• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

Armada Pub Gravelly Hill

Another chequered history of pubs that fell foul of the brewery going back fifty years or so
the previuos, named , and the named one before and before that from the sixtys i would say it went down the pan and it cost money
The brewey money as it as been mentionioned on here about ten years back or more
with trouble ,fights and gangs and druggs it never went away, , well only for a little while
then the moto way came and shortened its punters only the gangs came and decent folk stayed away
today you have to be a certain breed of a person to run a pub beleive me in todays world
you have to be a hard person in more ways than one to run a pub ,and more so to make money
the only way to make money in the licence trade is to run a resturant type eating house
Ordinary pubs today with poole tables only bring you griefe and big fights , yes they do take the money but at a cost of aggro
and then you get your ticket marked by the police for record s and when you have a couple ticks
and your licence is up for renewel you get the no go , but then what happenends is you have to satify the police
by getting a new member for the licence and then you have to re enlist your premises as a private members club /pub
in order to get your licence back but there again you get the sh=t customers trying to get back in with a recomended of a friend
 
the pub that was there before the armada was the erdington arms....still there in the late 60s and was known locally as "the muckman"
 
LYNN
I was born and raised on lichfield road at 5/92 and which was about two miles down along the lichfield road
and i was there in the days of old with the old tramms and the turn tables and the sandpitts and the cannal
spent many hours with the old man down at salford and i recall the whole area change over from tyburn road and slade road
and back to the city i recall most of the pubs on the way up the lichfield road as well as the shops coming and goings
and i have seen them remoderenised i can recall the widdows arms refurbished and name change around in the 1950,
to the queens head i actualy seen them remove the old sign and paint the old one up
and the one in wainwright stret that was about six months between when they done that one
which incidently wainwright street was name change before the widdows arms which i actualy lived next door two and sat on them steps for donkeys year of my life
and yes regarding the other pub the manager of the stockfield pub he also came to dublin trip to pick up points of sale
and yes i know its banks is a little way up just along from the stockland pub onthe right hand of the road before the traffic lights and getting to the pub best wishes Alan,, Astonian,,,,
 
I had a few pints in there in the 80s
Another pub bites the dust
Im a landlord just running a few bars for a hotel group in Blackpool
the pub game is finished
I retire in Nov Hip Hip
 
IMG_1887.JPG You can say goodbye to the Armarda pub. I have heard its going to be a petrol station. Took photo today. All vehicles on the car park, to start re construction.
 
thanks jackie that has confirmed my post 1....thanks for the photo as well:)

lyn
 
I think that was known locally as 'The Muckman' when I lived near there in Hillside Road '61 to '87, what a shame. NO, my Mistake, it was the 'Erdington Arms' known as the 'Muckman' not the Amarda
 
Last edited:
Hi Lyn, there a lot of changes in Erdington, as you know. I was surpose to take photo's of Lichfield Road, they have built a factory. New housing development will start shortly. Sad to see things go.
 
I'm sure this image must be on here somewhere, the Erdington Arms at the junction of Slade Road.

Erdington The Erdington Arms.jpg
 
I'd love to know too. It's always seemed a strange name for a pub in this location. I'm sure someone will come up with the answer one day. Although, when they were building the pub on the corner of Sheffield Road and Boldmere Road, they asked for suggestions and then called it the 'Boldmere Oak' - no reason as there is no oak to speak of!
 
jackie when i went past it on sunday you could see the bar:eek:...would think its all gone by now...not one ive ever been in but my daughter said she went in a couple of times

lyn
 
Hi Lyn, I passed on Saturday coming off motorway and couldn't manage a picture. My son took them today for me and sent them as I asked if he was passing to send me via Whatsapp.

Jackie
 
ahh that explains why i couldnt see the bar in that photo jackie...it was there on sunday when i passed it in the car so i couldnt get a photo either..dont think there is much love lost over this one going though

lyn
 
I only ever pass this former pub in the car so can't take a photo. However, the garage and the Spar store were open well before Christmas. I thought it was going to be a car dealership but I must say it's a real improvement on the previous building.
 
I worked there for a couple of years part time in the early 1970s. It was okay in those days. I did the catering as well whilst I was still a student at the College of Food. The manager seemed a friendly chap at the time. His mum used to live opposite us when we lived in Stoneleigh Road. I left just before I got married in 1974.
 
I used to pop into The Armada during the 70s and 80s, occasionally. Further to why it was called that (posts #13, 14 & 16 refer), we had always thought it was named after the style/look of the pub itself. I think there were artexed walls and dark wooden panels, given it was built at the same time as the junction, perhaps it was a nod to a lot of people then looking to take package holidays in Spain. I doubt there was any actual Armada or naval link (we couldn't get much further from the sea, could we? ;)). It was very 70s, but I've been in worse pubs and at the time, I liked it more than some of my friends did. This is what now stands in it's place:confused::

1682502772109.jpeg 1682502805126.jpeg
 
John L said:
I used to pop into The Armada during the 70s and 80s, occasionally. Further to why it was called that (posts #13, 14 & 16 refer), we had always thought it was named after the style/look of the pub itself. I think there were artexed walls and dark wooden panels, given it was built at the same time as the junction, perhaps it was a nod to a lot of people then looking to take package holidays in Spain. I doubt there was any actual Armada or naval link (we couldn't get much further from the sea, could we? ;)). It was very 70s, but I've been in worse pubs and at the time, I liked it more than some of my friends did. This is what now stands in it's place:confused::

View attachment 179835 View attachment 179836
Click to expand...
You are correct it was named after the style it was built in, it used to have the walk way from the steps along the front to the entrance I used to live in hawkesyard road and regularly went into the Amanda on a Friday and Saturday night before heading to the Locarno in town, used to use it before Villa home games on a Saturday/mid week as well a large group of us used to meet in there, remember around ten of us coming out of there on a Friday night in 79 and deciding we were all going to hitch hike to Ipswich, we managed to get to London and then got a coach from Victoria that arrived outside Portman road with 30 minutes to spare, we all ended up bunking the football special train back to New street, great day and a great laugh , remember going into the armarda with the bar to the right, pin ball and fruit machines at the far end by the rear doors, the long passage to the toilets that also lead to the Bar area, was always a lively crowd in there but never recall any trouble.
 
Andrew V said:
You are correct it was named after the style it was built in, it used to have the walk way from the steps along the front to the entrance I used to live in hawkesyard road and regularly went into the Amanda on a Friday and Saturday night before heading to the Locarno in town, used to use it before Villa home games on a Saturday/mid week as well a large group of us used to meet in there, remember around ten of us coming out of there on a Friday night in 79 and deciding we were all going to hitch hike to Ipswich, we managed to get to London and then got a coach from Victoria that arrived outside Portman road with 30 minutes to spare, we all ended up bunking the football special train back to New street, great day and a great laugh , remember going into the armarda with the bar to the right, pin ball and fruit machines at the far end by the rear doors, the long passage to the toilets that also lead to the Bar area, was always a lively crowd in there but never recall any trouble.
Click to expand...
My next door neighbour Mrs Knowles worked behind the bar in the 70s
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top