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Garrison Lane Pubs

Hi all. It was great to see a photo of the Sportsman pub I decorated the outside of it in the bad winter of 1963 and took great pride in picking out all the detail on the sign over the door.It was used as a training pub for future managers and their families when I was there. We used a cafe just up the road on the same side that was used by the Blues players after training so we mixed with the likes of Kenny Burns , Bob Hatton and players of that era .
,,
 
This photograph of The Sportsman dates from the mid-1930s when Percy and Dora Tropman were the managers. The couple were married in 1934, spent a short amount of time on the Coventry Road and took over here about 1936.
 

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I have been taking photographs of public-houses for almost three decades now. Not as long as, say, mikejee but due to the amount of pubs that have closed or radically changed, some of my pics are starting to take on some sort of historical importance, particular the interior shots. I notice that the Royal George is now a hotel which seems a bit bizarre to me. This is how the pub looked in 2002 when it was operated by Gibbs Mew.
 

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This photograph is dotted around the place but I am not sure if it has been dated correctly. I can confirm that the images was captured on April 18th, 1961.
 

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One of the advantages that I particularly enjoy when working with original images is that I can zoom in and look at other stuff. Did anyone stuff their face in Bruce's next door to the Garrison Tavern?
 

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I have been taking photographs of public-houses for almost three decades now. Not as long as, say, mikejee but due to the amount of pubs that have closed or radically changed, some of my pics are starting to take on some sort of historical importance, particular the interior shots. I notice that the Royal George is now a hotel which seems a bit bizarre to me. This is how the pub looked in 2002 when it was operated by Gibbs Mew.
Seems a bit small for what we now think of as a hotel, but in the 19th century many small pubs
used the designation. I wonder if then it was possibly to signify that they were not a beerhouse
 
Seems a bit small for what we now think of as a hotel, but in the 19th century many small pubs
used the designation. I wonder if then it was possibly to signify that they were not a beerhouse
A key reason for them gaining inn or hotel status was to enable longer opening hours. The beer house term is often derided but look at the 1930s image I posted for The Sportsman - it still only had a beer licence but this did not stop the brewers from lavishing money on them.
 
This early 1930s photograph shows that the place that would become Bruce's in later years was once a bakery run by Frederick Trevor. This image of the Garrison Tavern is the closest I know to the days of the Peaky Blinders.
 

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I have been taking photographs of public-houses for almost three decades now. Not as long as, say, mikejee but due to the amount of pubs that have closed or radically changed, some of my pics are starting to take on some sort of historical importance, particular the interior shots. I notice that the Royal George is now a hotel which seems a bit bizarre to me. This is how the pub looked in 2002 when it was operated by Gibbs Mew.

yes kieron i also think the interior shots of pubs are important..i have taken a few interior shots of one or two pubs myself..we really need to do this when we can because as we all know now one day they will be gone..i was very lucky a few years back to go into the barrel on soho road once ran by a rellie and got one or two photos...a few weeks later it was closed down owing to drug use and became a chemist...although it was a tad risky going in and i didnt stay long i am glad that i did now..

lyn
 
yes kieron i also think the interior shots of pubs are important..i have taken a few interior shots of one or two pubs myself..we really need to do this when we can because as we all know now one day they will be gone..i was very lucky a few years back to go into the barrel on soho road once ran by a rellie and got one or two photos...a few weeks later it was closed down owing to drug use and became a chemist...although it was a tad risky going in and i didnt stay long i am glad that i did now..

lyn
There is a touch of irony in that change of use! But yes, interior photographs are very important - so very few were taken in the old days so I am trying to redress the balance. Also, a harsh lesson I have learned is never put off a photo for too long. I was impressed with the etched-glass windows in one pub but not armed with a camera. I went back about a fortnight later to take a pic of the windows only to find that some herbert had thrown a brick through them!
 
I visited the Garrison quite often. My sister and her husband lived nearby in Barwell Road where they bought their first house for £300 pounds. He did have his own business As an electrical engineer.
 
A nice, clear view of the Royal George and all its features. It has a different ground floor frontage compared with post #72. This must have been taken after #72. Looks like 1930s type changes to me. Note the lad in the door window, second left. Sorry, no precise date for this. Viv.

466E652F-0C8D-4C3E-A839-C50DF97E2DAE.jpeg
 
Maybe the date could be narrowed down if someone could decipher the Landlord’s name above the door ?
 
Can someone remember the name of the pub bottom of Kingston Road ?
I think it might have been an Irish boozer.
Long gone, but had many pre match drinks there.
 
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