#019 Dead Wax (aka Wagon & Horses), Deritend : 1998 to 2020

The Eastside of Birmingham continues to evolve and a pub that was unchanged for many years suddenly got a complete makeover. This is how the Wagon & Horses looked in 1998 and 2011: -

As I was 'retracing my steps' to photograph these pubs I rediscovered the Wagon & Horses, almost by accident! I'd just done the Forge Tavern (#012) and was driving to see what else there was still around and I came across this lovely back street boozer. At first I thought that I'd missed it in 1998, but not so! I had indeed captured it eleven years ago.

This is the eighth in my 'Birmingham Eastside' series.

At the time, I thought that I should actually visit for a drink some time soon as it looked like a decent, 'proper' pub. But, I never did. It's not on the way to anywhere and so I was never passing and as the years passed forgot all about it!

And here it is in 2011, almost completely unchanged...except the signage and detailed paintwork (and the satellite dish!). Since I took the photo, I've actually been in and had a pint. The front bar is small and there seemed to be a reasonable choice of beer on offer - but as I drink Carling I didn't pay too much attention to the rest of the 'swill'! There was also a chocolate cake on the bar - 99p per slice - not something you see too often these days! There was a larger back room, but we didn't venture in there.

The reason that the Wagon & Horses has survived is that it is now a music venue as well with its own MySpace page. On the day we were there the Wagon & Horses was hosting a marathon charity event of live music that started in the afternoon and was due to end in the wee small hours. When we arrived the bar was relatively empty, but within a few minutes the place filled up with the next band and their followers.

For a more historical perspective this link has much more information.

Because of the unchanging external appearance I haven't taken any more recent pictures of the Wagon & Horses even though we visited it on our Proper Pubs Day Out in July 2018 and it was then still unchanged.



However, I was doing a craft market at the nearby Arches Project and noticed that the pub had undergone the most radical transformation into Dead Wax. At the time, I didn't take a picture assuming that I'd have plenty of time to report back on it later, as it is a pub so far off the main part of Digbeth that no-one would notice for a while. How wrong I was! Within two weeks of me noticing the change Life After Football had already been there and written it up!



So, a couple of weeks ago I finally got around to taking a photo.

As you can see it is one of the more radical makeovers that I've seen and reported on! It is good to see that it has a future and that someone has invested in the business.

Unsurprisingly, I took the opportunity to render Dead Wax in Photo Digital Art style as well!

Here's hoping that it will succeed, but it's unlikely that I'll be visiting any time soon as it's not really my kind of place!