West Bromwich Crawl 10th June 1988

This was one on my Regular Friday dinner Pub Crawls as i was working shifts and when on afternoons i only worked a four day week leaving me a free Friday dinner session.
I always caught a bus to Derby then a train to Birmingham,West Bromwich did not have a train station close to the middle, so i caught a bus from the middle of Birmingham which dropped me of on the high street.
This was a completely biased pub crawl as was only doing Banks's and Hansons tied houses,i had already done the Wheatsheaf with the wife while here to watch Nottingham Forest,so no Holdens tied houses to pick up,but plenty of M&B and Ansells tied houses to avoid.
I walked away from the high street to get to my first pub that was open that i wanted to do.

1: Bird in Hand

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

  
A typical looking Black Country pub that had council houses on each side of it.
The pub had two separate rooms with a basic bar and what i presume was a comfortable lounge,i had a drink in the bar.
The pub was a Banks's tied house,there were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Banks's Bitter,which was a decent drink.
Sadly this pub has now closed down.

It was a short walk along Phoenix Street i passed a Hansons house that was not yet open,The George and also walked past a M&B house The Swan,i then took a left turn up Black Lake where there would be a couple of pubs to do.

2: New Talbot

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A long fronted pub and also an Hansons tied house,so i was well pleased.
The pub was quite large inside with a few different rooms,i had a drink in a comfortable lounge.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a half of Hansons Mild,which was a very nice drink,there was also Hansons Bitter on the bar.
A pleasant pub to have a drink in.

I walked further up Black Lake and onto Hill Top and took a left turn down New Street and i was soon outside my next pub.

3: The Globe

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

  
A large estate type pub that i like doing and flats next to it.
Another Hansons tied house,so pleased again as i prefered to do Hansons tied houses over Banks's tied houses.
Once inside the pub had the usual estate pub layout of a large basic bar and a more comfortable lounge,i had a drink in the bar.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Hansons Bitter,which went down well,there was also Hansons Mild on the bar.
Sadly The Globe along with the flats next to it have been pulled down.
I am pleased i did the pub and took a photo of it when it looked in good shape.

A short walk back up New Street and onto Hill Top and i was soon in my next pub.

4: Sow & Pigs

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A small stand alone pub and another Hansons tied house,i was on a run of Hansons tied houses which really pleased me.
Once inside the pub had two small rooms either side of the entrance,i had a drink in the small bar room that was very nice.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Hansons Mild which was a very nice drink.
A really nice pub to have a drink in and still up and running.

I walked further up Hill Top and took a right turn onto Coles Lane where the next pub was a short walk along it.

5: Gough Arms

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A very large 30s built pub that was an Hansons tied house.
Once inside there were a couple of very large and basic rooms,i had a drink in the bar.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Hansons Mild,which was a very nice drink,the other real ale was Hansons Bitter.
This pub is still going strong and now more food orientated than it was when i did it all those years ago.

I had to retrace my steps and back down Black Lake to get to Church Lane which was a turn to the left,a short walk along here and i was in my next pub.

6: Nags Head

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A very austere looking pub but it was an Hansons tied house so i was pleased to do it.
Once inside the pub had two separate rooms with a basic bar and a more comfortable lounge,i had a drink in the bar which was busy.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Hansons Mild,which went down very well,the other real ale was Hansons Bitter.
This pub has now sadly closed down.

I walked back along Church Lane and then Swan Lane to get back to Phoenix Street where i had seen a pub i wanted to do but it had not opened.

7: The George

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A smart looking pub with a double bay window frontage.
The pub had a nice smart lounge and a more basic bar.
This was another Hansons tied house with two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Hansons Bitter,which was a very nice drink,there was also Hansons Mild on the bar.
Another pub to close down,what a shame!

I walked to the end of Phoenix Street and onto Greets Green Road which lead onto Wood Lane,where the my next pub was situated.

8: Oliver Cromwell

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A decent looking white painted pub and yet another Hansons tied house,i was on a roll and well pleased with how the pub crawl was going.
The pub had two separate room with a nice small bar room and a comfortable lounge.
I had a drink of Hansons Mild,which was a very nice drink,the other real ale was Hansons Bitter.
A very pleasant pub that i was pleased to do.
Sadly this pub has been pulled down.

I walked through loads of back streets and finally ended up on Sams Lane where my next pub was.

9: Prince Albert

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A smart looking town pub that was situated at the end of a row of shops.
A Hansons tied house,so i was pleased.
The pub had a smart lounge and a decent bar,i had a drink of Hansons Mild,which went down very well,there was also Hansons Bitter on the bar.
I like doing town pubs like this, the Prince Albert is still open.

I took a left turn off Sams Lane and deep into the back streets of West Bromwich where i would find my next pub.

10: Rising Sun

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A decent looking white painted pub that had housing all around it.
This was a Banks's tied house with two rooms inside,there was a basic bar where i had a drink and a smarter lounge.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Banks's Bitter,which was a decent drink,there was also Banks's Mild on the bar.
This pub has now sadly bit the dust.

I took a short walk North through back streets to get to Moor Street where my next pub was.

11: The Leopard

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

  
A basic looking pub,just the sort i like to do,this was another Hansons tied house,so i was well pleased.
Once inside the pub had  a small bar and lounge.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Hansons Mild,which was a very nice drink,there was also Hansons Bitter on the bar.
Sadly this pub has been pulled down along with the factory which was next to it and behind the pub.

I was nearing the end of my pub crawl but there was time to do two more pubs just to the North of West Bromwich town centre.
I crossed the High Street and headed North up Hallam Street and Church Vale to a small side street off it.

12: Churchfield Tavern

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
A strange looking pub with a large chimney to the front.
Once inside it was fairly small with a couple of rooms,i had a drink in the bar,which was a decent room.
The Churchfield Tavern was an Hansons tied house with two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Hansons Mild,which was a very nice drink,there was also Hansons Bitter on the bar.
Sadly this another pub to have been pulled down and lost for good.

I was now retracing my steps back to the High Street but still had one more pub to do which was just off Hallam Street.

13: Horse & Jockey

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 
This pub looked quite impressive as i approached it with being on the apex of two residential streets and other streets off it.
This pub was a Banks's tied house when i did it,there was a small bar to the front and a smart lounge to the rear.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Banks's Bitter which was my last drink of the session and also nice,there was also Banks's Mild on the bar.

It was a short walk back to the High Street where i would wait for a bus back to Birmingham for my train back home in time to meet my wife from work.
We would then get ready for a good night out drinking in Nottingham.