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White Lion Portway

I think it was probably the changing of the times and drinking habits Dek. The breath bag did not have that great an effect as people still drove to pubs and had a few but then the next generation,who did not really know pre breath rest days,tended not to drink and drive and it was then the out of town pubs went into decline.Like you say it could have been the economics of the time but it seemed that like the law of the jungle only the strong survive, and in the case of pubs the ones who diversified.In the early 60's I used to go to the free and easy on Sunday nights and you needed to be there just after 7 to be sure of getting a table.The main problem was Flowers Keg Bitter,alien to a brummie palate.
 
Thanks Bernie i,m glad it was at least rebuilt as i get older i seem to remember little snippets but not the full detail. Dek
 
Dek it's the excellent food, drink and welcoming atmosphere that make it worth finding your way to the Hollybush. We go there a lot but have to book for a weekend meal so gives some idea of how popular the place is..
Mike
 
Thanks Mike i will keep that pub in mind although i live the other side of town that area has always had a certain attractoin for me it,s etched in my memory since i was a Boy Scout and went camping at Weatheroak every weekend. Good times indeed. Dek
 
Hi

I can get you a photo of this pub. I will get it scanned and save the file and send it to you. My father used to own this pub until its demolition in the late 1980's.
 
pmc1947 said:
I heard the other day that the Rose & Crown was boarded up and fenced off (perhaps its being refitted) I hope so, and that half of The Cross & Bowling Green was now a curry house.

Phil
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Phil, last month the newly refurbished Rose & Crown opened it's doors to 'discerning diners'. I imagine it belongs to a pub/restaurant chain but which one is not evident from recent adverts in the Redditch papers. Must go there for a look.
Mike
 
I used to work at two stables years ago in between Portway and Bransons Cross and remember going to a cafe after work and am wondering if that would have been the one. Brings back happy memories. Hope you find the one you are looking for Mike F. Jean.
 
Mike

I might give the Rose & Crown a miss, I have become disillusioned of late by my experience of pub chain restaurants.

Phil
 
Hi

At long last, a couple of photos of the White Lion, my dad owned it for a good 20 years, although i cannot remember the name of the manager, if anyone has any memories of drinking in the pub in the 1970's and early 1980's it would be great to hear them. I always remember sneaking out the back to the Wild West town next door as a child


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Mike Fisher said:
Hi

I know it's not in Birmingham but it is close.
Does anyone have a picture of the White Lion on the Alcester Rd Portway just south of Wythall ?
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Great pictures Justin - would be ok if I copy them and send them to my sister - she used to use that pub a lot in the 70's & 80's - I think she met her hubby there.

Polly :)
 
Justin great photos i had a caravan just outside Bidford in the late 60s- 70s before the Bi-pass was built i used to always stop there on a Friday night for a pint and a packet of crisps for the kids after they finished the Bi-pass i just sort of got used to driving straight past it was a lovely pub. From your photo it looks in a good state of repair what happened??did the Bi-pass kill it of or was it something else. Dek
 
Thanks very much, no problem at all, any memories your sister may have, I will pass them onto my Father. I have just looked at some old family cine film from the 1970's and the function room was called The Portcullis Suite
 
dek carr said:
Justin great photos i had a caravan just outside Bidford in the late 60s- 70s before the Bi-pass was built i used to always stop there on a Friday night for a pint and a packet of crisps for the kids after they finished the Bi-pass i just sort of got used to driving straight past it was a lovely pub. From your photo it looks in a good state of repair what happened??did the Bi-pass kill it of or was it something else. Dek
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Thanks Dek, we had the pub until about 1985, but trade dwindled and being such a big pub so may be something to do with the bi-pass, i am sure it was demolished in the early 1990's and as you say now its the White Lion Park, for a long time the original sign was still hanging at the front whilst the rest of the pub was rubble, sad really as it was a lovely looking pub.
 
Hi All. Anne and I had our Wedding Reception at The White Lion at Portway in Mar 1967. Don`t remember a great deal about it except that they treated us very well. Sit down meal for about 80 guests at 15 shillings and sixpence per head ! Then off to Tenby for our three day honeymoon ! Still together. Happy days.
 
