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Ring of Bells, Aston

jane k

master brummie
I`ve just found out that one of our ancestors Henry Sketchley Williams was made bankrupt in 1880 and he is described as a beer retailer at The Ring Of Bells, Aston.
I wonder if anyone knows anything about this pub.

Thanks

Jane
 
I don't recall a pub called the Ring O'Bells in Aston. There was a pub called the Ring O'Bells in Church Lane, Yardley. There were a couple of versions of this pub it seems.
Not sure when the first Ring 0'Bells was built but it was renovated in 1939 in an English Tudor style. Sadly, there was an arson fire there and the place was demolished three years ago. There is a thread on this forum about the pub however, many of the photos were lost in the hacking episode. Here is a photo by kind permission of derelictplaces
https://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=15779#.UQBRB_LtMxg
 
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Hi Jane,

I have found these articles on Henry Sketchley Williams and it does say the Ring Of Bells, Aston. They are all from the Birmingham Daily Post.

1. 22 May 1880
2. 24 June 1880
3. 7 July 1880
4. 15 Oct 1881

Another article dated Feb 1881- which is not about Henry - mentions the Ring Of Bells in WITTON LANE, Aston - I wonder if this is the same one?
 

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Sorry I meant to include this one - again from the Birmingham Daily post - dated 11 Aug 1880
 

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He does appear in directories for 1878 and 1879, though some earlier ones do not include the area out as far as Witton lane. In the 1878 directory it just says beer retailer witton lane, but the 1879 one lists 7 Witton Lane. The numbering is changed a few years later , and by 1900 it is 15 Witton Lane. The 1901 census lists this as Ring of Bells. It seems to survive till the 1908 directory, but by 1910 all the occupants of the buildings listed that side of the road seem to have changed, so I think it possible there was some demolition at that time
 
hi guys
just picking up on pollypops thread regarding the ring of bells pub; and i have to say whether you like it or not
i have to agree with polly for some reason i do honestly beleive she is corect that there was a such pub years ago ;in aston
called the rin of bells at this moment i can fore see the pub name but just trying to locate the postion ;
so i am going to contact my associated with in the tade to get more info from them whom like me was involved with the trade ;
it may take abit of time but i hopefully will find out or my memo box might just click in ; but sure as god made apples there was such a pub in aston ;
hav a good day to everybody ; astonian;;
 
Thanks so much for all of that.
Polly - I was especially interested to see the article saying he had absconded as I have never been able to find the family on the 1881 census - despite assistance from members of this forum! Perhaps he was laying low for a while.
Jane
 
Jane - Glad to be of help - I nearly didn't post them as I thought you may have already seen them as you knew about his bankruptcy - but I am so glad that I did especially as the last one seems to explain why you and other members of the forum can't find him in 1881. I wonder where he was hiding?

Mike - excellent information from the directories (as always!) The 1881 article which didn't mention Henry - was about Landlord Thomas Joseph Wilson - I don't know if that helps identify where the building was from the census.
 
HI GUYS
This ring obells was at the juction and the top of wainwright street and portland street aston;
this was up till about the 1950-2 it then had a name changed but i just cannot recall its changed and hence for the pub as also had a make over and changed a couple of times right up untill the demo; of the seventys i presume wainwright was demo ; i should be able to recall the lat name but at this emediate time i cannot ;but how ever it will come
when the ring obells was open and running it was just across the rd from ansells brewery and facing the pub which was at the top of wainwright street
years before i was born the pub was open ;and slap bang in the middle devided by wain wright street and portland street was a horse watering trough
and the trades men and ansellsdray men in the days they was dekivering by horse and cart they would give there horses a drink whilst the men would go into rays moms cafe whom was my play mate for breakfast which was also facing the trough and the gallaghers brothere barbers shop ;
I Can recall them changing there name of that pub and a little painting to it ;then afew years down the line they changed the pub around on lichfield rd which was debated years ago about the widdows arms which was changed to another name and redecorated ;
as i am typing ; i recently hear of a member whom put a name of a person whomi know from child hood and the guy she married and divorced now ;
now if i could personaly make contact with them [ either one ; colin or jenny ; they could confirm what i stated about the widdows arms because it was
uncle gammage whom took over from the old gather whom died in around the 53-4-5 period it would have been an elsie gammage father
whom was related to the goughs all thoses years ago and we all lived up the same terace ; in cromwell square ;
the ring obells was at the top of wainwright street and lower portland street next to button factry ;
i am just trying to think what the name of the bells changed to ; but after that i know it had about two names changed from the early fifties ;
best wishes astonian;;
 
Have just been on face book chatting with a friend who out of the blue wrote this and maybe it solves the puzzle of the Ring of Bells Pub. Maybe Mike could look into it please?. My Nan lived at the last house on the right before the church. It was right next to the cafe
The man who owned the cafe owned Nans house too.



