 1958. By this time the Villa Tavern was looking a little shabby and nearing the end of its days. The lovely lantern had disappeared and by the look of things the building could have done with a lick of paint. Note the cellar drop which was accessed through the entry of the neighbouring property. There is a right hotch-potch of building above this entrance. Anyway, the reason for slotting the image in at this point was to show the new factory that was constructed next to the pub. This was possibly to meet the requests by the Ministry of Supply to design and manufacture new types of special purpose machines for the war effort. A year after this photograph was taken W. and T. Avery acquired Geo. Driver and Son Ltd. which resulted in a merger with Southall and Smith Ltd. to form Driver Southall Ltd. Production was eventually shifted to a facility at Tame Bridge, near Walsall.

© Stephen and Carl Willis and reproduced with kind permission. DO NOT COPY

This image takes us back to the mid-1930s. It is reproduced with the kind permission of the Willis family and shows Catherine Willis outside the Villa Tavern. The family were unsure of the date for this photograph and I have only narrowed it down to two years. The name of Joseph Willis can be seen above the front entrance. However, this couple were only at the pub for a short period, not even long enough to feature in trade directories of the period. The 1937 directory records Joseph Alfred Smith as licensee. In the following edition Walter Broughton was listed as the publican and in 1939 Horace Noel Smith was recorded as the licensee. The 1940 directory, of course, shows Ernest Thomas Dickinson - he was granted the licence on July 25th 1939. This highlights the slippage of the survey and publication date of trade directories. What I do know is that Joseph Smith left the pub in March 1937. So, the possible dates for Joseph and Catherine being at the Villa Tavern can be narrowed down to post-March 1937 and the time of Horace Smith, who was possibly there in the second half of 1938. Whatever, it is great to see a pub landlady in a photograph of the tavern.

© Stephen and Carl Willis and reproduced with kind permission. DO NOT COPY

Here is another photograph of Catherine Willis taken on an evening out with her husband Joseph. It would seem that the heating had not been switched on in the venue where the photograph was taken - Joseph has several layers under his coat and Catherine has not taken off her expensive-looking coat. Joseph and Catherine had married in July 1935. Her maiden name was Rooke. In 1939 the couple were living in a court on Great Francis Street from where Joseph was working as a steel polisher. However, Catherine was still pulling pints in a local pub as she was recorded as a bar worker.³⁰

Horace and Rose Smith followed Joseph and Catherine Willis as hosts of the Villa Tavern. Again, this was a couple that only remained for a short spell. Just prior to the war they were running a small emporium on Moat Lane from where they sold drapery goods and groceries.

The publican during the war years was Ernest Dickinson who kept the tavern with his wife Winifred. The couple had married in August 1925. The couple had earlier run the White Hart on Sherlock Street. They were a couple who stuck it out for a while, running the Villa Tavern for over a decade. They were succeeded by Josiah and Evelyn Barnes in 1952.

Column-4

Ownership of the Villa Tavern was transferred when Atkinson's Brewery Ltd. were taken over by Mitchell's and Butler's in 1959. The Villa Tavern was possibly deemed surplus to requirements, though this would be strange because the pub offered competition to the nearby Vine Inn which was an Ansell's boozer. Whatever the reasoning, with former munitions worker Stanley Cope as the last licensee, the Villa Tavern closed for trading on February 23rd 1960.

