#027 The Old Wharf, Digbeth, Birmingham 1998 to 2021 (RIP)

 Here we go with another eulogy to a closed pub in the Digbeth/Eastside area of Birmingham - another tale of demise, resurrection and final closure! (Spoiler Alert!)

Here's what I wrote in 2011: -

"The Old Wharf in Digbeth is a small back street pub and, to be honest, I wasn't sure it would have survived.

When I took this photo in 1998 I'd never been inside, but subsequently I've visited once on a Saturday evening mini pub crawl a few years later. All I really remember was that it was too loud!

This pub has survived because, like many others in this area, it does live music and incorporates the GO Club.

From the outside little has really changed. The ground level paintwork has made the place more attractive, but it doesn't look as though the 'Old Wharf' on the corner wall has been touched since 1998! All in all, another success story, but another example of a pub surviving because it is a music venue...not because its a good pub!"

A couple of months later I learned that The Old Wharf had closed!

"Sad to report that, since I took my photos in August, The Old Wharf closed on 5th December as reported here. It seems that my optimism from October was unfounded. 

Here is another link, to a eulogy for The Old Wharf giving a first hand perspective on the good times had there."

 

I happened to be in the area again in 2014 and found that The Old Wharf was now O'Rourkes!

 

"Back in 2011 when I last reported, The Old Wharf had closed with no immediate prospect of re-opening. However, as I was walking to a meeting in Digbeth this week I came across this sight.

It was early afternoon on Wednesday 3rd December 2014 and the new O'Rourkes wasn't open, but I assume that it is now an evening pub.

Further research revealed that O'Rourkes opened as a bar and B&B in July 2014 almost 3 years after the Old Wharf had closed. It is good news to see a pub re-opening, hopefully it will become a success."

 

I returned in 2018 to find my optimism sadly unwarranted!

Apparently it had been sold for redevelopment in mid 2017. 

 

So, here we are 3 years later in 2021 - how much development of the site are you expecting to see? (Or maybe another resurrection?)

Sadly, just more decay with added street art and grafitti. I have no idea what will become of the site, but it is unlikely to be a new pub anytime soon.

 But I can't leave you without this quote from the Live Brum site which eulogises what has been lost far better than I ever could!

"Tucked behind the Sanctuary like a hairy wart no one knows about, The Old Wharf is far enough off the beaten track to escape the plastic-fantastic trendy bar and refurbished-pub invasion of Broad Street. Being in Digbeth earns it an instant seal of approval from Itchy. We like small, traditional and slightly skuzzy pubs which thrive on live bands and a local crowd. We also like to pay less than a kidney for a pint and we really like trendy pop art paintings on the wall so we've got something to look at as we slide deep into another night of slurred words and broken promises."