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Stonebridge Hotel

Don't know if this adds much but had a look at a magnification of the sign in the photo and the hotel was an ACU hotel - Auto Cycle Union. There's a couple of cycles behind the horse in the photo. The note on the photo suggests it had something to do with a wedding but people wore corsages for many other reasons too so may not necessarily have been. Maybe they'd been to the hotel because it was connected to some ACU special event? Although they do seem to have luggage with them.

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And here's the ACU website link. Formerly the Auto Cycle Club, it acquired its new name 'Auto Cycle Union' in 1907. Viv.

https://www.acu.org.uk/general/about-the-acu.aspx
 
A few more photos of the Stonebridge Hotel, it was certainly well liked by motorists and cyclists.
 

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The Stonebridge Hotel was a popular meeting place for motorcycles and cycles in the 1950, the cyclists used to have time trials on the Kenilworth Road.
 
Yes Nick. All the photos certainly seem to bear that out. Very popular place from the time it was a horse and cart coaching inn, through to cycling and motor cars. The expansion of the hotel from coaching inn to the enormous hotel it became is striking. And with a ballroom too. Bet it was one of 'the' places to be seen at. - well by younger people. Viv.
 
I notice on the original Stonebridge Hotel photo, a very early type of motor vehicle, its mid ground near some parked cycles, to the left as you view the photo. Paul
 
A few more pics of the Stonebridge. As kids we used to cycle to the pub and do a spot of fishing in the Blythe behind it. I believe it was demolished in the early 60's.
 

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Sorry to show my ignorance but why was the lovely pub demolished?
I thought I should have seen it , if only in passing, but then thought that it may have gone before my time..
Thanks in anticipation, Tim.
 
I have'nt a clue why it was demolished, perhaps it was no longer making any money, it had probably seen better days. One thing is certain, the land was never built on, even to this day. They built a flyover the Stonebridge island but that was a good while after the pub was demolished.

Terry
 
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Paul thanks for pointing out the early motor car on the picture. I thought it looked like a very fancy cycle!

And thanks for the scales info Richie, think I'll plump for the ladies/gents interpretation!

Terry on your last picture the hotel (or maybe an entrepreneurial petrol company?) had splashed out on installing petrol pumps, complete with ornate canopy indicating 'Filling Station'. This all shows a wonderful piece of local history starting from small coaching inn through to the heady days of early motoring. Viv.
 
I think that Vivienne may be correct though the flyover came much later than the replacement building. The traffic Island that stood there prior to the flyover would have taken up a lot more land than the original cross roads or maybe smaller traffic island that I presume was originally there. As a Kid I must have passed it many a time on the way to London to visit Grandparents and Aunt but by that time I was probably bored and asking "Are we there yet?" of my poor parents.

By the mid Sixties I was driving past it 2 or 3 times a week and it was as it is now other than the road eventually using the flyover. Used to occasionally use the car park to leave the car at wand travel on with a colleague.
 
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There have been several references to the ACU in the posts about the Stonehouse. The ACU is still the governing body for motorcycle sport in this country.
 
I think the Stonebridge closed in the early to mid sixties, probably because the flyover diverted most of the passing trade and pubs in those days relied on passing trade for the normal day to day running of the business. Being a hotel if it had only waited until the mid seventies then it could have taken advantage of the hotel shortage caused by the new NEC just up the road.
 
Phil there is a Toby Carvery still in place at Stonebridge.

Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk
 
This is the present Toby Stonebridge Carvery
Stonebridge Carvery.jpg
I think this picture taken from Google Street View is too far back from A45 to be the original Stonebridge Hotel but sure a building looking like that is not a modern building
 
It is not claimed to be the original but the one that was built to replace the original when the Traffic Island was enlarged. It is certainly not an old building rather built in the old style.
 
QUOTE=BernardR;536572]It is not claimed to be the original but the one that was built to replace the original when the Traffic Island was enlarged. It is certainly not an old building rather built in the old style.[/QUOTE]

It's also the other side of the Island Bernard.....

Stonebridge Hotel Map.JPG[
 
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The road at the front of that picture is the slip road from the A45 down to the island below the flyover, not the main A45. I can remember the Hotel as being like that, with slight modifications , for at least 30 years, maybe more.
 
Bernard

You are talking about the Old Malt Shovel as it was called before it was taken over by the Toby Restaurant chain. I had many a good meal there before it was taken over. These chains take over good restaurants that have a good trade because they do good food and when they start churning out their standardised meals the trade drops off. Perhaps that was another reason why the Stonebridge closed the completion from the Malt Shovel in the early sixties.
 
Phil said:
Bernard

You are talking about the Old Malt Shovel as it was called before it was taken over by the Toby Restaurant chain. I had many a good meal there before it was taken over. These chains take over good restaurants that have a good trade because they do good food and when they start churning out their standardised meals the trade drops off. Perhaps that was another reason why the Stonebridge closed the completion from the Malt Shovel in the early sixties.
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Phil, I live not too far from there and have done since 1958, but I can't ever remember the Malt Shovel doing food like they do now, the odd sandwich and cobs perhaps. It's a carvery now and we go there on a regular basis. It's quite popular, especially on a Sunday.

Was the flyover built as recent as this suggests?....https://www.cnplus.co.uk/news/03feb94-uk-tilbury-flyover-stonebridge-west-midlands/963210.article

Terry
 
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Terry

The original Flyover built in the 60's has been changed, and altered on a couple of occasions. When I used the Malt Shovel it would have been on Friday Nights in the early 60's. We used it for quite a while until we stopped going when it changed to hands, was it bought out by another chain before changing to a Toby. All I know is we used to have our meal early because it got so packed and leave for somewhere quieter before heading out clubbing.
 
More cyclists (and motorists?) hanging out at the Stonebridge. The building attached to the hotel has 'Rex' on a plaque over the doorway. Would this have been for the Kings coronation? Viv.
image.jpeg
 
There was a lot of discussion on another thread about the Hotel, so I have merged it all together under this thread.

Re. the picture in #56 what was a "Vacuum Motor Car" . Vacuum motor car oils seem to have been available at the hotel. Viv.
 
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