Tag: closed

April 19th – A tired commute and weary day at work as a result of the exertions of the previous day, and I had the camera stuck on some poncey ‘artistic’ mode so all the photos came out unusable, except this one: Passing the former Boat pub at Bentley Bridge, Darlaston green, I noted it was finally razed.

The demolition has been long and protracted as contractors stripped carefully anything of worth from the decaying building.

Good to see such care taken to reclaim the materials, but the overwhelming feeling of sadness at the loss of a one popular pub remains.

A small, encapsulated tragedy and tale for our times.

March 27th – Over at Bentley Bridge, near Darlaston Green, mixed feelings as the former Boat Inn pub is cleared for demolition.

Derelict for years, long-time site of a car wash, the building had been long since targeted by arsonists, flytippers and ne’er do wells. The Boat had outlived it’s useful life, and the last beer was supped here years ago. But it’s very sad to see a pub lost, and in an industrial area with loads of vacant land already, it’s hard to see what, if anything, might replace this building.

October 11th – Crossing the Shire Oak Junction and heading down to Brownhills at dusk is a sadder experience of late.

The Shire Oak Pub – recently refurbished at no little cost – closed some weeks ago following poor public reception and has yet, despite assurances of people who apparently knew what was going on, to reopen, and stands in total darkness.

The lights of this landmark used to shine out in the darkness and often be like a welcome as I crested the last hill into Brownhills form a day at work, or long ride out. Not any more.

Let’s hope it reopens soon. It could be a great house.

September 19th – Freewheeling down Shire Oak Hill into Brownhills, I stopped to look at the sad hulk of the Rosa – or ‘Middle’ Oak, closed a couple of years ago, and once a popular, award-winning pub. Sold privately, no planning applications have ever been submitted for another use, and the building continues to fall quite into decay. The only use it sees these days if neighbours using the car park.

Nobody seems to know what, if anything, the owners have planned.

A sad end to a once fine community pub.

September 9th – In Aston, a sad sight; a pub that I once frequented regularly has closed. Beautiful in that hideously overblown way only Birmingham terracotta pubs can be, the Swan and Mitre on the corner of Holborn Hill was never salubrious, but it was a good boozer that contains many happy memories.

It’s a genuinely astounding building, but sadly the reputation this place carried and decline of nearby industry signed it’s death warrant many years ago. 

Like the Brittania, nearby (now converted into a cafe) there seems little place in modern suburban Birmingham for the huge alehouses of yore, which is a great pity.

Never again will I lean on the railings outside on a warm evening, pint in hand, watching the world go by. But then, those days passed a long, long time ago, and the faces that filled those memories have moved on, slipped away or faded out of mind. 

Except one.

I just hope the building can be repurposed.

June 1st – A grey morning crossing the still inexplicably closed Bentley Mill Way viewed from the aqueduct on the Walsall/Darlaston border. The roads has, over many months been lowered beneath the bridge to allow taller vehicles, and new signals added. In such a wet area, I hope the drainage pumps are capable and reliable, otherwise we could be in for fun. 

The road has been complete for about a month now, and remained closed as some brickwork was pointed on the bridge, but now seems closed with no activity ongoing. Considering this whole show was due to open ‘Autumn 2015′, it’s all a bit of a puzzle.

December 26th – The signal box on the preserved railway ay Chasewater Heaths is wonderfully authentic – because up until a few years ago, this signal box stood monitoring the level crossing that existed at Hademore, near Whittington in Staffordshire. 

When that line was expanded to four tracks and the signals upgraded, the level crossing was replaced with a bridge, and the box transferred to Chasewater Railway. I’ve actually spoken to the signalman at Hademore whilst waiting for the barrier out on a ride many times. It’s odd to see it here.

Never went a bundle on the colour they painted it, either; it was always white, not orange.

October 6th – It’s nice to see a local pub coming back from the brink. It had been a hectic day at work, and two horrible, grey commutes. I had to call in on a mate in Stonnall, and as I returned to Brownhills, I noted the scaffold around the now closed Shire Oak.

This historic pub has had a difficult time for the last few years with a succession of landlords, and it desperately needed renovation. It closed for a refit a couple of weeks ago, and has been gutted. Work continues, and I noted the scaffolding was a new addition as I rode home.

It’s good to see this historic, landmark pub get some love – we’ve lost so many, there must surely be a place for this venerable and noted house.

It’s scheduled to reopen on the 20th November. I wish the new landlords well, and look forward to a pub reborn.

June 29th – Intrigued and saddened to see the Four Crosses pub in Shelfield – the last pub in the area, closed a few months ago – now up for sale as a ‘residential development site’.

Planning permission was granted some time ago to build a care home behind the pub and adjoining it; the developer recently tried to get the admission criteria loosened to allow those needing care additional to senior citizens to be admitted. Combined with the pub’s closure, there was a furore in the community and false rumours it was to be a drug, alcohol, mental health or bail hostel.

I would imagine that permission has been denied, or is not looking positive, despite rewording to exclude contentious groups, and the developer has decided to cut their losses and sell.

The building was granted meaningless Asset of Community Value status and a petition raised, too. Both have proven now to be pointless. From a development that looked like it may retain the pub, it now looks likely the building might be lost altogether under more housing.

At the heart of this is a basic truth nobody seems prepared to face: you cannot force people to keep running a business they don’t want to. It’s the huge elephant in the room that sits unspoken in many debates about the future of once-great pubs like this one.

A cautionary tale hangs here, I think. I shall watch with interest.

February 11th – I noticed back in the summer that the old Pleck Working Mens Club was empty and derelict. I find it sad, as I went here once or twice, years ago, for parties and even a wedding. Like all such clubs, beer was cheep and the comfort basic, but there was real community here and the atmosphere was relaxed.

Sadly, like so many clubs, it’s fallen victim to social change, member numbers dwindled and now there’s a planning application for 11 dwellings on this site.

This will never be a club again, I guess, so any re-use of the land is good; but anything built here will be haunted, I hope, by late night shouts of ‘Pint of the usual Alec!’ and ‘Soon be time for the bingo!’

How times change.