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Greyhound, Court Lane

Lady Penelope

Lady Penelope

master brummie
Not sure if I'm on the right thread for the Greyhound, Court Lane. It's half in Sutton and half in Erdington but I wondered if anyone can point me in the right direction to find out how old the pub is and any more about the history.

I have been having 'discussions' about the boundary. We live on the south side of the Chester Road, postal address Sutton and the council very kindly sent us the bill for extra payment for the Sutton Town Council. The following day they erected a sign on the NORTH side of Chester Road saying 'Welcome to Sutton Coldfield! Blooming cheek!

Please move this if it's on the wrong thread. Thanks.
 
Hi Lady P. Hope all's well with you. Think the old Greyhound pub is worthy of a thread of its own so have set this one up. Viv.
 
Greyhound pub on Court Lane posted by Astoness on the " Kingstanding "thread. Photo of the Greyhound pub in the 1930s to the left and opposite is the boundary post. Viv.
 

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Hi again Lady P. I've had a look at the pub and am not too sure how old it is. I've taken some screen shots off Streetview. Wonder if anyone can date it from these. It looks structurally little changed since Astonesses 1930s photo. It has an interesting chimney stack arrangement on both chimneys. Looks in pretty good shape today too.

The cottages next door might be about the same age. Although the pub upper floor windows might be older than the cottages. There's a sign on the cottage nearest the pub with "Court Lane, Erdington" on it. The sign was on the building in the 1930s photo too.

Hopefully someone can come up with some of the pub's history. Viv.
 

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Thanks Viv,

I'm hoping to go to the Erdington Historical Society in May so perhaps they'll have something to go on. I have a map from before 1801 and there appears to be a 'holloway' and it's thought that this was the original Chester Road. I'll have to do some digging.
 
Me again,

Just noticed that Astoness has set up a separate thread for the Greyhound, thanks for that. I will use that one in future.

By the way, I like the new site format but I don't seem to get any notifications any more - I always used to get an email.
 
Not sure about the notifications Lady P might be worth putting a question to Warren using the blue message bar above.

Can't find the thread that Astonress has set up. If you can give me the name I'll merge this thread with it. Thanks.

Had a look at a couple of maps. On the 1881 map I can see the pub with the boundary line going straight across the pub, but on the 1834 map I can't see the building. Viv.
 

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Most of the maps I have looked at show the boundary line running through the pub itself and crossing the road and running along the pavement to a point where it heads off through the College grounds. In 1974 when Sutton Coldfield joined with Birmingham it looks like they altered the boundary to take in a few of the local houses and all of the pub. See the attached maps from 1966 and 1974.
 

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Thanks Viv and Phil,

I'll try Warren. Not sure about the thread though. I'll just carry on here till informed otherwise! Nothing new to report but I'm still looking. What I need is, I think, an earlier map but I'm not sure one exists. This area, like our own road, is a bit of a no-man's land. They have recently built a retirement village on the old Fosse Way Estate site which, according to my reckoning, is well within the Sutton boundary and yet the whole of the development is in Erdington.
 
I have been researching my family history and found my Great Grandmother Ellen Hunt on the 1891 census. She is described as a servant at the Greyhound Inn Court Lane Sutton Coldfield. The Landlord was Joshua Hodgetts, described as Licenced Victualler and Farmer.
 
It might be worth starting off just by exploring threads. Then if you find you you can't do a particular action, can't find something or have any particular questions about how to use it put a message in the Forum Q&A section. There are always members willing to help. Viv.
 
cba said:
I have been researching my family history and found my Great Grandmother Ellen Hunt on the 1891 census. She is described as a servant at the Greyhound Inn Court Lane Sutton Coldfield. The Landlord was Joshua Hodgetts, described as Licenced Victualler and Farmer.
Click to expand...

Past a few months back, closed and all boarded up, think it will be demolished
 
Thank you. Still, at least I have seen a photograph now. It would be interesting to know when it became a public house, we know it was before 1891.
 
cba said:
I am pleased to have found the site. I am not too sure how to use it though.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum and if you need any help at all, just ask, we will not bite your head off (most of us aint got any teeth any way, lol )
 
. Went past the Greyhound today and the lights were on inside with lots of cars outside. Hope that means something positive.
 