Hi, I would love a photo of the white lion, portway if possible, I used to go to dances there in late 60s, it was wonderful, there was a band called Phil Phillips that used to play, if they are still going they must be quite old! I have many happy memories, if you could provide a photo I would be most grateful perhaps you could email to me its sheila******* thank you


Note - Email removed - if anyone has any information please contact Sheila via Instant Message (IM)
 
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I am trying to obtain photos of the inside of the white lion, portway, I used to go to dances there about 1968/1969, do you remember the band called Phil Phillips, did you have them at your reception, as you must have been in the ballroom rather than the pub, if you have any photos I would be most grateful if you could email them to me if at all possible, I have managed to get a picture of the outside of the pub, but none of the inside, thank you, sheila
 
In answer to your question Mike, yes I DO have a photo of The White Lion, but unfortunately it's in long-term storage with a lot of my other old stuff, so I can't access it right now.
It was a bit of a sad picture anyway, taken when it was all boarded-up and disused. I remember that place VERY well, as in 1989 I had the idea of taking over the lease of it and turning it into a music venue that served food. I only discovered it by accident, when I was going to the scrapyard that was opposite it just a bit up the road to get some spares for my Allegro- I asked one of the scrapyard lads about it, all he could tell me was that it belonged to one of the breweries and had been shut down for about 3 years by then.
I approached the estate agents who were handling the leasehold on it and they sent me a booklet about it- unfortunately, what stymied my plan was that the tenant had to pay for all necessary renovation work out of their own pocket as part of the lease agreement. I was only 20 at the time, and no bank would have given me a loan at that age, so that was the end of that. I still have the booklet though.

I'm really sad to hear that it's been demolished, but I half-expected even back then that that's what would happen to it eventually. Do you know when it was knocked down?:blue:
 
If it's The White Lion on the Alcester Rd. then this would probably figure- I remember happening upon it by accident in the Summer of '89 when it was already boarded up and in a sorry state. I had an idea of taking it over myself, but I was too young really at the time- I don't imagine it would have lasted much longer. See my posting on Page 4 for more details.
 
hi guys ;
its early in the morning at the moment but i cannot get my brain into gear but i am reluctant to say ;to you ;
that i travel up and down that bye pass quite often and i recall the vets and the white lion pub ; unless i am mistaken i do beleive that pub is still there ; well if it as gone then i will eat my hat ;but at some point today i will be going that way ; as its the was i go to brum and work ;
so i will make a special attention to be looking for it and i will be reporting back to say yes i was wrong or yes i am correct ;
i know years ago the car bussiness ;and the scrap yard was owned and run by a guy called knowle a very nice guy ;a wealthy guy
and he still lives in the village as done for donkeys years i have also bn to hs house in the village ;
i beleive he sold the scrap yard bussiness and he got married to a very well known lady by the name of angela; i will not mention her surname
but she is of a jewish origin ;and she was married to a well known jewish man whom also keeps and big grocery shop in birmingham today ;
nowle and her knew each other for years before getting wed; and angie used to run an estate bussiness and wel known;
but getting back to the white lion and the bye pass i travel up and down most days ;
so i will keep my eyes peeled i know there was a pub boarded up it could have been the inkeford ; or some think like that ;
best wishes astonian;;
 
Alan the Pub, as is stated earlier in the thread, is long long gone and is now a Circus folk site. I have a friend who lives in one of the cottages just along from where it stood. Salt and Pepper with that Hat or 'Au Naturale' if you prefer:friendly_wink:

Here is the response I got from Guy a while back - "Oh no the white lion was demolished about 20 years ago. The site is now occupied with fair ground people

Best Regards".

Looking at Google Earth the Pub was already gone in 1999. I gleaned this info while trying to find photos -

THE WHITE LION PARK RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION LTD. DETAILS:

Fair And Amusement Park Activities ​

Alan you need to travel the old part of the road to view it properly.
 
