HITCHMOUGH’S BLACK COUNTRY PUBS WEDNESFIELD (Inc. Ashmore Park, Fallings Park, Heath Town, Moseley Village, Wood End) 3rd. Edition - © 2016 Tony Hitchmough. All Rights Reserved www.longpull.co.uk INTRODUCTION Well over 40 years ago, I began to notice that the English public house was more than just a building in which people drank. The customers talked and played, held trips and meetings, the licensees had their own stories, and the buildings had experienced many changes. These thoughts spurred me on to find out more. Obviously I had to restrict my field; Black Country pubs became my theme, because that is where I lived and worked. Many of the pubs I remembered from the late 1960’s, when I was legally allowed to drink in them, had disappeared or were in the process of doing so. My plan was to collect any information I could from any sources available. Around that time the Black Country Bugle first appeared; I have never missed an issue, and have found the contents and letters invaluable. I then started to visit the archives of the Black Country boroughs. Directories were another invaluable source for licensees’ names, enabling me to build up lists. The censuses, church registers and licensing minutes for some areas, also were consulted. Newspaper articles provided many items of human interest (eg. inquests, crimes, civic matters, industrial relations), which would be of value not only to a pub historian, but to local and social historians and genealogists alike. With the advances in technology in mind, I decided the opportunity of releasing my entire archive digitally, rather than mere selections as magazine articles or as a book, was too good to miss. This would allow those people with interests, such as mentioned above, to search for relevant innformation. (sic) The files contain information about every pub that has been found to exist in each of the districts within the Black Country, along with a number of illustrations. Originally a series of 3 CDs was for sale, covering the Black Country boroughs. After 2 editions of each CD I am now producing individual files for each township sub-area. These files are available for free download by anyone interested. A number of years have passed since the first CD came out. In that time I have looked at a lot more sources of information (discovering some new old pubs), acquired many more photographs, and made many helpful friends. Thanks to the many people such as Denis Harper and Keith Hodgkins, who have allowed their own photographs to be used. In 2010 I was asked by the relatives of the late John V. Richards to sort through his own archive of material, in order to redistribute it to appropriate groups. This has been very useful in confirming, and providing new, information. I have also been asked to disseminate information gathered by Jim Laws, Wolverhampton CAMRA’s pub preservation officer/pub historian, who is unfortunately incapacitated. I hope you find this file useful. Please, if you can, show your appreciation by contributing information or photographs. If you feel so inclined you can even make a donation via the downloads page on the website to help defray our expenses. The work, as ever, continues. Tony Hitchmough August 2016 With many thanks to the 'back office': Janet, Sam and Gavin. Hitchmough Beams DISTRICTS The districts covered by the CDs were generally based on the modern places created in the 1970’s, ie, Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton. These are then subdivided into the old townships which had existed for many years previous, and are as follows:- SANDWELL Oldbury (inc. Causeway Green, Langley, Oakham, Rounds Green, Tividale) Rowley Regis (inc. Blackheath, Cradley Heath, Old Hill, Whiteheath) Smethwick (inc. Bearwood, Londonderry, Warley) Tipton (inc. Dudley Port, Great Bridge, Princes End, Toll End) Wednesbury (inc. Kings Hill, Leabrook, Mesty Croft) West Bromwich (inc. Golds Green, Greets Green, Hill Top, Lyndon) DUDLEY Brierley Hill (inc. Pensnett, Quarry Bank, Round Oak) Dudley (inc. Harts Hill, Kates Hill, Priory, Woodside) Halesowen (inc. Colley Gate, Cradley, Hasbury, Lapal) Kingswinford (inc. Himley, Wall Heath) Netherton (inc. Darby End, Dudley Wood, Saltwells, Windmill End) Sedgley (inc. Coseley, The Gornals, Woodsetton) Stourbridge (inc. Amblecote, Lye, Wollaston, Wollescote, Wordsley) WALSALL & WOLVERHAMPTON Bilston (inc. Bradley, Hallfields) Darlaston (inc. Butcroft, Moxley, Wood’s Bank) Walsall (inc. Bloxwich, Leamore, Palfrey, Pelsall, Rushall, Shelfield, Walsall Wood) Wednesfield (inc. Ashmore Park, Fallings Park, Heath Town, Moseley Village, Park Village, Wood End) Willenhall (inc. Bentley, New Invention, Portobello, Short Heath) Wolverhampton (inc. Blakenhall, Codsall, Oxley, Penn, Tettenhall, Whitmore Reans) UPDATES I am planning to continue my researches, and will be producing updated versions of each file (for free download) as sufficient additional content is found. Hopefully new old pubs will continue to be