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The Queen's Head, Erdington

Barr_Beacon

The Prodigal Brummie
Sorry, no date for the photograph but the pub didn't appear to change much up to when I lived in Erdington in the 1980s.

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Hi Lyn,

Bit late replying but the pub has gone and has been replaced with a Tesco convenience store. Lots of memories from the early 60's for me. I think the building I knew wasn't the original. That's got me wondering how long the first one had been there. I think the Old Swan was a Georgian Building, judging by the style and they would both have been on the old turnpike road from Birmingham to Lichfield (built 1760's). I'll start looking for a picture of the original.
PS. Barr_Beacon - Couldn't open the image in the first post.
 
Spent a few happy hours trawling through the Erdington posts and found a picture on 'Erdington High Street' thread. Unfortunately all the original photos have been lost.
Post#8 by Mikejee - February 2011 (originally posted by IanFOFB) shows the old Queens Head. I've never seen this view before.
Also posting a view from the opposite side of Six Ways for comparison.
 

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I used to go to the Queens in the late 60's to see various bands, the part at the back was a separate ballroom / function area and it still had gas lights along the side of the walls!

I just did a google search and came up with this from an article on the Sutton Coldfield Local website about the Scouts gang show;

******

Rob Thomas, producer and director of the Gang Show said:

“We are not only celebrating the 50th Anniversary Gang Show but the Birmingham scene at its peak. Our cubs and scouts know why we are celebrating it. 50 years ago was the start of the Glam Rock era which obviously carried on into the 70`s. Birmingham was the hub for a lot of the bands such as Slade and Wizzard.”

Rob got the idea because his grandparents used to run a pub in Erdington called The Queens Head and his uncle and father ran a dance night called Peppers` Disco. Rb continued:

“These bands were appearing in the charts and Slade performed there when they were known as The N`Betweens. Noddy Holder and Roy Wood were at Peppers Disco with Wizzard. Robert Plant played there and Jeff Lynne from The Move and ELO. I just thought what a great way to link it all up with that little memory of how my family had helped influence the music scene in Birmingham and Erdington at that time for the 50th Anniversary Show. We want to celebrate that musical legacy in the Gang Show”.

*******

The uncle he is referring to would be Bob Thomas who used to manage a few of the Brum groups and used to run the Peppers Club.
I do remember him!
 
Phil, I'm not sure if that's the original picture but it's a good one of the pub I remember - I should think it is due to the car reference. They must have built the new pub, leaving the old one to be demolished after it was open, do you think?

A Sparks, I'm a bit before your time - more Denny & The Diplomats and Carl Wayne & The Vikings! That's a very interesting piece you've included and although I recall the name 'Peppers' I don't think I ever went there.
 
My grandpa used to keep the Queens Head before the first War so I was hoping to find some early photos. Sadly I guess they’ve all been lost apart from the two adjacent views posted.
 
The online electoral rolls give these clues to other landlords:
1920/2, Albert & Laura Butler;
1925, Samuel & Louisa Cole;
1927, Robert & Elizabeth Homer;
1935, William Johnson;
1939, Frank & Lillian Cooke;
1947, Walter & Dorothy Ensor;
1955, Walter Ensor;
1960, Margaret Collinson;
1962, Margaret Showell;
1965, Victor & Margaret Showell.
 
Sorting out my old pictures I found this one of the pub. It looks to be a clearer picture of the one in post #4. Perhaps someone could flatten it out a little please? I took it from a book on my phone.

Queens Head SCL.jpg
 
I've just been looking at this as I'd found a photograph of Six Ways elsewhere and was trying to get my bearings. I spotted the Queen's Head Inn sign and ended up here. The Queens Head was in Gravelly Hill North where the BP Petrol Station now stands. The photograph in post #12 is the first Queens Head which would have stood on the original building line. The photograph in #5 is of the second one which was probably built in the 1930s when the junction was altered. The Outer Circle bus route had been introduced in 1926 and I suspect it was getting busier here.
I have attached a photograph taken from Gravelly Hill North with the Queen's Head sign on the extreme left. In the distance is the High Street. Next is a map of Six Ways from 1937 showing both pubs.
Then there is a photograph with the "new" Queens Head on the left with the Ford dealership next to it and finally the BP Petrol Station on the site of the pub in 2019.
Although they built the pub and the shops up to the junction with Reservoir Road further back, it looks as if the plans to widen the road never happened.

Six Ways - Erdington - looking towards the High Street - c1920.jpgSix Ways - Erdington - map 1937 (showing old & new Queens Heads).jpgGeorge Hancox Car Dealership and Philip Jackson (Furniture) at Six Ways Erdington - 1960.pngGravelly Hill North - approacing Six Ways Erdington - April 2019.jpg
 
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