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GOD MORNING BERNIE
Many thanks for informinging me of the situation i knew of the white lion ;but not of the old way view
our old friend mentioned pink green ; but surely that is furher towards the bottom end of the bye pass
as you come up from mapple green by studley ; onto the bye pass ?,
thanks again bernie ; have your self a cracking day ; best wishes astonian;; alan ;;
 
I have nothing to contribute to the White Lion story but can I just say how nice it's been, seeing the names of all those places that were within cycling range of my home when I was a kid.
Gorcott Hill....we were never able to get up THAT monster, not until we got bikes that had gears anyway !
 
Hi many thanks for your reply about the white lion, if eventually you do find the photo of the boarded up White Lion I would love to have a copy, also I would love to see the brochure for the estate agent if you have any way of scanning. Any info I can find I am grateful for. I think it was demolished about 1989 I was working in Redditch and someone told me it was being knocked down, I went to have a look and there wasnt anything left, no rubble nothing, I must admit I shed a tear. Memories of dancing to Phil Phillips and his band came flooding back (does anyone know of them or remember them). I used to go every Saturday and Sunday night to the dances there. They had one of the best ballrooms in the county. Only the Tower Ballroom could compete. I think even if you had taken the pub on you would have had problems, as the dual carriageway cut off all passing trade. Until then it was a thriving pub, with excellent meals, catering for Weddings and the popular dances there. Apparantly I heard it got very derelict and also rat infested. What a way for it to end its days, very sad. Any more info you have I would be most interested, thank you:fat:
 
Colin B said:
The only White Lion pub I know locally is the one at Astwood Bank, been there a few times, which is about 10 miles away from Portway, however Google lists a White Lion Park, Alcester Road, Portway, a showman's site.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/159260

Colin
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thanks col...this explains a lot for me then..i was thinking it was a pub called the white lion as on the 1911 i have my grandads brother down as a travelling shows assistant and on his army records his address is white lion alcester road portway....

lyn
 
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The landlord of the White Lion during the 1st World War and into the20s was my great grandfather George Ford.His and my great grandmother’s families had lived in the Gun Quarterand various streets in the vicinity of Aston University since the 1840s. By theearly 20[SUP]th[/SUP] Century they were fairground people.My Grandpa came from Ledsam Street, Ladywood. He joined the fair inthe 1900s and met George’s daughter, who became my grandmother. By 1917 when Grandpa was called up for thearmy, the family had settled at the White Lion, together with my greatgrandparents. After the war, Grandpa set up theLion Garage (Now Portway Garage) just north of the White Lion on the AlcesterRoad. He ran this till retiring in the early 50s. My Dad told me about his grandfatherGeorge running the White Lion. Apparently George had a wooden leg, so that whenDad annoyed him on purpose, he was able to get away. I have no idea when Georgeleft the pub or even when he died. When one of my cousins married in1965, the reception was held at The White Lion.
 
Rushburn said:
The landlord of the White Lion during the 1st World War and into the20s was my great grandfather George Ford.His and my great grandmother’s families had lived in the Gun Quarterand various streets in the vicinity of Aston University since the 1840s. By theearly 20[SUP]th[/SUP] Century they were fairground people.My Grandpa came from Ledsam Street, Ladywood. He joined the fair inthe 1900s and met George’s daughter, who became my grandmother. By 1917 when Grandpa was called up for thearmy, the family had settled at the White Lion, together with my greatgrandparents. After the war, Grandpa set up theLion Garage (Now Portway Garage) just north of the White Lion on the AlcesterRoad. He ran this till retiring in the early 50s. My Dad told me about his grandfatherGeorge running the White Lion. Apparently George had a wooden leg, so that whenDad annoyed him on purpose, he was able to get away. I have no idea when Georgeleft the pub or even when he died. When one of my cousins married in1965, the reception was held at The White Lion.
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hello patrick and welcome to the forum..nice to see you posting...just to let you all know that patrick found me on here yesterday and through exchanging family info it turns out that his grandad and my grandad were brothers...so once again family that we didnt know existed has been united and im so chuffed...patrick if you need any help with anything just ask as there are some very knowledgable folk on here..

lyn
 
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Hi Justin I think you sent me a couple of photos of the white lion portray one an aerial view the other of the front. Unfortunately my computer broke and they were lost. Is there any chance you could resend. I would be most grateful. Thank you Sheila
 
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