#064 The White Swan, Digbeth : 1998 to 2020 (Revisited + RIP?)

This is what I wrote about The White Swan back in 2011 - 

The White Swan in Digbeth is another example of the fine pubs designed by James & Lister Lea. This is what it looked like in the mid 1930's.

Picture courtesy www.digital-photographic-images.co.uk.

In 1998 when I took this picture, The White Swan appears to have changed little.

At the time of taking this photo, I don't think I'd been inside, but this was rectified in 2002 when we were in Birmingham on one of our canal trips and ventured into Digbeth for a bit of a pub crawl.

This picture was taken on Saturday 7th September 2002.

It's difficult to tell from this picture if anything had changed. As I recall it was a busy, 'proper' pub only let down by the fact that the only 'quaffing' lager was Carlsberg (probably the worst lager in the world in those days - it is better nowadays!). I've visited at least once more since and found it to be a very pleasant place if you like real pubs.

On to 2011 and this is how The White Swan looks.

Again, it looks almost identical to how it was in 1998. Obviously, it is a Grade II listed building and so there's not much that can be altered, however, none of the buildings that were on either side have survived.

Amazingly it is now a Marston's pub, but you wouldn't know it from the exterior.

I'm not sure whether I'd revisited The White Swan in the intervening years, but I did take a photo on the afternoon of Wednesday 31st January 2018.

Very little had changed and there had been no progress on the development of the adjoining land. A few months later I did pay a visit as part of the Beer & Pubs Forum Proper Day Out in July, but I didn't take another photo on the day!

So, onto the present day. I was aware that the family who had run The White Swan for the last 50+ years were planning to sell up and go back to Ireland, but it was still a shock to find this on the afternoon of Tuesday 18th February 2020. 

This article explains the context much better than I could! Seemingly it is on the market for in excess of £400,000, but I've been unable to find any further details.

It would be a very sad day if The White Swan is truly lost, but hopefully it's Grade II listed status may save it from demolition...fingers crossed!