Frighted Horse Pub - Soho Road Handsworth

[Astoness]

I'm glad you think so Lyn. I did not anticipate so many posts about the place when I started the thread.

alan all it takes is for someone to ignite our interest and we all turn into sherlock holmes lol...and now we all know a little bit more of our brum history...love it

 

[Vivienne14]

Some features of the 1844 building can still be seen today despite it no longer being a pub. The curved bay, window lintels and decorative columns are all still there. Wouldn’t be surprised if the pub name is still visible under the modern fascia too. Viv.

 

[Radiorails]

I spotted, in one of my transport books, that the Frightened Horse pub sold Cheshires's Windmill Ales at a time prior to WW1.

 

[Charleen]

I'm glad you think so Lyn. I did not anticipate so many posts about the place when I started the thread.

I know this is over a year old but I was looking for photos of where I used to live in Handsworth - at a pub called the Frighted Horse. My dad was the publican there from around 1970. I was born in 1979 and we left the pib in 1996. I remember there were old buildings at the back that were supposed to have been stables. It’s so good seeing this post and finding out how old the premises are and it’s history.

 

[Vivienne14]

Welcome Charleen. Thanks for adding to this thread. If there’s anything else you can tell us about your time there please do, we enjoy finding out more from people who knew the buildings on this forum. Viv.

 

[Enel]

I can remember (just), drinking my first proper ‘pints’ in the Frighted Horse. Mild, at 1/10 if I recall correctly. This would have been in the late sixties, when I was on day release at Handsworth Technical College. Day release didn’t finish at around 5pm, but rather, there was a break of an hour or so before classes resumed and continued well into the evening. During the break, a few of us would take refreshment at the aformentioned establishment, which made the remaining class pass more pleasantly. After a while we switched our allegiance to another pub on the other side of the Soho road (can’t remember the name). This one had a greater variety of beers plus food.

 

[Gill L]

I was interested in The Frighted Horse as I've been researching a friend's family history and found the 1837 will of Jacob Allen who assigned to his wife, his son and his friend the leaseholds, tenements or dwelling houses with the yards, gardens and brewhouses......... belonging, situated at or near to the Frighted Horse in the said parish of Handsworth. Also, his daughter Bessy was married to a Samuel Ottley, publican of Handsworth. I assume he is related to the George Ottley mentioned in earlier posts.

 

[riccar]

I have this map dated 1834, but can’t for the life of me work out where exactly the Frighted Horse building would be. Would it be at the junction below Grove House ? Viv.

Its off the map..its just below off the bottom edge...Soho Rd at Stafford Rd......

 

[riccar]

I know this is over a year old but I was looking for photos of where I used to live in Handsworth - at a pub called the Frighted Horse. My dad was the publican there from around 1970. I was born in 1979 and we left the pib in 1996. I remember there were old buildings at the back that were supposed to have been stables. It’s so good seeing this post and finding out how old the premises are and it’s history.

Charleen...and I bet your dad was Cyril..Cant remember your moms and sisters names......you were only a toddler if that,cant remember that well...

 

[dirtyden]

My parents kept this pub from 1952 to 1956. An M&B house. At the rear was a brick built bottle store and access to the cellar via a heavy double doored steel hatch in the ground. The M&B drays used to backup to the hatch through large double gates and drop the hogs heads on thick rope to the cellar below. Normal access to the cellar was also in the rear yard down steep stone steps. The cellar below ground was a series of old brick arches with hogs heads lying between them. I used to watch my dad 'tap' the barrels, insert the brass tap and hammer in a wooden bung on then top. I can still smell the beer. The cellar walls were whitewashed and it was quite claustrophobic down there. The living quarters downstairs were small; just a sitting room and a small kitchen. Upstairs several bedrooms and a bathroom lead off a landing that ran the length of the pub. I remember one customer very well, Major Brown, the then governor of Winson Green prison. On the eve of a hanging he always had a double whiskey with his beer. There were rumours that The Frighted Horse was haunted, but that's another story. My dad was Dennis Moody if anybody remembers him.

 

[Charleen]

Charleen...and I bet your dad was Cyril..Cant remember your moms and sisters names......you were only a toddler if that,cant remember that well...

Yesss!! You have remembered well actually ... dad is Cyril, mom is Deserine and my two sister Carole and Angela. May I ask your name, please? I’ll ask my mom if she remembers you - my Dad too old to remember now lol.

