#212 Prince of Wales, Moseley, Birmingham : 2002 to 2017

As a long time resident of Birmingham and previously a student here, my first ever visit to the Prince of Wales in Moseley would have been in the late 1970's. Back in those days it was a small, vibrant proper pub with three rooms and a corridor (seating was always at a premium!).

Over subsequent years I've been an infrequent visitor and my first ever canal related visit was on the evening of Wednesday 14th August 2002. We'd taken the boat out for a week to do some painting so we didn't stray too far from Birmingham allowing us to revisit some old haunts.

The outside had changed somewhat, but inside it was still as we remembered it, albeit with a bit of redecoration!

Our next canal related visit was on the evening of Saturday 29th May 2010. We'd planned on being in the centre of Birmingham for the evening, but only got as far as Bournville and so decided on another walk down 'memory lane' with a trip to Moseley.

A complete redecoration of the exterior and inside it still maintained the same three room format, but now with an added large beer garden which we didn't investigate. Fortunately, the rather ugly office/retail block next door had been demolished and the site acquired for redevelopment.

The subsequent pictures are from non-drinking visits to the Prince of Wales, but I have been back inside as well since 2010.

Taken on the afternoon of Sunday 11th November 2012. Pub largely unchanged, but a new sign next door with the appearance that developments might be imminent.

No change in this photo from Friday 5th July 2013.

The old building next door was demolished some time prior to 2010, but planning permission to build 46 flats on that land were only approved in 2016. The owners of the Prince of Wales are concerned that once these residential spaces are occupied they will receive noise pollution complaints from their new neighbours. A flavour of this potential problem can be found here.

I did visit the Prince of Wales in 2016 and finally ventured into the (massive) beer garden/cocktail lounge/cigar bar which must accommodate twice as many people as can get into the traditional part of the pub!

Meanwhile, this is what it looked like on the afternoon of Thursday 16th February 2017.

Next door, construction work has commenced and new street art decorates the surrounding boards including the final Facebook post of Alex Keogh who worked in the Prince of Wales and sadly died over the Christmas period in 2016. More details here. Also depictions of Muhammad Ali, Donald Trump and a tribute to murdered MP Jo Cox (not in photo) have appeared.

And finally...my Photo Digital Art interpretation of the scene above.

Birmingham Pubs in the Doghouse (Part One)

Doghouse - The British Pub Magazine is a relatively new publication and Issue #5 dropped through my letterbox a few days ago and what an enjoyable read it was. (I'm indebted to The Pub Curmudgeon for bringing it to my attention)

Let me start out, though, with a criticism, albeit a minor one, unless you live in or near HARBORNE. Throughout the magazine the Birmingham suburb comes with an added 'u' which is unwelcome and extremely irritating to pedants like me!

That said, I could find no other fault with an excellent publication. This issue of Doghouse visited many Birmingham pubs, several of which I am familiar with.

First stop was the Bell Inn in Harborne. This is a pub I haven't been to for quite a few years, but from the description in Doghouse, it hasn't changed much...thankfully. It is one of the few pubs in Brum that feels like a proper village pub, and long may that continue.

Here's a picture I took earlier this year in the snow.

The next stop on their pub crawl was a pub that I have eulogised about in previous posts - The British Oak in Stirchley - and this is what they thought:

"I must say I was slightly underwhelmed by it all at first, though on reflection I must admit it's a remarkable establishment - above and beyond its period design and fixtures; and mostly to do with the fact that this roadside monster is still standing."

I can't disagree with any of that. I'm glad that it has survived largely intact and is thriving, but I don't go as often as I did 25 - 30 years ago and its not quite the same as it was!

Here it is from earlier this year.

Next on the list was the Prince of Wales in Moseley. This is another pub that I haven't been to for a few years, but frequented a lot about 30 years ago. It certainly didn't have a 'cocktail lounge' in those days, but the write up does make me want to go back and see what it is like now!

Then it was into town for a couple of the lauded city centre pubs. First, the Old Joint Stock, which I visited only a few days ago! It has an impressive interior and considering it is only 16 years old it is a fine addition to Birmingham's collection of pubs. Next was The Wellington, Birmingham's first (I think, in the 'modern' era) pub dedicated to Real Ale. Now as a lager drinker, I'm a bit biased, but as a lover of pubs I've never been impressed with the place - and neither was Doghouse, who put it much more eloquently than I ever could:

"- with the building's lack of character and a weird air of transience that doesn't quite weld you to your seat for longevity. It is perhaps a great beer ticking venue, but much else has to be found elsewhere."

The Doghouse pub crawl then moved on to The Old Contemptibles, another fine example of how tasteful refurbishment can produce a great pub. I also learned from the article that it was originally called The Adelphi Wine Vaults and then the Albion Hotel. I always wondered how it came by its current name and Doghouse didn't disappoint.

They then walked to the Barton's Arms which is a feat in itself as it is quite a stroll from The Old Contemptibles! I've only ever driven past the Barton's Arms and it is a magnificent building that I intend to photograph in the near future.

That was the end of Day One of the Birmingham pub crawl and I'll review the other entries soon. However, I'll just finish with a pub that wasn't visited, but is only just around the corner from The Old Contemptibles and is a place I'm quite fond of.

The Old Royal is one of the most photogenic pubs I know and inside it is still a proper pub. It hasn't been extensively refurbished and does feel like stepping back a few years to how pubs used to be (with added wide-screen TV's!). Hopefully, when the Doghouse team are back in Brum, they can pass their eye over the Old Royal. 

#089 Prince of Wales, Birmingham : 1996 to 2012

For those of you who know the city, this is the Prince of Wales pub in Birmingham city centre on Cambridge Street, behind the Rep and Convention Centre. (I will be reporting on the Prince of Wales in Moseley at a later date.)

My first ever visit to the Prince of Wales was in 1976 when I was a student and went along to a meeting of the Birmingham University Real Ale Society which was in an upstairs room. In those days it was an Ansells pub and was one of the very few places that sold hand pulled beer. However, as I recall I didn't take to the beer on offer and ended the evening drinking Rum & Blacks!

My first canal related visit was at lunchtime on Sunday 29th May 1996.

I don't really recall what it was like, but I also don't think it has changed much inside in the subsequent years. In recent years it has been a good place to visit for lunch as they do good pub food in a proper pub bar environment. Back in 1996 it was still an Ansells pub.

Our next visit was on Saturday 28th August 1999 at the start of a trip to Leek on the Caldon Canal.

In the intervening years it had become a Festival Alehouse and the external signage had changed. Inside it was largely unchanged.

It wasn't until lunchtime on Sunday 30th May 2004 that we revisited the Prince of Wales again.

The outside had been completely redecorated and stayed this way for our subsequent visits.

Thursday 1st September 2005 (Evening).

   Saturday 3rd June 2006 (Evening).

Saturday 26th May 2007 (Lunchtime).

Saturday 24th May 2008 (Evening).

Then we had a few years when we didn't pop into the Prince of Wales.

Tuesday 6th September 2011 (Evening).
This was actually my last visit as a drinker. It is interesting to note that the exterior has not changed even down to the red Biffa skip outside, usually to the right hand side of the pub.

This final photo was taken on Tuesday 28th August 2012.

As I live in Brum and because we didn't visit any repeat pubs on the canal this autumn I thought I'd better get some pictures of local pubs I had visited to keep this blog going! I would guess that the inside hasn't changed much despite the complete external makeover. (...but where's the Biffa skip??)

I can't seem to find a website, but if ever you're in Birmingham city centre, near the convention centre, I'd suggest that a visit to the Prince of Wales is well worth it if you want a proper pub.