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Lamp Tavern Handsworth

Vivienne14

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
The Lamp Tavern is worthy of note. It was near St Mary’s Church, Handsworth near, I believe, Church Hill and Hamstead Road.

Could we locate it on a map please? Thanks. Viv C99C78AF-7312-4838-BEBE-D405FB0CFA56.jpegSource: British Newspaper Archive
 
A few press snippets of info.
It was there from at least April 1813.
Mr Such was landlord in 1867. The Lamp was in picturesque grounds.
Mr Farrell was landlord in 1870.
Mary Ann Wilkinson was landlady in 1895.

Viv.
 
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Good photo Janice. That must have been a later Lamp Tavern. Looks like a Victorian building to me. I think there must have been an earlier 1750s building. Viv.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Good photo Janice. That must have been a later Lamp Tavern. Looks like a Victorian building to me. I think there must have been an earlier 1750s building. Viv.
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Yes - it does mention that the writing with the second photo. Doesn't say anything about rebuilding though.
 
pjmburns said:
Yes - it does mention that the writing with the second photo. Doesn't say anything about rebuilding though.
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thanks jan both of your links shows the same building as vivs photo...built 1750 so it was almost 200 years old when demolished

lyn
 
Must have been significantly modified. Pretty well all of the decorative features are Victorian. Viv.
 
do not see a specific thread for the endwood but we have been following it on the lost pubs thread so i will have posts 6 and 14 moved to there to keep this thread tidy

lyn
 
According to Janice’s link (the longer extract - the 2nd Wiki link) in post #8, it was used by the Air Training Corps and was demolished before 1970. So yes definitely seems to have gone in the 1960s. It wasn’t open as a pub going back to the 1930s as the licence transferred to Church Hill House (The Endwood). The earliest the ATC might have used the former Lamp building would have been 1941.

Viv.
 
Some more history about the Lamp Tavern. It is also called Handsworth Tavern in newspaper extracts.

In addition to the landlords already identified, a bit more info about some of the landlords with dates:
1883 - Mrs Sarah Hale
1892 - Mrs Mary A Wilkinson ( still there in 1895)
1900 - William Butler & Co Ltd (still there in 1905)-the brewery company ?
1908 - Harry Bushell Church hill, Hamstead road, Handsworth (was he related to Eric Roland Bushell (post #7) ?

Interestingly Janice’s post #4 lists Isaac George as the blacksmith. He must have been the blacksmith at the smithy attached to the Lamp Tavern. Here’s Mr George outside the Pound near St Mary’s Church.

4A0B0F81-B03E-4703-A87D-04F9D44673E1.jpegF1369F5E-65D0-4135-B001-D4469E0D3687.jpeg
Source: British Newspaper Archive. Also posted in the Hamstead Road Pound thread on BHF
 
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In Handsworth cultivated enclosures which took the place of the common land were enclosed in 1793. Before this took place the Lamp was used as the meeting place for Enclosure/Inclosure discussion’s. The Birch family owned much land around Handsworth and built the “House of James Birch, the sign of the Lamp, near the Church in Handsworth”. So the Birch family would have had a keen interest in implementing the Enclosure Act.

Viv

474162CA-BA68-4A22-9135-2A6E08AD5DDE.jpeg
Source: British Newspaper Archive
 
thanks viv great information...somewhere on the forum is a photo of the cattle pound but im not sure if it had mr george standing outside of it..be great if any of mr georges rellies saw this photo of him

lyn
 
Been looking through newspaper extracts about the Tavern’s earlier history including the meetings of the Trustees of the Handsworth Turnpike Road (Hamstead Road to Walsall). There are numerous references to the Lamp Tavern and Handsworth Tavern. Either of these titles are used throughout and appear to be the same tavern. Included in the list are any landlords named in earlier posts too.

Anything that can be found about the building between 1790s and 1810 would be interesting to hear about, as would the period 1915 until the Air Training Corps vacated it.

I wondered if the license was eventually transferred to Endwood House/Hotel in the 1930s because of the Lamp’s reputation ? Viv.

Newspaper notices (except where stated - thanks for those contributions) refer to:
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1881 census lists Alfred Thomas Hale (husband of Sarah) as Licensed Victualler (death Mar 1882) at the Lamp Tavern. It is listed between the School House and Chapel Hill House (George Muntz).

There's a probate for him (4 May), estate worth nearly £1400.
 
And it appears that Sarah married Henry Howell after Alfred's death and in 1901 is listed as Hotel Keeper on Stafford Street.
 
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Thanks for your contributions ! Have updated the timeline. It’s quite revealing when you gather all this information together. Because this was such an old tavern in a very key position on one of the main roads into Handsworth, it offers some very interesting snippets about events connected with it. It would have been a landmark on the turnpike road in its early days.

Viv.

Edited 14/6/23
 

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William Butler & Co bought the Endwood (formerly Church Hill House) in the 1930s. That would be why the Lamp Tavern building was no longer a pub by that time, Butlers must have given up the old tavern building. They turned Church Hill House/Endwood into a Hotel (named Hill House Hotel), but later named it Endwood.

