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The Woodman

I'm so happy this place has re-opened, such a beautiful old pub. I have very fond memories of nights in this pub and can't wait to visit it again.
 
Crescent moon over The Woodman as Ice Skate Birmingham gets dismantled again. The big wheel is down. Just the base to dismantle (ice rink also needs to come down).



(Lots of old Photobucket photos above need replacing / recovering.)

Didn't want to post this on the HS2 thread.
 
So much for promises that it would be retained. Not the fault of the occupiers, but the contractors and planners. No doubt there will be some glitzy modern bar included in the plans like a flashy Bar-one.
 
Oh dear,

Just after my RCHS group had booked the upper room for talks through to March 2023. So we have to find another venue for Saturdays.

When we went down there it was quiet and getting there is only by walking, at present.
 
sad news jan but to be expected as not much survives the path of HS2 as mike has just said we had it from the horses mouth that this pub would not suffer and as i said at the time...seeing is believing....once again brummies have been sold down the river by the powers that be and have lost another pub the other one was the eagle and tun which was also meant to be saved...oh and i nearly forgot the fox and grapes

lyn
 
I was thinking not so long ago, how nice it would have been to have had such a traditional pub available, when HS2 eventually does begin running, for those using Curzon Street.
 
As I remember from what Lyn said, the pub would be incorporated into the station. I would be interested to know if the plans used for building have already been changed . If so, then when they were changed
 
John L said:
I was thinking not so long ago, how nice it would have been to have had such a traditional pub available, when HS2 eventually does begin running, for those using Curzon Street.
Click to expand...
yes agreed john and this was the point i put to HS2 at many of the meetings i attended years ago...many promises and many years later we can all see now that it all fell on deaf ears..
 
I've happy memories of relaxing there with colleagues and students and poetry readings in the upstairs room. It isn't surprising, is it? The Woodman will be missed especially by the BCU community. :(
 
Heartland said:
Oh dear,

Just after my RCHS group had booked the upper room for talks through to March 2023. So we have to find another venue for Saturdays.

When we went down there it was quiet and getting there is only by walking, at present.
Click to expand...
They have a back room at their other pub the White Swan Bradford Street but Blues fans there match day Saturdays.
 
Heartland said:
Oh dear,

Just after my RCHS group had booked the upper room for talks through to March 2023. So we have to find another venue for Saturdays.

When we went down there it was quiet and getting there is only by walking, at present.
Click to expand...
Heartland said:
Oh dear,

Just after my RCHS group had booked the upper room for talks through to March 2023. So we have to find another venue for Saturdays.

When we went down there it was quiet and getting there is only by walking, at present.
Click to expand...
The White Swan back room not always that busy to be honest apart from match days.
 
JohnJames said:
During the mid seventies I worked at the British Rail parcel depot behind the old Curzon St station. We spent a fair bit of time in the Woodman especially in the winter months during the evenings when trains were often delayed. Thought nothing of having four or five pints and then going back and unloading a parcel train.
Click to expand...
Hello, I wonder if you're on Facebook and would mind posting your memoires of this place and time to our page? I bet you've got some good stories to tell! https://www.facebook.com/CurzonStreetReflections
 
Is it to be abandoned and demolished like the Eagle and Tun, or is it simply awaiting new operators? However, in the current climate of out of control energy prices, it would take a brave person to take it on. Or maybe a very wealthy real ale enthusiast in search of a hobby! Very sad. I don't live in the UK and was last in the Woodman in January 2020. A Kind of pilgrimage, remembering more youthful days in this pub.
 
Thank you John. If you'd be happy to share memories for me to post there I'd really appreciate it?
 
COPA said:
Thank you John. If you'd be happy to share memories for me to post there I'd really appreciate it?
Click to expand...
A little hazy really. I worked at the BR parcels depot on a three shift system for a few months in 1975 and got to know the Woodman because of that. I was aged 20 and was yet to find a path in life. This was one of my last "dead end" jobs before I finally got my act together (luck helped as well) and managed to join an organisation that gave me some great opportunities and a career that lasted through to retirement. However I did enjoy my time working for BR and going to the Woodman. My fellow Parcel Porters were a diverse bunch. Old school Brummies, Student Teachers, Sikhs, Hindus, Hippies and a well spoken poet from London. We all rubbed along well. I often wonder what happened to them all. That's about it really!
 
