• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

the cross guns.washwood heath

B

billc

Guest
taken from an old calender
 

Attachments

  • Ward End Washwood Heath Rd Cross Guns (2).jpg
    Ward End Washwood Heath Rd Cross Guns (2).jpg
    163.4 KB · Views: 23
Used that a lot about 8 years back Bill and looking at that you can see how it was knocked down so the large grass area was at the front ...
Never seen it like that or a photo ....so thanks
 
made this one a bit brighter
hope it works
 

Attachments

  • Ward End Washwood Heath Rd Cross Guns (2).jpg
    Ward End Washwood Heath Rd Cross Guns (2).jpg
    171.3 KB · Views: 9
Thank's Bill , for that photo of 'The Cross Guns ' my Aunt and Uncle where the licencees of it during the War around 1944 Bill Trott and his wife Mickey , can remember it had a big back yard , I was around 10 years old on holiday , from Sir Josiah Masons Orphanage in Erdington and the Local Home Guard used it to practice throwing dummy wooden hand grenades , not too far away was a huge factory that turned out Tanks . Bill and Mick Trott later manageg the following pubs
"Trees Hotel" Queslett Rd opposite the old American Army Base and the "Beehive" in Bull Street opposite 'Greys" .:smile2:
 
Last time i was in the 'Guns' was for my sisters wedding in 1971.She worked at the bus depot next door so was probably one of the best customers..
 
Used that pub alot main reason worked at The Met for 25 years on train side......happy days:DMossy
 
I remember it well, used to live over the road. As you can see it was an Atkinsons house. That was 'our' bus stop into town on the 56. I can remember sitting outside for what seemed like hours with a bottle of lemonade and a bag of crisps, you know, the ones with the little blue wrap[later sachet] of salt in! Up the driveway and around the back of the pub were a row of cottages which I believe are still there.
I can remember my Dad and my Uncle used to attend meetings of the 'Buffs'[The Grand Order of Buffaloes] there. Would have been in the fifties/sixties.
It got demolished :cry:to make way for the dual carriageway which was to be built, before the Council went to war on the car! I wonder if all the compulsory purchase orders are still valid?
Directly to the left of the photograph was Washwood Heath bus depot, on left of the driveway.
 
The bus garage is now an Indian supermarket, my husband left the garage in about 1967 he was a driver.
 
The Cross Guns used to have a pretty decent angling club....I don't know... it sort of hurts to see and read about these happenings. I suppose I remember everything from 50 years ago and have to get used to it.
 
HI THERE TYLERE
I Have A Female Friend Of Mine WhomLives Down Here In Worcestershire
With Her Husband And They Run A Very Sucessful Car Business , In Pershore
Her Name Is Pam ,She Grew Up In That PuB, With Her Parents
At The Cross Guns We Often Talk About The Days Gone Bye
And When I Ran The Ward End Exservice mans Club , In Ward End ,
And ACOUPLE Of OtherPubs Around There ,
By Olly How That Erea AS Changed For The Worst
Still I Still Come Down To Phil,s The Barbers Every Couple Of Months
From Worc, On The Bordesly Green Rd And See My Old Mate Craig Dociety
The Gather At The Pub Across The Road FromSouthalls Alum Rock ,
Best Wushes ASTONIAN ,;;
 
Astonian, Have you ever been out shooting with Phil ? as he is a great shot with an up and over ...a good mate .........and did your mate once live in Small Heath as I knew his mother (Irish Descent)
If you shoot down your way maybe we could have a session (clays) one Sunday Morning loser buys the round .........
and I need to check the "Fleece" out............
But to get back On Thread do you know who made the iron cross guns that where outside the pub and who put them their ?....and I can tell you it was not me
 
Mossy my dad worked at the Met on the trains for a few years.I attend the Beaufort social club which used to belong to the Met,they have pics of the old Met on the wall in the main room.
 
I went Ward End Hall school with a girl that lived at the Cross Guns during 50s/60s. Her name was Diane can't remember her sir name.
 