References
1. "Anglo-American Watch Company" within English Watchmaking Companies at Vintage Watchstraps <https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/>, Accessed January 3rd, 2024.
2. "1872 Kelly's Directory of Birmingham" : Kelly & Co. Ltd.; 1872. p.128.
3. "1873 White's Directory of Birmingham" : Sheffield : William White; 1873. p.259.
4. "First Liquidation and Sale" within English Watchmaking Companies at Vintage Watchstraps <https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/>, Accessed January 3rd, 2024.
5. "Pip-Pip-Pip Golden Voice Tells Time To Birmingham" : Birmingham Daily Gazette; November 5th, 1938. p.5.
6. "Dictionary of National Biography 1921-1922. Volumes 1-22." : London : Oxford University Press; 1922 p.1102.
7. "How They Makes Watches By Machinery" : Birmingham Mail; January 29th, 1877. p.4.
8. "Villa Tavern" : Birmingham Journal; December 27th, 1851. p.1.
9. 1861 England Census RG 9/2182 : Warwickshire > Aston > Erdington > District 3, Page 20.
10. "Transfer Of Licences" : Birmingham Daily Post; May 14th, 1868. p.7.
11. "Sales By Private Contract" : Birmingham Daily Post; November 2nd, 1871. p.1.
12. 1871 England Census RG 10/3107 Folio 106 : Warwickshire > Birmingham > St. Martin > District 28, Page 10.
13. Birmingham Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1939, Harborne St. Peter, 1843-1847 Page 146.
14. "Annual Dinner" : Birmingham and Aston Chronicle; December 17th, 1887. p.8.
15. "Aston Police Court : Important To Builders" : Birmingham Mail; April 20th, 1888. p.3.
16. "English Watch Company Annual Wayzgoose" : Birmingham and Aston Chronicle; September 29th, 1888. p.6.
17. 1891 England Census RG 12/2428 Folio 62 : Warwickshire > Aston > Aston Manor > District 3, Page 27.
18. "The English Watch Company" : Birmingham and Aston Chronicle; December 26th, 1891. p.6.
19. "Second Liquidation" within English Watchmaking Companies at Vintage Watchstraps <https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/>, Accessed January 5th, 2024.
20. "Public Notices : The Claremont Cycle Manufacturing Company Limited" Birmingham Mail; June 18th, 1896. Page 1.
21. "1903 Kelly's Directory of Birmingham" : Kelly's Directories Ltd.; 1903. p.609.
22. 1901 England Census RG 13/2757 Folio 134 : Staffordshire > Kingswinford > District 7, Page 10.
23. 1901 England Census RG 12/2372 Folio 83 : Birmingham > Ladywood > District 34, Page 19.
24. "Apology" : Birmingham Mail; November 4th, 1914. p.1.
25. "Deaths" : Birmingham Daily Post; March 21st, 1957. p.24.
26. "Crushed In Car" : Birmingham Daily Gazette; May 18th, 1933. p.9.
27. England & Wales National Probate Calendar 1960, Page 739.
28. 1891 England Census RG 12/2421 Folio 66 : Birmingham > Aston > Duddeston > District 37, Page 20.
29. 1911 Census Piece No.18309 : Warwickshire > Aston Manor > District 385, Enumeration District 40 Schedule 166.
30. 1939 England and Wales Register : Warwickshire > Birmingham > District 384/7 Registration District QBBB.

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"Yesterday [Friday] afternoon, Mr. Poole, coroner for North Warwickshire, concluded an enquiry commenced on the previous day at the Villa Tavern, Villa Street, Aston Manor, touching the death of Mr. George Perry, commercial traveller, aged 45, who resided in Wills Street. The deceased, who was a married man with four children, had represented the firm of Messrs. Wilder, of London, Birmingham and the district, in the wine and spirit trade, for the last seven years. His employers had every confidence in his integrity, and he seems to have acted with remarkable fidelity towards the firm until a few days ago, when, from some suspicion entertained, Mr. Wilder came down to Birmingham to investigate Perry's accounts. The deceased saw his employer in Birmingham on Tuesday last, and on returning home about noon he went upstairs into an attic, without speaking to anyone, and presently the servant, who was engaged making the beds, heard the report of fire-arms. She ran up towards the attic, and there saw her master sitting in an arm chair, enveloped in smoke, and blood issuing from his head and face. It was found that he had shot himself with a small pistol, which he still held in his hand. Mr. Bury, surgeon, was immediately summoned, and remained with the deceased up to his death, which occurred about half-past one the same afternoon. It was found that the ball had entered the soft palate and passed through the roof of the mouth, near the nostril, into the brain. Mr. Wilder having been telegraphed for from London, attended the adjourned inquest, and showed the state of the deceased's accounts with the firm. He also spoke in high terms of the deceased's business settlements prior to this sad event. During the last fortnight the unfortunate man had been in a very excited state from having become involved in pecuniary difficulties. The jury returned a verdict of "suicide in a state of temporary insanity."
"Shocking Suicide at Aston Manor"
Aris's Birmingham Gazette : June 8th 1861 Page 5

