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The Bell Inn - Lozells Road

www.midlandspubs.co.uk

www.midlandspubs.co.uk

Pub Historian
The Bell Inn on Lozells Road may have gone but the building survives. And after looking into the history of the pub I'm wondering if somebody should apply to have a blue plaque mounted on the front wall. I'm fairly sure nobody has dug up this information previously but here is a pub that was run by a three-time winner of the F.A. Cup. The building was also graced by one of the world's greatest billiards players. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this: https://www.midlandspubs.co.uk/birmingham/lozells-road/bell-inn.htm
 
i have to say kieron that your information on our pubs and its landlords are super and your site is well worth a look at..must take you an age to gather it all your info in...and fancy a 3 times FA cup winner runnng the bell inn..acutally its surprising how many ex football players went into the pub trade..i shall be taking a closer look at this building soon..be interesting to see what the back of it is like...

lyn
 
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As Lyn says an excellent website with such a wealth of information. People today forget what a big part of life pubs were, a real social event sadly lacking today. My husband as a young teenager used to go to the Ward End and play dominoes in the G.O. with the elderly gents. He was too young to drink but they seemed to turn a blind eye he would have a half pint which would last most of the time he was there. He told me he learned a lot from these "old boys" as he called them. He has many happy memories of that time.
 
Astoness said:
i have to say aidan that your information on our pubs and its landlords are super and your site is well worth a look at..must take you an age to gather it all your info in...and fancy a 3 times FA cup winner runnng the bell inn..acutally its surprising how many ex football players went into the pub trade..i shall be taking a closer look at this building soon..be interesting to see what the back of it is like...

lyn
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Thanks Lyn But you're right, it does take ages to put it all together. But a message like yours and Wendy's makes it worthwhile. I want to move on to another area but I note that there are three more pubs in Lozells Road that I haven't covered so maybe I'll dawdle a bit more in the area.
 
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hi folks someone i know has just purchased this fantastic old bottle with the landord of the bells name on it and i want it lol...adam powell was the landlord from 1881 to at least 1888 leaving the pub by 1890 when j m knight became landlord..adam powell was a great supporter of billiards..setting up a billiards hall in the pub in 1885 and set up an exhibhition match between john roberts junior described as champion...(thanks for mike for this info) so we can easily date this bottle...i am also posting an old photo of the bell and as we see it is advertising billiards so i would think the photo was taken after 1885. not sure what would have been in the bottle but i dont think it would have been beer.more likely brandy or whiskey i would think....the last time i was down that way the bell was a carpet shop...

lyn
 

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photo of the bell inn..for all we know adam powell could be in this shot but no way of confirming this..
 

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also an ad advertising the exhibition match dated 1885
 

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The bottle looks like a whisky flask Lyn. Given the prominence of the ads in the window for whisky I'd say it's a good bet. Great photo too. Wondering what a 'smoking concert' is and what the game of 'pyramids' was. Viv.
 
Viv
Quoting from Wikipedia:
Pyramid pool, also called pyramids, was a form of pocket billiards (pool) mainly played in the 19th century. It was one of several pool games that were popular at this time (so called because gamblers pooled their bets at the start of play). This game had fifteen red balls that were racked in a triangle, as in snooker today but without the six coloured balls. Pyramid pool could be played by several players, with an agreed stake per ball potted, or with just two players in which case the first to pot eight balls would be the winner. The black ball from life pool was eventually added to the game, and it became black pool, one of the games that combined to form snooker.
 
Lyn

George Asbury was landlord from between 1895 - 1897 to 1900 -1901, so it wasn't Adam, unless he was visiting.
 
Thanks for the info Mike. The name on top of the pub is G A Asbury so presume this is George. Viv.
 
mikejee said:
Lyn

George Asbury was landlord from between 1895 - 1897 to 1900 -1901, so it wasn't Adam, unless he was visiting.
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mike this will teach me to be more observant lol....i didnt even notice the asbury name on that photo...my trouble is i see a photo and just post away...i agree viv..whisky or brandy..

many thanks mike
 
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Astoness said:
hi folks someone i know has just purchased this fantastic old bottle with the landord of the bells name on it and i want it lol...adam powell was the landlord from 1881 to at least 1888 leaving the pub by 1890 when j m knight became landlord..adam powell was a great supporter of billiards..setting up a billiards hall in the pub in 1885 and set up an exhibhition match between john roberts junior described as champion...(thanks for mike for this info) so we can easily date this bottle...i am also posting an old photo of the bell and as we see it is advertising billiards so i would think the photo was taken after 1885. not sure what would have been in the bottle but i dont think it would have been beer.more likely brandy or whiskey i would think....the last time i was down that way the bell was a carpet shop...

lyn
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well folks i said i wanted this bottle and i have just been given it...it will take pride of place now i am chuffed..

lyn
 
Hi I found this this thread intriguing but unfortunately I cannot follow it as the link in the original post by www.midlandspubs.co.uk has failed and I cannot find any reference to The Bell Inn Lozells Road on the www.midlandspubs.co.uk website.
The questions I have are 1) Who was the three time FA Cup winner who ran The Bell Inn? 2) When was that person the landlord; 3) Which club(s) did he play for when he won the FA Cup? and 4) Who was the great billiards player who visited the pub.
Also does anyone have dates for when the Bell Inn opened and closed. Thanks in advance
 
The billiards player was John Roberts Jr. The three times FA cup winner was Hugh McIntyre , who played for Blackburn Rovers. He was licensee from 1891-92. This information was originally from Kieron's midland pubs site
 
mikejee said:
The billiards player was John Roberts Jr. The three times FA cup winner was Hugh McIntyre , who played for Blackburn Rovers. He was licensee from 1891-92. This information was originally from Kieron's midland pubs site
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thanks mike and i still have that old pub bottle as shown on post 5 :) bet there are not many of these around now
 
Big mince pie at the Bell Inn in 1940. Viv.
 

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A refusal of licence transfer - on the basis there were already too many ‘sham tenants’ in Aston. Viv.
 

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