Veegee,

That would be Diane Griffiths or Griffin, she was in the same year as my Sister Dorene who was a year above me. Happy days!:)
Bill.
 
Veegee,

That would be Diane Griffiths or Griffin, she was in the same year as my Sister Dorene who was a year above me. Happy days!:)
Bill.

Hi - yes you're quite right it was Diane Griffin. I remember your sister Dorene too.

A lad took me into the pub when I was 14, the first time I'd ever been in one. I think I had a lemonade.
icon11.gif


As you say happy days!
 
My grandmother's sister & husband, William & Winnie Harrison, ran the cross Guns in the 1920s. My Mum remembers it as a huge building with lots of small bars, a billiards room and a ball room where they held dog shows on Sundays. Nan used to go to help with the 80 - 100 lunches a day which they served to the workers from a nearby factory, Mum can't remember the name of that though. The bus depot was a tram depot back then!
 
My grandmother's sister & husband, William & Winnie Harrison, ran the cross Guns in the 1920s. My Mum remembers it as a huge building with lots of small bars, a billiards room and a ball room where they held dog shows on Sundays. Nan used to go to help with the 80 - 100 lunches a day which they served to the workers from a nearby factory, Mum can't remember the name of that though. The bus depot was a tram depot back then!

The factory you mentioned was probably Metro Cammell and Metro Cammell Weyman where they made trains and buses

Mossy
 
I passed the Cross Guns on Wednesday, there is a large banner outside saying "SAVE OUR PUB" so it seems another pub is under threat. I have never been in this pub, but a sad sign of the times.
 
I passed the Cross Guns on Wednesday, there is a large banner outside saying "SAVE OUR PUB" so it seems another pub is under threat. I have never been in this pub, but a sad sign of the times.
Hi Sylvia yes the houseing company who built on the white swan pub 200yrds down the road are after the site.Merry Christmas And Happy New Year.Roger
 
Thanks Roger for letting me know the reason for the possible closing, no doubt the developers will get their way. They usually do.
 
news_logo.gif

Probe halts pub development plan
By Nick Lawrence
BBC Inside Out, West Midlands


Plans by the UK's biggest pub company to convert a community pub into a housing development have been halted following a BBC investigation.
Programme makers uncovered a series of inaccuracies and misleading claims in Punch Taverns' planning application for the Cross Guns pub in Birmingham.
The application, which has attracted hundreds of objections, had been due to go before the local housing committee.
Punch said its application had been made in "good faith".
But once details of the investigation by BBC Inside Out West Midlands emerged, Birmingham City Council immediately halted the application whilst the claims could be investigated.
'Common sense'
Punch wishes to build 13 houses on the site of the pub in the Washwood Heath area of the city.


