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Navigation Inn Erdington

A couple of newspaper extracts about the Navigation. First the obit of Percy Handsaker - once a Circus tamer. 901F98AE-3E1B-4159-A0CC-662474E0C6E5.jpeg

Secondly, the removal of the Inn - as a result of Road widening - from Bromford Lane to Tyburn Road. Viv.
AFC8E7D9-FD87-4D8F-B8FF-541F772C10B2.jpeg
 
that's brilliant! wonderful to get the image and the description and the full reference! Thanks so much
 
A relative of mine George Keen was landlord at The Navigation, not sure when. I think he might have been my Dad's cousin.
 
A relative of mine George Keen was landlord at The Navigation, not sure when. I think he might have been my Dad's cousin.
A strange coincidence, reading the newspaper article reporting the death of the Licensee Percy Handsaker, I knew a Percy Handsaker from Great Barr and later in Brownhills, I wonder if they are related?
 
Hi Roger, the building you refer to was in fact to the right of the picture, it is still there but only the walls remain. ( will get a picture later)
I have heard some strange stories of what some people thought it was.
but it was only a very regal kind of summer house with pointed roof and bench seating around the inside and opening out on to what was then, the gardens.
I've spent some hours in there as a youngster waiting for my parents to come out, it was their local. Brian
Hi Templer, you're right it is a summer house. I think it was an Ansells thing, when I ran the Four Oaks in Sutton Coldfield there was a similar one in the trees surrounding the carpark. It had been allowed to fall into disrepair as well. There was also a small rectangular one at the rear of the pub.
 
A bit late in joining this thread, but my great uncle, Percy Handsaker, ran The Navigation probably from the 1920s into the 1940s when he died. He trained lion and tiger cubs there for circuses and apparently took them for walks on leads around the surrounding streets. He also bred Dalmatians. His son, Walter, was an expert bareback rider and ran his own bareback riding act from about the age of 13. In about 1927 Walter did his act as part of a big police charity show at the Villa ground.
I’m Peter Handsaker’s granddaughter !
Grandad always talks to me about the history of his dad and the circus and I’ve just told him you commented this while I’ve been searching about it all
 
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