Tag: demolished

February 4th – Out for a good ride to Middleton and Tamworth on a sunny, bright but cold afternoon. I shot through Footherley against the wind, but as I came through the hamlet itself, I stopped and did a double take.

The old terraced cottages here – which had been derelict as long as I’ve been cycling these lanes, so near enough 40 years at least – have finally been demolished, and nothing now remains.

I’m not really sad for their loss – they were unremarkable in themselves historically and architecturally – but they were a landmark, and I’ll miss the marker they provided.

I wonder – can Keepers Cottage, the house similarly derelict near the brook, back towards Lower Stonnall – be long for the world? I think not.

August 19th – It’s too late now, it’s gone. The Pear Tree Inn, on the corner of Pear Tree Lane, Albutts Road and Hednesford Road in Brownhills West will be fondly remembered by many, me included. At various times in its life this pub was a fine house; I drank here several Christmas lunchtimes and often took a walk up from town to get a decent pint. Derelict for 4 or 5 years now, the owners sought permission to demolish, citing the building as being beyond repair. An application to build a store here has been refused, but rumours abound of a new express-style store opening. 

It’s sad the pub could not live on. Another part of my past gone under the bulldozer’s tracks.