 

[Charleen]

My parents kept this pub from 1952 to 1956. An M&B house. At the rear was a brick built bottle store and access to the cellar via a heavy double doored steel hatch in the ground. The M&B drays used to backup to the hatch through large double gates and drop the hogs heads on thick rope to the cellar below. Normal access to the cellar was also in the rear yard down steep stone steps. The cellar below ground was a series of old brick arches with hogs heads lying between them. I used to watch my dad 'tap' the barrels, insert the brass tap and hammer in a wooden bung on then top. I can still smell the beer. The cellar walls were whitewashed and it was quite claustrophobic down there. The living quarters downstairs were small; just a sitting room and a small kitchen. Upstairs several bedrooms and a bathroom lead off a landing that ran the length of the pub. I remember one customer very well, Major Brown, the then governor of Winson Green prison. On the eve of a hanging he always had a double whiskey with his beer. There were rumours that The Frighted Horse was haunted, but that's another story. My dad was Dennis Moody if anybody remembers him.

This is exactly how I remember it when I was there too!! My brother said he saw a few ‘figures’ around the landing and my dad mentioned he saw a ghost at the back near the cellar ..dressed in a black suit and top hat! Personally, I never experienced anything but I do remember as a little girl sensing something eerie at time’s - it’s often said that children are more aware of the supernatural!!! Who knows eh?

 

[Astoness]

thanks dirty den and charleen...great to have members whos parents ran this pub...any photos you may have of your time there would be great

lyn

 

[dirtyden]

This is exactly how I remember it when I was there too!! My brother said he saw a few ‘figures’ around the landing and my dad mentioned he saw a ghost at the back near the cellar ..dressed in a black suit and top hat! Personally, I never experienced anything but I do remember as a little girl sensing something eerie at time’s - it’s often said that children are more aware of the supernatural!!! Who knows eh?

Charleen. I didn't want to say in my earlier post in case I scared you, but yes the landing was exactly where these figures were seen. Often there was a strange decaying odour from beneath the bathroom floor. We were told that a landlord in the 1800's had gone mad, killed his alsatian dog and buried the head under the floorboards. I too saw the black top hatted figure on more than one occasion. I wonder if the current owners have had similar experiences? I understand it's an Asian clothes shop now that has completely been refitted inside. I was terrified to go down in the cellars on my own, always with my dad, and I ran quickly up the stone steps to get out.

 

[Williamstreeter]

This is a pub name I came across today when researching transport routes. I was surprised that nothing comes up on a BHF search.
An unusual name. This is all I found:

Frighted Horse, 128 Soho road, Birmingham

Birmingham pub history, Frighted Horse, 128 Soho road, Birmingham

pubwiki.co.uk

Someone on BHF must have had a drink there at one time or another.

I've just noticed this thread, I had a drink in there about 1977/8 , it was on a drunken binge that took me in there . A rather large Afro Caribbean clientele some playing their favourite game of dominoes called cut throat . I only went in there the once but a good drink and friendly atmosphere .

 

[riccar]

Yesss!! You have remembered well actually ... dad is Cyril, mom is Deserine and my two sister Carole and Angela. May I ask your name, please? I’ll ask my mom if she remembers you - my Dad too old to remember now lol.

Thanks for the reply..Yes I've got it now..Deserine and your 2 sisters....the best thing to do is ask if they remember Malcolm and Richard,the local cops from Thornhill Rd,who used to pop in quite regular and chat with old Randolph and barmaid Stella plus many others...we were uniform at that time..This would have been 1980 to 83......R

 

[Stephen Gilmore]

Sorry to join this thread so late. I've only just joined the group and picked it up.

This is as really interesting pub name. My father was a collector of pub names; he and my uncle travelled the country between the wars visiting pubs with interesting names and the kept a detailed record of their travels (now lost, regrettably). When I moved to Birmingham from Bedford in 1977, he told me about the Frighted Horse. It has nothing to do with a horse being frightened, but rather "freighted" (i.e. carrying a load, or freight). The name simply reflects the pronounciation of freighted in our beautiful Brummie dialect. Wonderful.

 

[Pedro42]

Sorry to join this thread so late. I've only just joined the group and picked it up.

This is as really interesting pub name. My father was a collector of pub names; he and my uncle travelled the country between the wars visiting pubs with interesting names and the kept a detailed record of their travels (now lost, regrettably). When I moved to Birmingham from Bedford in 1977, he told me about the Frighted Horse. It has nothing to do with a horse being frightened, but rather "freighted" (i.e. carrying a load, or freight). The name simply reflects the pronounciation of freighted in our beautiful Brummie dialect. Wonderful.

I also attended day release (metallurgy) at Handsworth TC in the mid 1960's. I think that the pub almost opposite was the "Gun Barrels" but I'm not absolutely sure. The cafe directly opposite was also a popular meeting place before evening classes. Bob Dylan's "Like a rolling stone" would be played almost continuously!