Cross Guns' landlord Craig O'Doherty said he was "absolutely delighted" by the news, adding "it's great that finally someone has used some common sense".
Mr O'Doherty has spearheaded a campaign which has seen 341 objections to the Punch plans, which would have seen the only pub in the ward of Washwood Heath close down.
One Cross Guns regular, 93-year-old Tommy Hyland, told the BBC that if the pub closed "life wouldn't be worth living because I'd be at home all the time".
He added: I couldn't go out anywhere [else], all the boys there and the girls there are very friendly with me. And I'm lost without it."
Most local authorities have strict guidelines relating to redevelopment of community pubs, and anyone wanting to convert a pub has a number of planning hurdles to overcome.
Viability study
Planning consultant Jonathan Phillips told Inside Out: "Typically you'd have to show that the use is not viable anymore so you'd have to make an assessment of the accounts.
"You would also have to see if the building was vacant and…if its been marketed at a reasonable market rate."
And critically, a survey of other available pubs in the community also needs to be undertaken.
"You'd need to do a road survey and look at each property that has consent for a public house to see if its in operation to see if its still in use," added Mr Phillips.
But Punch Taverns assessment of the pubs accounts and locally available pubs proved to be misleading and inaccurate.
The planning applications claims there are 23 pubs within a one mile radius of the Cross Guns. There are in fact six.
They claimed the nearest other pub, the Village Tavern, was 0.63 miles away.
However, this pub surrendered its licence in September 2007 and is currently being converted into a shop.
Punch also claimed that, following a period of closure since The Cross Guns reopened two years ago, the pub hadn't been profitable.
But landlord Craig O'Doherty said: "I've got audited accounts that anyone can see to show that this is a viable business."
Further investigation revealed that Punch Taverns had never seen Mr O'Doherty's accounts and had no idea whether the pub was profitable or not.
'Duty to shareholders'
Punch Taverns is currently is trying to pay down a £3bn debt, and has been actively selling off hundreds of pubs.
"We have a duty to shareholders to maximise returns and dispose of pubs where we believe we can realise greater economic value through disposals as opposed to continued operation," it told the BBC.
"Proceeds from these disposals are used to reinvest in our core estate and pay down debt.
"We never had any intention to mislead the planning authority and our application was made in good faith based on data from an industry leading third party."
So is this a one off? Punch told the BBC that they couldn't say how many planning applications in recent years had used this data but would take "learnings" from this investigation and would "review practices".
This story will be shown on BBC Inside Out West Midlands, on BBC One on Monday, 8 March at 1930 GMT.

Story from BBC NEWS:
https://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/8552457.stm

Published: 2010/03/08 01:55:08 GMT

© BBC MMX
 
I heard this on the radio it's very sad. Michael used to go there when it was the previous Cross Guns when he worked on the buses at Washwood Heath.
 
HI GUYS
I knew about the old cross guns threat ,and i have only just leart of it
and reading the BBC Report and the in put of my dear old friend and associate graig.s contribution
Craig is a highly proffessional bussiness man and a hard working one as well
he as many pubs under is belt and he his higly sort after in the tradeand been associated with the brewery as as far back as my self he.s had pubs up and down the countryand very succsful ones at that
i leart of craigs take over six months ago at the guns from a friend whom one or two of you
especialy the men may or not know phil the barber lynch ;
and i also knew the owners from the guns previously many years ago she grew up in there
craig as good influencual people behind him if they can same the guns they will indeed
best wishes to you all Astonian ;;;
 
Well it looks like its going the way of so many others
https://www.birminghammail.net/news...uns-in-washwood-heath-granted-97319-26151457/

My Nan and Granddad lived in Limetree Road for many years and I well remember the old "Guns" and the Swan.
It's just getting too depressing reading about how what I remember of Brum is disappearing.

Think I'll go round the local (Bar de la Frontera, so named because the boundary between Alicante and Murcia regions runs down the middle of the street!) and drown me sorrows.

Cheers, all.
 
I read in the Birmingham Mail the other night that despite all the objections, planning permission has now been granted.
 
Hi all. New to this. Lived at the pub in the 70's early 80's. Trying to view the images but without success. Can they be posted back on?
 
Hampton

I've no idea if this was one of the originals, but here it is.
 

Attachments

  • Ward End Washwood Heath Rd Cross Guns.jpg
    Ward End Washwood Heath Rd Cross Guns.jpg
    145.9 KB · Views: 40
Thanks. My parents had the pub and I remember it being knocked down and playing in the new one whilst it was being built. The new one was built behind the old one as I recall. Loved playing football on the huge carpark at the back.
 
Thanks. My parents had the pub and I remember it being knocked down and playing in the new one whilst it was being built. The new one was built behind the old one as I recall. Loved playing football on the huge carpark at the back.

The pub was demolished and rebuilt further back as part of the clearance for the new dual carriageway which had been on the drawing board for about 30 years, then everything changed and they de-trunked the road (A47) when they built the new road from Chester Road through to nowhere because they had then demolished the route into the City! You have to wonder about City planners don't you?
 
Back
Top