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Boars Head Inn

Hi jean
I bet you have progressed since then ain't you what's your tipple then now .
Do they still make it now ha, by the way I have not long sent you a message on your private board hope you got it a remark about little George
Best wishes alan
 
I didn't have too much too eat as was taking pics of my work colleagues!

Some interior decoration





 
another one of the boars head dated 1934
 

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Nice photo Lyn. Can anyone pinpoint exactly on a map where the original Boar's Head (ancient posting inn) stood (100 yards away to SW). I'd be interested to see where exactly it once stood. Was it once on land that is now Perry Park? Currently it's address is 340 Aldridge Road. Viv.
 
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Here you are Lyn
 

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thanks mike it looks like the pub was not on park ground then..

lyn
 
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Thanks Mie and Lyn. Not so sure though Lyn. Streetview below is where I think it once was. Maybe somewhere left of the sub-station. Does anyone know if this is Perry Park ground? Viv.

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The Boar's Head public house, Aldridge Road, Perry Barr, on 31st March 1931. The road leading off to the right is College Road.

Boars Head_1931.JPG
From the Library of Birmingham Images.
 
In this 1950s aerial view from 'britainfromabove' the 'new' Boar's Head is top right. The main entrance to Perry Barr park is bottom left. The Aldridge Rd single carriageway leads out of the view top middle and the dual carriageway College Rd leads out to the right. The 'old' Boars Head was apparently demolished in 1937 and the site must be somewhere on this pic. I spent much of my childhood playing in the park entering through a small short-cut gate on the Aldridge Rd. I vaguely remember buildings seen on the left in this pic and one of them may have been a 'Sons of Rest' but it was a long time ago .....
AldridgeRd1950.JPG
 
There's a fenced off area if you zoom in on Mike's satellite views - I've zoomed in below, the early BH site would be to the left of the M6. Perhaps this is the place. It would definitely have to be left of the M6 near the start of the Aldridge Road. Is there an easy way of estimating the distance from the current Boar's Head (junction of College Road and Walsall Road - noting that the buildings are set back with a large frontage area) to the possible position on the Aldridge Road? Is that 100 yards?

I wonder if the early Boars Head was demolished as part of the development of the Walsall Road? (Walsall Road is just above the M6 veering off to left, whilst College Road veers off to the right). Just a thought. Viv.

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Thanks Phil, getting my Aldridge and Walsall Roads mixed up. (Been looking at Lyns Christ Church thread at the same time!!). The old BH was opposite the Smithy, so if we know where the Smithy was we'd be able to find where the old BH was. It might have been near the cottages on the other side of Aldridge Road, just after the raised M6, going towards Perry Barr. Think there's a rivulet there running alongside the first cottage, would that be a clue? Viv.
 
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Is this the Smithy on Oldmohawks earlier photo? The cottages are just below it - the cottages are still there today. Some were changed to shops at one time but most have changed back to homes. The cottages, plus the Smithy and the Boar's Head would together have made up a little hamlet. By the time of the photo the area would have just been expanded as the bungalows on College Road had been built - just in view above and slightly right of the red dot - my nan lived in one of those. Viv.

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Just turned up this older Boar's Head thread and the late Peter Walker posted a comment in post #8 that the old BH land was taken over by Perry Barr Park. So we're roughly in the right place.

Incidently, I remember commenting on another thread that a room at the old BH was used as a morgue for a while. But I think this was more common than you'd imagine at one time. But it does suggest the old BH was a key building in the context of Perry Barr/Birchfield. Viv

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?2430-The-Boars-Head-Perry-Barr-on-Aldridge-rd
 
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thats great viv..nice to know we have got our bearings it really can be difficult with so much change over the years...talking morgues i have a great photo of our dad sitting in a pub that was used as a morgue but thats another thread..

lyn
 
I think one of the problems with this is the M6. To some extent that disguises what's gone on in this small area over time. But it's great to see the row of old cottages - opposite Perry Park - are still there. It would be nice to try and find more out about the predecessor to the old BH, the ancient posting inn, and its Civil War connection. Never seen anything written about it.

In more recent times, my nan used to drink at the Boars Head (and the Church Tavern in nearby Church Lane) and I'd always imagined it to be the new BH at the Aldridge Road/College Road junction. But no, she must have frequented the old BH opposite the Smithy. A nice little snippet to add to my family history.

Viv.
 
It wasn't until I saw this colourised image of the BH that I realised the brickwork feature on the side of the building makes up the date 1848. Viv.

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The BH was originally built in 1758. This drawing of 1860 shows a much plainer architecture than the later building. The later building which replaced this was itself demolished in 1938. Viv.

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A lovely painting by Warren Blackham, possibly about 1870? Sets the BH in a rural scene, totally unrecognisable scene today. Note the Dutch gables, so this would date after the modification of the building in post #63. Viv.

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Here's the tineline of the older BH in pictures. Looks like the pub was 'modified' and extended between 1860 - 1898 ie not fully rebuilt. Then it was totally demolished two years after the last photo in 1938 being replaced by the existing BH 100yards away at the junction of College and Alridge Roads. Viv.

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There was an animal pound next to the BH to house stray animals until they were claimed. Would this have been through the gates to the right or the field t the left? Viv.

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Went there on Tuesday for a belated Golden Wedding meal. Pete paid this time!!. Will be going back soon. It is only £7.99 during the afternoon and the food was excellent. Eat as much as you want from a choice of Italian English Indian Off the grill and Chinese. Lovely cakes and puddings for afters and the starter soup was delicious. I remember riding my uncles pony through those doors when I was about fourteen.
 
I think this Warren Blackham painting (late 1800s) shows the smithy opposite the old Boar's Head on Aldridge Road (small building to the right). There's a cluster of horses in front of it so it seems quite likely it was a smithy. I think there's a sign above the doors. At this time the Aldridge Road would have been narrower, so effectively I think the Smithy would today be underneath the Aldridge Road. A couple of other things I've picked up is the Boar's Head has been known by other names; Gough's Arms and Turner's Beerhouse. In 1818 Gough's Arms was run by Thomas Cooper, Farmer and Vitualler.

Viv.

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Maybe it was named after the Gough family who owned the big house in one of the Perry Barr parks!, My music teacher was Charles Gough a member of that family. Lovely photo Viv!.
 
Vivienne14 said:
There was an animal pound next to the BH to house stray animals until they were claimed. Would this have been through the gates to the right or the field t the left? Viv.
Click to expand...
There is this photo of the 'Old Pound Perry Barr' but unfortunately no information about its location. Maybe with a detailed map and looking at the layout of the roads in the photo it might be possible to find it.

When I do some photo editing on the image the pole in the middle is a 14 bar telephone pole and there is a building behind the trees on the right which has a tall chimney ... also a sign post which I cannot read at the moment ....
Pound_PerryBarr.JPG
Image from https://www.search.birminghamimages...479&PageIndex=1&KeyWord=old pound&SortOrder=2
 
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Great photo Phil. Think this is it comparing it to one of your earlier posts (#53) you can just see the signposts under the the tree in the photos. So Boar's Head is to left of photographer, Aldrdge Road off to the left ahead, College Road off to the right. I imagined the pound t be next to the pub, but this confirms it was in a field. Viv.

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