Viv.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Thanks for your contributions ! Have updated the timeline. It’s quite revealing when you gather all this information together. Because this was such an old tavern in a very key position on one of the main roads into Handsworth, it offers some very interesting snippets about events connected with it. It would have been a landmark on the turnpike road in its early days.

Viv.

Edited 14/6/23
1791 - House of James Birch sign of the Lamp, near the Church in Handsworth
1811 - Handsworth Tavern “at the house of William Woodward known by the name of Handsworth Tavern”
1813 - Turnpike Trustees meeting at Lamp Tavern, Handsworth
1814 - Turnpike Trustees meeting at House of William Woodward known as the Handsworth Tavern
1815 - the house of William Woodward known by the sign of the Lamp Tavern in Handsworth
1816 - Mr Graves landlord of the Lamp Tavern in Bull Street died at the Handsworth Tavern after carrying out a wager to complete a course from Bull Street to Walsall and back in 3 hours. Strange coincidence !
1816 - Trustees meeting at house of William Woodward known by the name of Handsworth Tavern, situate near the church at Handsworth
1817 - Trustees meeting at Handsworth Tavern, house of William Woodward
1820 - sale of dwelling house known by the name of the Lamp Tavern previously occupied by Mr Woodward - see attachment below
1823 - Handsworth Tavern “at the house of ....Green” (presumably surname of landlord, first name was left blank in notice
1826 - refers to the Handsworth Tavern, house of William Green
1827 - refers to Handsworth Tavern, house of William Green
1829 - refers to Lamp Tavern, Handsworth in sale of nearby local farming stock
1832 - refers to Handsworth Tavern, no landlord mentioned (same in 1833 and 1834)
1840 - refers to Handsworth Tavern Mr Beeson as the contact for some Handsworth house rentals
1841 - refers to Handsworth Tavern, House of Robert Beeson. (Robert Beeson at the Handsworth Tavern continues to appear in extracts for 1844, 1845, 1846, 1849, 1850)
1847 - Lamp Tavern, inquest held there
1851 (Jan) - refers to Handsworth Tavern, Robert Beeson
1851 (Oct) - refers to Handsworth Tavern, Mrs Elizabeth Beeson and in 1855
1858 - refers to Handsworth Tavern, Mrs Elizabeth Beeson (she continues to appear at the Handsworth Tavern in 1861 and 1863)
1867 - report of an annual quoits match at the picturesque grounds of Mr Such’s Lamp Tavern, Handsworth, also announcement of a hammer throwing match at the tavern
1869 - advert for staff at Lamp Tavern, near Old Handsworth Church
1870 - Lamp Tavern, Handsworth Old Church, Mr Farrell advertising for staff
1870 - Lamp Tavern, bag robbed from table in tavern’s smoke room
1871 - known as Lamp Tavern in advert for staff
1878 - substantial dining room suite sold because room needed for other purposes at Lamp Tavern, Handsworth
1878 - inquest at Lamp Tavern, Handsworth of a newborn child found in Rectory grounds
1881 - Alfred Thomas Hale (husband of Sarah Hale below) Licensed Victualler (from 1881Census) (death Mar 1882) at the Lamp Tavern - listed between the School House and Chapel Hill House (George Muntz).
1883 - Mrs Sarah Hale - married Henry Howell noted below
1885 - inquest at Lamp Tavern on a newborn child found at Endwood Court
1890 - Lamp Tavern Henry Howell (from Kelly’s)
1892 and 1895 - Lamp Tavern, landlady Mary Ann Wilkinson convicted of permitting drunkenness on licensed premises in 1899. In 1894 a dead woman was brought into the Tavern and placed in smoke room, landlady suggested it was moved to the stables. Highlighted need for a mortuary
1900 - William Butler & Co Ltd (still there in 1905). The Company was fined for serious offence and allowing drunkenness on premises. See attachment below - “amongst the oldest premises in the parish”
1908 - Harry Bushell Church Hill, Hamstead road, Handsworth
1915 - Lamp Tavern Eric Rowland Bushell (from Kelly’s)
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Couple of additions

Lamp TavernW.jpg
 
The reason Boulton, Watt etc - Lunar Society - would have been found at the Lamp Tavern was that they were Trustees of the turnpike road, the house being specified as their meeting place. From the Handsworth History site :

Among the turnpike Trustees appointed for Handsworth were Sir Joseph Scott of Great Barr Hall,Mr Wyrley Birch, Lord Lewisham of Sandwell Hall, Mr. Matthew Boulton, Mr Francis Eginton, Mr James Watt and a number of other local residents. The place of meeting specified in the Act for the Trustees was the house of Mary Birch, the Lamp Public House in the parish of Handsworth

Presumably Wyrley Birch and Mary Birch were related. She was the wife of James Birch landlord in 1791.

Viv.
 
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