#214 The Bull's Head, Bishopsgate Street, Birmingham : 1950's to 2017

Breaking one of my own rules we start off with a picture not taken by me and in all probability it was taken before I was born...just!

The photo was taken in the 1950's by Birmingham City Council Public Works Dept and can be found here along with a few other Birmingham pubs then and now.

It is a classic James & Lister Lea pub that in all my years in Birmingham had been known as the City Tavern. Also interesting to note that it was an Ansell's pub back in the 50's.

This is another picture not taken by me - I've purloined it from the Images of England website - it was taken on Saturday 21st August 1999 by Mr Peter Garratt. This was a year after it had been Grade II listed, but was looking in a pretty sorry state. During this closure it was rumoured that the interior fixtures, including the classic bar had been stolen.

Just four years later and I finally make a visit to The City Tavern as part of a canal trip on the evening of Wednesday 27th August 2003. Inside, it was just as I'd hoped, a proper old school Birmingham pub with the bar either replaced with a look-a-like or it maybe hadn't been stolen after all. (I'm sure someone will know the truth of the matter.) From the outside, all of the upstairs windows had been replaced, but the downstairs look like the originals are still in place. Attractive lanterns had also been added. In the intervening four years, the sites either side of the pub had been fully redeveloped.

 I frequently go past the pub for various networking meetings and took this picture on the morning of Tuesday 12th August 2014.

In the passing years the signage has changed with the name Davenports appearing and the downstairs windows having been replaced.

Moving on to the present day and momentous changes have occurred.

I took this photo on the afternoon of Friday 24th February 2017. The name had reverted back to The Bull's Head and it is now, officially, a Davenports pub. Interestingly, the downstairs windows have been changed again and there's a hanging sign on the corner. A full description of the refurbishment and resurrection of the Davenports brewery can be found here on their website.

In the interests of completeness, I actually went inside the pub and had a half of the Davenports Imperial IPA!

I would have sampled the Original Bitter, but it had run out. They also had some Dares beers on offer (details here), but of more interest, to at least one of my friends, is the resurrection of Highgate Old Ale and Dark Mild. The manager explained that Davenports had bought the rights to these beers and were making them to the original recipe.

For those of us who like lager, there was a fine selection with the taps on the back wall of the bar in the tiled area visible in the photo.

The interior of the pub is just as it was all those years ago when I'd last visited and hopefully it will have a great future as a proper pub.

It wouldn't surprise me if the newly revamped Bull's Head found it's way into the Good Beer Guide within the next few years.

© Photo Digital Art 2017

Well, I couldn't resist!

Britain's Best Real Heritage Pubs

As regular readers know, I normally write about the exterior of pubs and how they have/haven't changed over the past 20+ years. However, I'm indebted to The Pub Curmudgeon for pointing me towards a new book - Britain's Best Real Heritage Pubs (Pub Interiors of Outstanding Historic Interest) by Geoff Brandwood.

I bought my copy from Amazon and it arrived yesterday. It is also available through CAMRA. I've only had it for a day and I've probably done what everyone else does on first reading; I've looked for any pub that's listed that I've ever been in. There are around 10 that I've visited and, most surprisingly, my nearest pub, The British Oak in Stirchley, is also listed.

The British Oak was #007 on this blog and I've also covered it in my other blog as part of my Paean to Stirchley. I'm extremely pleased that a pub I think is great has made it onto this listing!

There are a few others that I've mentioned in this blog. First I'll catalogue the ones that I've visited, but that haven't featured here. I'll start in Manchester with Peveril of the Peak (2010) and the Circus Tavern (2013) which I've only visited once each. However, in my view, the best pub in Manchester that I've been to is The Briton's Protection. I was first introduced to it in 2006 by a colleague when I was in Manchester for an exhibition and revisited again in 2010 and 2013.

Quite simply, this is one of the best pubs in Britain and fully justifies its inclusion in the book. However, there look to be many more gems to seek out for future visits.

Others I've visited, in no particular order, are; the Holly Bush, Bollington (2000) which I have no recollection of, but I took a photo so I must have been there!

I'm sure I've been to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham on more than one occasion, but the last time was in 2009.

In 1997, we were in Nottingham on our narrowboat and failed to find 'The Trip', but we did manage to visit six others in the attempt!

The Anchor Inn at High Offley is a pub I've visited on several occasions through the years. It is on the Shropshire Union Canal and is probably the last example of a traditional canal side pub. We were last there in 2010 and the landlady explained that the grandfather clock in the right hand room dates from when the pub was built!

Those are the only ones outside the West Midlands that I've visited, but now I have this book I can search out many more gems.

Of the Birmingham pubs listed, both The Anchor (#025) and White Swan (#064) have been covered in this blog.