Nan lived in Vicarage rd until she married for the 2nd time after her 1st husband died. They then moved to Park Rd. Mom said their house was once a pub called the Ring of Bells. I will try to tie her down to a date.

 
hi jean;
just read your thread regarding the bells ;your friend said about the church on park rd ;well yes there was a church on park rd
at the top of park rd which also was the corner of upper portland street it was the whole of the church and it was a big white church and the grounds and exits covered the front of park rd and upper portland street in the end years later they built a big fence around the church from he front exit to the church and around the side of portland street; when you walk down portland street passing the rear exit to the vicarage rd police station where there horses used to come in an out you would passing them and the huses that was next to it ;you would come to the corner of vicarage rd cross over still walking down the hill of upper portland street as i said ;you come to the bottom of uper portland street cross the road of lichfield rd on the street crossing there was gallagers the barbers
that then became lower portland street where the horse trough was in the middle of the rd it was a bit funny because it was a wide junction
as you came along the lichfield rd from aston cross it went wide ; the horse trough was in the middle of it
there was little houses facing all around the trough ;
as you crossed over from upper portland street and matty radio was on the corner the st crossing was there cross over to galaghers and walk pass them then there was the cafe which was on the corner of wainwtright street and crossing directly to the cafe there was the bells pub ; yes it was a litle tiny pub ;and the little tiny houses was next to it there was about twenty houses there then therewas buttons facory and facing them there was a big wide open terace with a drive where i think it was peels family and another load of big familys lived i played up there with the gangs when i was a tot ;
but also there was another little cafe or should i say a tea rooms as it was listed in those days and it was run by the daughter of mr and mrs brant
whom ran that tea rooms which was next to buttons ans they was our neibours directly she was number 4 we was number 5 ; of cromwell terrace
the bells pub had about three name changes from 1946 through to the fiftys ;and i eft aston in 1958
and it was changed roughly when i said t wasaround the early fifties and before i left it had changed again to some think else that would be the second time
and when i came back to visit the stret a year or two later it had changed again; much to my surprized
as i said also when they gave that bells the name change they gave it a lick of paint briefly not much of a colour as it was oriningly it was just a white house ;
with the one room called a smoke room thats all it was ;yes as i said and you said there was about twenty houses little tiny ones as you walked passed the bells
i lived across the rs and worked at buttons along with my brother and also theneiboursof our hous the goughs
and it was a relative to goughts the gammages i think it was albert gammage whom ran the widdows pub across from there as the other crippled gather die and he took over whom was also our neibour he or should i say they lived at number 7 cromwell when the bells was change afewyears later the widdows became the queens around1956-7 some one mentionion a north side of wainwright stret afew days ago i did not get to mention ; that the big long house in the twentys was three parts down wainwright street on your left hand as you go down the street it was at the gully that took you up through into lichfield rd
at the top of the gully but half way up you could turn right and it wopuld take you into park street and the vine pub ; my aut smarts lived yards from it at number ten ; best wishes astonian;; alan;;
 
Alan it wasn't a church but a house that was once the pub. She is going to have a chat with her mom today hoping she can put a date to when it was turned into a residence. Jean.
 
Hi Jean


You said it was next to a church and on a café on park road, But it never was.
It may have been in the 1800 but 1900-no
we verified this this about 4-5 years back on this forum. That the bells existed in Aston along with Wainwright street prior to an change I will go to extent on the day in question
I was standing outside paints+changing the name from the bells with the lad from the café whom
mother ran it his name was Raymond.
It would be very interested to find out what year the church was in operation as in late 1800s
I recall it been mention before in time that it was a church even tho it only
a one room lounge way back in early 1900s


best wishes alan “Astonian”
 
Thanks Alan am waiting for my friend to come back to me when she has spoken with her mom. Thanks. Jean.
 
Jean I will phone you

My Mother lived in what was part of the Ring of Bells pub in Park Road Aston. There is no doubt at all about this. The cafe and Moms house were the pub. It was right opposite Aston Church. The house was the pubs smoke room. The front windows of the house had inside shutters, the front door opened straight into an entry which went around the back to the urinals. Once through the 'front door', you turned right into the smoke room which was their front room. The cafe and the house were of the same building.
The house was the last house in Park Road and the cafe went around the corner.
 
Thanks. Peters brother said yesterday that he remembers when it was a pub and he used to go in there with his dad. He is ten years older than Pete.
 
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