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Golden Cross, Erdington.

Our football team, Erdington Libs, were based at the Golen Cross. The chairman was Billy Arnold, some of the players were the Chappell brothers, Liddington,Sheppard, Wilmott, John Hewitt, Fred Pickering,Dave Arnold,Barry Toomer,etc.
This was in the 60/70s.

I recall the Martini Lounge, it had a fake? tree in the centre of the room in the mid 70's. Fantastic Disco Wednesdays and Fridays in the function room. I think one of the guys mentioned, Liddington, had a visit from the England coach which was very successful, but he broke his leg soon after and curtailed a possible chance of playing for the Country .

O'Sheas managed by Bobby, can't recall surname.
 
Found this, think it was Keith Berry.
 

Attachments

  • Golden Cross Short Heath Road -Turfpits Lan...[1].JPG
    Golden Cross Short Heath Road -Turfpits Lan...[1].JPG
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Hi

My great great grandfather Jeremiah Cutler either owned or was the Licencee at the Golden Cross Short Heath Road from around 1872 to 1892. It seems that the family were involved in a few local pubs.

And now I tell the trouble and strife that my ruination was inherited!

Happy New Year to All, Pedro
 
I used to pass the Golden Cross often as a youngster. Not sure if my Dad used it but if he didn't it was probably the only one in Birmingham.... This pub looks quite new, I would've first seen it in the '40's but there must've been an original pub mustn't there? I wonder what that looked like? I think the whole area is mainly 'between the wars' semis, some private and some council. I seem to remember a map showing Turfpits Lane with a 'swimming bath' marked on it so maybe the pub will be on this map too - just got to find it. The Keith Berry photo posted by Kevkonk is a really lovely pic. Another victim of changing times and it didn't have a very long life did it?
 
An aerial view of the Golden Cross Pub dated 1927. Looks like a bowling green behind it.
My Grandparents lived in Turfpits Lane and I remember we used to get off the No 28 bus by the pub.
GoldenCross1927.JPG

'britainfromabove'
 
Between 1964 and 1972 I used to travel along Short Heath road every school day on the #28 bus. Sometimes I'd get off at Bleak Hill Road and walk up to Marsh Hill. But I can't for the life of me remember this pub. Was it still there during this time? Viv.
 
Our football team, Erdington Libs, were based at the Golen Cross. The chairman was Billy Arnold, some of the players were the Chappell brothers, Liddington,Sheppard, Wilmott, John Hewitt, Fred Pickering,Dave Arnold,Barry Toomer,etc.
This was in the 60/70s.
Interesting to see your comments on Erdington Libs football team, I remember seeing them in Short Heath Park in 1957......they always seemed to win and we're always very smart. Where they the team used to play in Italian style black shirts and shorts? If you ever went to Short Heath, do you remember the old guy with the polished boots available for any team short of a player, he had a different name every Sunday. He was a bit like a character out of Hotspur, Wizard or Champion......Alf Tupper at al

Bob Davis
 
In 2005 Keith Berry took a photo of what the Golden Cross had become and was being demolished but he was experimenting with photo editing software and although this view shows the main door there is something not correct with the left side !
osheas.jpg
 
This entrance was situated on the junction of Shortheath Road and Turfpitts Lane


The photo is ok, the main bar door was at an angle across the corner of the building, the footprint of the pub was a V shape. As you walk into the entrance, there were two doors on either side to the two bars.
 
In the pic in post#35, the guttering (top left) on the side of the building is at right angles to the guttering on the angled front face. With the V shape of the pub it should have been at an angle as below taken from the full view in post#25.
Golden Cross front door.JPG
Keith Berry did put notes with his image about digitally stitching views together.
 
Keith Berry seemed quite interested about the demolition of O'Shea's (Golden Cross) and took the following photos with his titles.

Early stages of demolition.
45782297.A510OSheademolition14.jpg

Seven days later.
45937872.A510OSheas7dayslater3.jpg
 
What Keith had done is to is to take two photos, top and bottom, straighten the converging verticals then stich them both together. If you look at the cill beam adjacent to the overjet on the right hand side, you can see a ghost image where he stitched the photos together.

Its not a bad attempt he made, but bringing together two distorted images is always a bit of a compromise.
 
Hi Morturn, yes looking through his notes he started to experiment when digital cameras appeared and also with digital editing software. It is a pity he did not take a photo from across the road to give the complete view of the building. There seems to be a scarcity of pics of the pub when it was the Golden Cross.
 
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