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"The Child probably woke up and found the place on fire. He must have got out of the bed and tried to get out of the room. That is the only way one can explain the burns on his face and thighs. Being unsuccessful, he crept back to bed again and wrapped himself up in the bedclothes, where he was found by Miss Bayliss" "This statement was made by the Birmingham Coroner [Dr. W. H. Davison] when he recorded a verdict of "Accidental Death" at yesterday's inquest on Stanley G. Smith, aged five, who was rescued from a fire by Sylvia Bayliss, 23-year-old barmaid at the Acorn Inn, Garrison Lane, Birmingham, but was dead on arrival at the General Hospital. "She entered the room in a very brave way, and I accord her the highest praise for entering that blazing room and searching round in the smoke," said the Coroner. "Had he been a healthy, normal boy she would undoubtedly have been rewarded for her bravery by saving the life of this little fellow." Miss Bayliss, replying to the Coroner, stated that she rushed upstairs behind Mrs. Berry, wife of the licensee, as soon as the shout of "Fire!" was heard from Mr. Berry. Mrs. Berry went into the room first, but came out saying that she could not find the boy. The Coroner: She was only there a few moments, and you were not satisfied? Miss Bayliss: No. And did you rush in because you felt that the child was still there? - "Yes." "I made for the bed first," Miss Bayliss added "and found the child at the bottom of the bed with all the bedclothes over him. I pulled him out and carried him downstairs. He was unconscious, and seemed to be dead." The Coroner: Was he burned? - "About the face and thighs." Was there any fire near the bed clothes? - "No, it was round the fireplace and windows." Joseph Alfred Smith, the boy's father, said he had been licensee of the Villa Tavern, Villa Street, Lozells, until last Wednesday, when he moved to a private house at 52 Dixon Road, Small Heath. The boy was staying with his aunt at the Acorn Inn, on Monday [the day of the tragedy] because the furniture at his own house was being moved. "He was ill last June with an abscess in the glands," the father continued, "and was in Dudley Road Hospital for 27 weeks. On leaving hospital we were informed that the least excitement would cause a relapse, as his heart was left in a very weak state." Alphonso Berry, licensee of the Acorn Inn, said that he discovered the fire soon after midnight, when, on going into the bar to check the till, he heard a crackling noise. He looked up and, in the corner where he knew the fireplace to be in the room above, he saw a burning patch with smoke coming through. He went upstairs, an on opening the door of the room found it full of smoke. The Coroner: Did the fact that the fire was there make you think there was anyone in the room? Mr. Berry: No, I didn't realise that. Having seen the fire where did you go? - "Into another room, to get the money out of the house." And let your wife to attend to the fire? - "Yes." What happened after that? - "When I returned the wife and the girl had got the child out of the room. There was some linoleum on the floor which protruded underneath the kerb round the fireplace." Wasn't that rather dangerous? - "Yes." I suppose there is no doubt in your mind that this fire started round the fireplace, in all probability through a coal falling and catching the linoleum? - "No." Replying to a representative of Ansell's Brewery, Mr. Berry said that he and his wife had been living and sleeping in the room for three weeks, and he had no idea that the child was there on that particular night. Dr. Leedham-Green, of the General Hospital, said the child's thymus gland weighed 50 grams, whereas in a normal child it should reach a maximum weight of 26 grams at the age of two years. Such a condition made the child liable to sudden death from trivial injuries, shock, or excitement. A normal child would not have died from the burns which he had received. A Fire Brigade officer said he felt certain that the fire was started by a live coal igniting the linoleum inside the fireplace. "If the person who fitted that kerb had thought about it," the Coroner commented, "he would have seen the danger in having a fire with this linoleum projecting into the hearth." Asked who fitted the linoleum, Mr. Berry said that it was done by the brewery company."
"Two Midland Stories of Fire Heroism"
Birmingham Daily Gazette : March 13th 1937 Page 9