The Old Swan (Ma Pardoe's) in Netherton is a place I've been a couple of times over the years. The last time was back in 2004.

Of the other Birmingham pubs, I haven't been to the Black Horse in Northfield for over 30 years when I was a student and it was still a Davenports pub! I also haven't been to the Bartons Arms in Newtown for many years.

I first visited the Rose Villa Tavern in 2006 when it was in decline. I could tell what a magnificent place it had been, but feared for its future. However, it was acquired by the Bitters'n'Twisted group and has been completely renewed inside whilst keeping the main features. I revisited in 2012 and was pleased to see what a great job they've done.

Just to finish off, here are a couple of near misses listed in the book. First, The Berkeley in Scunthorpe - I was born in this town and over the years I've driven past it on countless occasions, yet I've never set foot inside!

Second, and perhaps even more galling is the Waggon & Horses in Oldbury. In 2010 we stopped in Oldbury for the first time on our canal journeys with the intent to visit new pubs. It was a Sunday lunchtime and there are four pubs in the town centre. We went in three of them and rejected the Waggon & Horses because they didn't do food on a Sunday! I'm sure there will be other chances to sample this fine pub.

Britain's Best Real Heritage Pubs is an excellent book for those of us love pubs and I'll be actively seeking out those I've not visited before whenever I'm in the neighbourhood.

#081 Black Swan, Henley-in-Arden, Warks : 2001 to 2011

The Black Swan in Henley-in-Arden is one of those pubs that I'd visited quite a few times in the 1980's, but not as a part of any of our canal trips. I always remembered it as a pleasant, traditional country pub that did food and served Davenports beers.

Our first canal related visit was on Sunday 15th April 2001 in the evening. We'd moored up for the night at Preston Bagot only to find that the only pub within walking distance of the cut, The Crabmill, closed at 6pm on Sundays. So, after a quick call to Henley Cars we found ourselves outside the Black Swan.

It was Easter Sunday and as I recall they weren't doing food, but this was more likely because it was between owners/tenants.

We were back again the next year when we visited the Black Swan twice! the first time was on the evening of Friday 29th March 2002. We'd moored at Lowsonford for the evening after filling up with water, but we didn't fancy a night in the Fleur-de-Lys (#026 in this series), mainly because it was more like a restaurant, so we got a taxi to Henley.

The pub was largely unchanged on the outside, except that the To Let sign had gone and the blackboard was advertising food. I'm fairly sure we didn't eat there, opting instead for a curry later on.

We were back again, somewhat unexpectedly, on the lunchtime of Monday 1st April 2002. We'd moored at Lowsonford, opposite the Fleur-de-Lys where we'd intended to have lunch. We only wanted a sandwich, but they'd run out of bread!! Even taking into account that it was Easter Monday this was still a piss poor performance from such a highly rated establishment. So, we upped sticks and caught a cab to Henley where we found ourselves outside the Black Swan yet again.

We had a very pleasant lunchtime snack at a very reasonable price!

Our next visit to the Black Swan wasn't until the evening of Friday 21st March 2008 (Good Friday). Most years we pay a visit to Henley-in-Arden, on our way to Stratford-upon-Avon, but we'd neglected the Black Swan for a few years for no particular reason.

Although this isn't a great photo, you can still make out that there is little change in the exterior decoration of the pub apart from the hanging sign which is new. Again this was the first stop of the night and we didn't eat there.

The next visit was on the evening of Friday 2nd April 2010 (Good Friday again!).

Still no real change and we didn't eat here...again!

Our last visit was on the evening of Friday 29th April 2011.

Finally, some changes - both the wall sign and hanging sign have changed. Inside was largely the same, but I'm fairly sure that it had been refurbished whilst maintaining the overall style as before. Pictures of how it looks now can be seen here.)

#001 Three Horseshoes, Stirchley : 1986 to 2011

This is how the Three Horseshoes looked in 1986 when it was a Davenports pub. In those days it was a 'proper' pub with many rooms and it felt like a local. Notice also TWO red phone boxes outside! If you want to see an older picture visit this website.One year later and it looks much the same, but the sign has changed above the old 'out door'. Still a proper pub!

Fast forward to 1995 and the pub is now in the hands of Greenall Whitley, but still a welcoming local.

Now it is 2002 and the old Three Horseshoes is no more! Completely refurbished by Scottish Courage (I think!) and turned into a one room mega pub that doubled as a nightclub at weekends...until trouble outside got too much and it's licence was curtailed.

Finally we come to the present day. I haven't been inside the Three Horseshoes for quite a while now, despite the fact that it is the closest pub to me (equal with the British Oak - see later entry) because, quite frankly, it is no longer my sort of pub. In the daytime it is ok, but at night it is loud and brash...and I'm too old for that sort of environment.

I'm not sure exactly who the current owners are.