JohnJames said:
Is it to be abandoned and demolished like the Eagle and Tun, or is it simply awaiting new operators? However, in the current climate of out of control energy prices, it would take a brave person to take it on. Or maybe a very wealthy real ale enthusiast in search of a hobby! Very sad. I don't live in the UK and was last in the Woodman in January 2020. A Kind of pilgrimage, remembering more youthful days in this pub.
Click to expand...
Hi JohnJames,
The freeholder appears to be Birmingham City Council, rather than a brewery. As far as I know the pub is closed indefinitely and no future plans have been announced. It is next to a massive building site that is HS2, with noise and dust, so we may have to wait for some years to see what develops. The Curzon Street Hub won't be operational until 2033.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/wh...gallery/ten-years-stress-woodman-pub-24733089
 
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as i said in my post 37 just more empty promises saying this pub would not suffer due to HS2...sorry but i for one will never believe a word said from either HS2 or BCC regarding our historical buildings...my feeling is providing the woodman can stay in one piece for about 10 years then it may have a chance of re opening have to say this is a very big ask and as they say seeing is believing

lyn
 
just a little snap shot of the plans i was given by HS2...as you can see the eagle and tun was to be retained....now demolished

HS2 PLANS.png
 
At the minute HS2 website says 'Curzon Square: This area will reflect its historic setting and buildings and complement the setting of Eastside City Park. It provides an enhanced setting for the Grade I listed former Curzon Street Station and Grade II listed Woodman pub' But websites can change in a few key strokes. Who knows the fate of The Woodman? Or old Curzon Street Station Building for that matter? Perhaps the facades? Perhaps demolition and a plaque?
 
had to laff at this line

'Curzon Square: This area will reflect its historic setting and buildings and complement the setting of Eastside City Park.

at this rate we have no historic buildings to reflect on...only time will tell

lyn
 
Stokkie said:
Hi JohnJames,
The freeholder appears to be Birmingham City Council, rather than a brewery. As far as I know the pub is closed indefinitely and no future plans have been announced. It is next to a massive building site that is HS2, with noise and dust, so we may have to wait for some years to see what develops. The Curzon Street Hub won't be operational until 2033.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/wh...gallery/ten-years-stress-woodman-pub-24733089
Click to expand...
Clearly at this time due to the major building works around the Woodman, it is not viable as a profit earning pub. Hopefully the iconic building will survive and we may see the Woodman rise up from the Ashes. It has done so before!
 
Stokkie said:
Hi JohnJames,
The freeholder appears to be Birmingham City Council, rather than a brewery. As far as I know the pub is closed indefinitely and no future plans have been announced. It is next to a massive building site that is HS2, with noise and dust, so we may have to wait for some years to see what develops. The Curzon Street Hub won't be operational until 2033.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/wh...gallery/ten-years-stress-woodman-pub-24733089
Click to expand...
Thank you. Hopefully the city council will appriciate that this little pub is a part of Birmingham's historic fabric. A fabric that to put it mildly, has been downplayed and degraded by successive city councils. Time for them to catch up, maybe?
 
I'd like to be optimistic, that the Woodman won't suffer the fate of The Fox and Grapes, a 'mysterious fire' that consumes inconveniently placed historic buildings in the way of development... My 5/- would be on a historic frontage to an entirely new bar. From 2013:
'Birmingham City Council, which owns the Woodman site, said it was not certain what the future of the building was, although its listed nature meant that it was quite possible it would continue to trade as a pub.
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: “They are still finalising the details – it’s just for a couple of years. Once Eastside is developed we will look at options for that building.
“Obviously a pub is one of the things it could be long-term.”' https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/listed-birmingham-pub-woodman-open-3933262
 
hi stokkie...lets hope you are right..would be great to retain it as a pub considering the lack and loss of them...but as ever and given past promises made and broken this remains to be seen

lyn
 
Astoness said:
hi stokkie...lets hope you are right..would be great to retain it as a pub considering the lack and loss of them...but as ever and given past promises made and broken this remains to be seen

lyn
Click to expand...
Yes, Lyn, I agree with you that leaving The Woodman unoccupied for years clearly makes it vulnerable. It is very close to old Curzon Street station. My last BCC quote was from 2013 and the pub was preserved, but we don't know what will happen to this building especially after the development of the Curzon Street Hub. I think that is supposed to be in 2033. I guess it is positive that it has survived so far. Promises are fragile, websites can be altered and buildings can be delisted and demolished. :mad:
 
Stokkie said:
Yes, Lyn, I agree with you that leaving The Woodman unoccupied for years clearly makes it vulnerable. It is very close to old Curzon Street station. My last BCC quote was from 2013 and the pub was preserved, but we don't know what will happen to this building especially after the development of the Curzon Street Hub. I think that is supposed to be in 2033. I guess it is positive that it has survived so far. Promises are fragile, websites can be altered and buildings can be delisted and demolished. :mad:
Click to expand...
totally agree stokkie and again i highlight my post on this thread with map saying the eagle and tun would be incorporated into the station as we all know it was recently demolished...any road up fingers crossed for the woodman as promises are easily made..keeping them is another thing..

lyn
 
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