#014 The Lamp Tavern, Highgate, Birmingham : 1998 to 2021

 Still ploughing through the Birmingham Eastside pub catch-up (in no particular order) and we've got to The Lamp Tavern which was the 2019 Birmingham Pub of the Year according to CAMRA. And a lovely little pub it is too!

Here's what I wrote in 2011: -

"Back in 1998 I went around the Digbeth/Deritend/Highgate area of Birmingham taking photos of all the pubs I could find. It was my intention to return in 10 years to see how the Birmingham Eastside development had affected these pubs. I didn't find the time in 2008 and so, finally, I revisited the area this year with my camera and these are the results. 

This is the fifth in my 'Eastside' series.

At the time of taking this picture in 1998 I'd never been in The Lamp Tavern, in fact I didn't know of its existence! However, a couple of years later I was in the audience for a gig by Mean Old World. They were a Birmingham band who had incorporated a visiting American colleague of mine as the lead vocalist. I was amazed how small The Lamp Tavern is inside, but we had a great night. The lead singer, Dan Bode, can be seen here, back in the States, fronting his band Moko Bovo. Dan is a great singer and it was a pleasure to see him perform at several venues around Birmingham! 

 

Thirteen years later and remarkably little has changed on the outside, although the upper windows have been replaced! The Lamp Tavern is the only pub in Birmingham that sells beer made by the Stanway Brewery from Cheltenham."

 

I've made no more visits to the inside of The Lamp Tavern, but I was back in 2018 with my camera.

The exterior signage had been renewed, this time with a more Gaelic feel to it. Also, note the new satellite dish on the roof...seemingly a replacement for the standard TV aerial that was there in 1998!

 

So, a year later it was Birmingham CAMRA Pub of the Year, but what is the view like now, in 2021?

The Lamp Tavern itself appears to be completely unchanged, but next door is now a fast food café which is a good indicator that there is business around there for both food and drink.

 

I have no idea when/if it will open after the pandemic (I'm assuming May) as their Facebook page hasn't been updated for a year!