I've just found this thread. I used The Greyhound way back, usually on a Thursday evening for no reason I can remember. At the time (1967) I'd just passed my driving-test and was looking for a car to buy. It so happened one of the blokes (student type) in The Greyhound had a 1952 Morris Minor he was selling. Asking £50, I offered him £40 and got it. I picked it up outside The Greyhound the next week, and was highly chuffed until I found out it didn't have a heater! Well, what the hell, I was tough! A good old banger which ran very well. I've driven past The Greyhound many times since that long-ago time, but never been back in.

G
 
I worked behind the bar of the Greyhound in the early 70’s. A pint of mild was 11p and Brew XI was 12p, this was the only tap beer they sold.
 
Big Gee, my Morris Minor (called William) had a heater but it only kept the keys warm. It didn't have a rear screen demister either so I kept one of those old fashioned washing up mops, the white cotton fluffy sort, in the glove box and when I stopped at traffic lights I had to turn round and wipe the rear window.
Morturn, I wonder what they drink in the Greyhound now? Probably all lager - I don't think mild is a very popular drink these days. I keep saying I'll go in and have a look round. I'll put it on my to-do list.
 
Lady P,

don't think my old Moggie (which was called Rupert....) even had a front screen demister. In the winter it took me a long time to scrape the ice off the inside of the windows while the engine warmed up. But I went all over the place in that little old banger!

Re: mild - funnily enough one of the social clubs we go to now sells a lot of mild - very nice too. I've forgotten where it's brewed, one of the smaller breweries I think.

G
 
Ooh! G, I'd forgotten the ice inside the car! My little car ended up like Trigger's broom (not much of the original left).
 
I drank in the Greyhound regularly in the 70's. Rumour was that because of the difference in licencing laws between Erdington and Sutton, at 10.30pm you had to stand at the Sutton end of the Bar where you could drink until 11pm. I don't actually remember this practice taking place though so perhaps it was just on of those urban myths.
 
Very much an urban myth. The whole premises were licensed not half a bar.
It is fact that for a time the Sutton hours finished at 10pm whereas in Birmingham they finished at 10'30pm so if you were sharpish you could nip over the border for the last drink. It may have been the other way round but I am not really sure.
Old Boy
chocks2 said:
I drank in the Greyhound regularly in the 70's. Rumour was that because of the difference in licencing laws between Erdington and Sutton, at 10.30pm you had to stand at the Sutton end of the Bar where you could drink until 11pm. I don't actually remember this practice taking place though so perhaps it was just on of those urban myths.
Click to expand...
 
My dad drank in the Greyhound in the 50's and 60's and it was always a joke in the family that as I was born at 10.30 he just had time to get from the pub to the nursing home in Hunton Hill after time was called.
 
Lady Penelope said:
Trawling through census records definitely puts the Greyhound in the Sutton Coldfield hamlet of Boldmere.
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Living in Court Lane just up from the Greyhound we were told it was half in Sutton half in Erdington, then this was denied and that it was all in Erdington, but the interesting thing is that at the top of Chester Road, the Court Lane sign was of Sutton Coldfield type and on the house next to the pub (as in one of the photographs) the road sign was Birmingham cast iron. My dad who was an enquiring type and had Council House connections said he found out that it was actually accredited to Sutton and as I have said in previous posts the boundary which included the terraced houses next to it with the street sign on then went over the road and up the front of the houses built by Grosvenor Estates in 1939. At that point in Court Lane there used to be a split between the houses so that vehicles could get to the back of the houses where garages were allowed. The fields and cemetery behind that were all part of Oscott College. The irony was that the grass mentioned in the Milk thread was supposed to be in Sutton. When Mr Edwards was the licensee in 1946 onwards, his son went to BVGS. I went to BVGS also and before that Green Lanes, my sister did to and then she went to Boldmere and this was allowed because although we were in Birmingham, we were nearer to Green Lanes than to, I think it was Jerry's Lane School (Please correct me if I am wrong). I know the children who lived just down from the pub on the left hand side of Court Lane gong towards Chester Road, had to go to School in Birmingham.

Bob Davis
 
Hi Bob, feel I'm getting to know you well as I've just replied to you on the milk thread! I've been making a study of the Greyhound and the surrounding area as I still only live 'up the road' - this time up the Chester Road. The boundary has always been a problem in this area and is different on each map I look at. The pub is definitely in Sutton Coldfield, hamlet of Boldmere as far as the census's are concerned. I'm waiting to see some more maps at Sutton Library but I've been waiting for 3 weeks now and I don't know when I'll get to see them. Can but hope.
 
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