discovered, as will some mysteries be cleared up. I maintain an Update service on the website to advise of pub discoveries made during the interim between releases. If anyone is able to provide extra, relevant information and / or pictures, about any of the pubs and people contained within this work, I would be grateful to hear from you, initially by e-mail at: [email protected] I look forward to hearing from you. Tony Hitchmough longpull.co.uk ABOUT THIS FILE It is a PDF file and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. This reference work is designed to be viewed on a computer but can be printed. It is text based so one can search and find within the contents. BOOKMARKS Clicking on the Bookmarks in the panel on the left will take you to the chosen location. If your computer uses Windows, Bookmarks with a + (a plus sign) on the left hand side have submenus and clicking on the plus sign (which will change to a minus sign) will reveal the contents. Clicking on the minus sign will hide the contents of the submenu. If your computer uses Apple, clicking on the right pointing arrow to the left of the Bookmark will display the submenu; it will turn to a downward pointing arrow which when clicked will hide the submenu. For more information please consult the Adobe Acrobat Reader help system. ALBION Lichfield Road / Stubby Lane, WEDNESFIELD OWNERS William Butler and Co. Ltd. [1967] Mitchells and Butlers Ltd. [1988] Harvester [1997] Sizzling Pub Co. [2004] Stonegate Pub Company [2012] LICENSEES Advert 1988 Edward Edwards [1940] Graham Perry [1985] – [1988] Russell Jordan [1995] Stephen Butler [1997] Maureen Patricia Layland [2003] Richard Thomas King [2005] Mo Layland [2005] – [2006] NOTES [1982] It was locally listed. Graham Perry was married to Frances. It was renovated in 1988 at a cost of £300,000. 2016 Express and Star 8/4/1997 “A landlord suffered a broken hand after being attacked by a man who went berserk when he was told to leave a Wednesfield pub. Stephen Butler and his deputy Robby Wilde spoke to the man after he took a picture off the wall of the former ALBION pub in Lichfield Road, at about 10 o’clock last night. The building has been taken over by The Harvester restaurant chain and yesterday was the first day of opening as The HARVESTER. ‘The man was asked to leave and went berserk, smashing windows in two doors’, the company said. Robby Wilde was kicked and Mr. Butler was treated in hospital for two broken bones in his hand. Wednesfield police said there was an assault on the landlord and a man had been arrested. Officers were now waiting to interview him.” It closed in March 2003 for a £250,000 refurbishment. It reopened on 19th May 2003. [2016] Check New Street. ALBION 15, (18), (8), New Street, Heath Town, WEDNESFIELD OWNERS LICENSEES John Tonks [1841] – [1870] Joseph Tonks [ ] – 1870); Anne Emery (1870 – [ ] Samuel Palmer Emery [1871] – [1873] John Leeding [1873] Eli Charlton [1881] John Brookes [1891] – [1900] Frederick George ‘Fred’ White [1901] – [1912] Mrs. Maria White [1916] Harry White [1921] Joseph Tonks [1932] NOTES 8, New Street [1861] 18, New Street [1871] 15, New Street [1932] It had a beerhouse license. John Tonks = John Tonkes John Tonkes, beer retailer, Wednesfield. [1841] 1841 Census New Street [1] John Tonks (44), trap maker, born Staffordshire; [2] Mary Tonks (39), born Staffordshire; [3] Joseph Tonks (9), born Staffordshire; [4] John Tonks (7), born Staffordshire; [5] Francis Tonks (6), born Staffordshire; [6] William Tonks (4), born Staffordshire; [7] Mary Tonks (2), born Staffordshire; [8] Robert Bentley (20), journeyman, born Staffordshire; [9] William Beech (15), apprentice, born Staffordshire: John Tonks was also a steel trap maker. [1845], [1849], [1861] 1851 Census New Street [1] John Tonks (55), trapmaker and victualler, born Wednesfield; [2] Mary Tonks (46), wife, born Lane Head; [3] Joseph Tonks (18), son, born Wednesfield; [4] John Tonks (17), son, born Wednesfield; [5] Francis Tonks (16), son, born Wednesfield; [6] Mary Ann Tonks (12), daughter, born Wednesfield; [7] Levynia Tonks (6), daughter, scholar, born Wednesfield; [8] Ellen Tonks (5), daughter, scholar, born Wednesfield; [9] Mark Tonks (2), son, born Wednesfield; [10] William Beech (24), journeyman, trapmaker, born Wednesfield: John Tonks was described as a beer retailer and vermin trap maker, New Street. [1864], [1865] 1861 Census 8, New Street – ALBION INN [1] John Tonks (61), widower, publican and trap maker, born Willenhall; [2] Mary A. Tonks (22), daughter, waitress, born Willenhall; [3] Lavinia Tonks (16), daughter, house servant, born Willenhall; [4] Ellen Tonks (15), daughter, house servant, born Willenhall; [5] Mark Tonks (12), son, scholar, born Willenhall: 1871 Census 18, New Street [1] Samuel P. Emery (41), publican, born Willenhall; [2] Mary Emery (38), wife, born Wolverhampton; [3] Catherine A. Emery (16), daughter, born Wednesfield; [4] Elizabeth Emery (15), daughter, born Wednesfield; [5] William J.