• 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

The Bell Ladywood + Queens Head, Aston

G

garfage

Guest
Hi, my Mum and Dad were in the pub game and ran several pubs in Brum and The Black Country early 1960s - mid 1980s. I am trying to visit the sites as part of a remembrance of them and two of the earliest I can't find traces of: The Queens Head (?), Aston, where my Dad, Jimmy Flood, was if not gaffer then at least head barman type job I believe, early 1960s, and The Bell, Ladywood, arond 1968 to 1970 possibly. The latter I remember from childhood as being opposite a big urban recreation ground - 'The Rec' - and I think there was a nearby, rival, boozer, The Grapes?

Does anyone recall these establishments and where their sites are today, if as I suspect they have been knocked down?

cheers
 
Welcome to the forum Garfage. There are several Queens Heads, at least two of which could perhaps be considered Aston. i think you'll ahve to try and think of some more details, unless any of our forum remembers your dad.
As far as the Bell is concerned, I attach to maps, one about 1913, on which the Bell is marked in red on King Edwards Road, and the other from Google. You will see from the google map that the area has been altered considerably, but i have marked the position of The Bell in blue (with an arrow pointing to it). I'm sure the building has gone however, as you suspected. I think the other pub you were thinking of nearby was the Vine not the Grapes), which was just up the road on the corner of Garbett st.
the picture shows King Edwards Rd, with alexandra st off to the left. The caption tells us that the boy on the left is standing just outside th eBell, but this is off the picture. The vine is at the far end of the buildings on the right
mike

King_edward_Road_2C_bell_just_out_of_site_on_left.jpg


The_bell2C_king_edwards_st_c_1914.jpg
 
I used to know a flood family, well the boys anyway, they lived round the corner from us, I cant think of the road but it was by the fair ground, and their names wont come to me yet but I am sure Jean will remember, they knoked around with the Avery's.
 
Moning Pat. Yes I do remember the Flood twins and have coresponded with one on Friends re-united. I think it was Michael. It has been about a year since he got in touch. Bye. Jean.
 
HI GARFAGE
Your memory was correct it was the bell on the corner of
king edwards rd and it was also facing alexander road and anderton street
it was also next to the rec fairly big size one at that i remember jimmy
vey well,the akie at the rec almost killed himself one day
he got him self drunk in the bell went back across the road to the park
and went back to his hut he bought a bottle of dettol
and because he kept a bottle of whisky with him at most times
he mistook the dettol for his whisky it put him out cold they found him on
the floor the kids phoned the ambulance and rushed him to hospital
they saved him then they sacked him they brought in horris with is big
hercules bike he was a retired police officier from digbeth police station
he was a tall chap and very strict with the kids he never stood for any
playing up or mitreatment of the apparatus in the rec and yes it was the
vine further down the king edwards rd by garbett st and hickmans
and the old church and just a little further nelson st school
at the time i think it was a mr ingram whom was the head of the school
whom later became head of the education in b,ham
other people i rember are the cooks .the gregory s the vernons
the senneys and the southerns the bennits ,there is a load more
but to many to mention by the way patty and jean i also remember
the averys whom i knew very well i have alot of good memorys of that
area hipkisis factory was also along side the rec
have a nice day every body best wishes astonian ;;
 
mikejee said:
Welcome to the forum Garfage. There are several Queens Heads, at least two of which could perhaps be considered Aston. i think you'll ahve to try and think of some more details, unless any of our forum remembers your dad.
As far as the Bell is concerned, I attach to maps, one about 1913, on which the Bell is marked in red on King Edwards Road, and the other from Google. You will see from the google map that the area has been altered considerably, but i have marked the position of The Bell in blue (with an arrow pointing to it). I'm sure the building has gone however, as you suspected. I think the other pub you were thinking of nearby was the Vine not the Grapes), which was just up the road on the corner of Garbett st.
the picture shows King Edwards Rd, with alexandra st off to the left. The caption tells us that the boy on the left is standing just outside th eBell, but this is off the picture. The vine is at the far end of the buildings on the right
mike
Click to expand...


Hi mikejee, You are absolutely right.
The Bell was on the corner of King Edwards Road and The shorter of the two Anderton Streets.
Opposite was the recreation area bordered by Anderton, King Edwards and Goodman Street.
It was commonly known as the 'Rec'.
The other public house was 'The Vine', at the corner of King Edwards Road and Garbett Street.
The Bell was also an Ansells Pub.

ladywood
 
Yes, this was definitely our pub - we lived there from 1964 to 1968, and it was definitely an Ansells pub as that's the brewer my Dad worked for most of his career as a licensee. I don't know about any Flood twins, not our family anyway, and I definitely remember The Rec, though by the 1960s its original grassy Victoria presence had become a bit of a concrete jungle.

I also definitely remember bombsites next door to the pub that were still there in the mid 1960s.

The Queens Head my Dad ran in the early 60s was in Spring Hill (?) Brum - but again I think that's gone. Does Spring Hill count as Aston or does it even still exist as a location?
 
hi garfage
i remember him at the queens that was our starting block
when they openend at 10 30 in the morning it was only a small pub
it done very well i lived up the pasage of spring hill
by prices the cutley makers
best wishes astonian ;;
 
Hello Mr Astonian, do you really (remember him) that's so cool!!

Is it still there? If I wanted to go to the site, where am I looking?

CHEERS
 
Hi Garfage
The queens head would be the pub in blue on the 1914 map. its present position is shown in red on the google map. Street view shows green grass where the pub was with flats in the background
mike


map_c_1914__spring_hill_and_ingleby_st_showing__Queens_Head2C_spring_hill___and_white_Swan2C_ingleby_st__in_1930.jpg


overlay_ingleby_st_2_showing_Queens_Head.jpg
 
hi garfage
yes i am proud to say i did know him and it was a cracking little pub
always packed with all of us , [ that being locals ] and with the stools out side
and all having a great laugh and singing the table by the door was the domino table
beleive me he was a great gather ,garface unfortunaley the pub is no longer there
but spring hill passage is still there in fact the whole place as been brutalise
there are pubs or shops left along the spring hill its a main dragg
as i am going out now i will try and dig you somthink out ok
and it will be on in a couple of days time best wishes astonian ,;;;
 
Hi Garfage,

I remember your father very fondly he was a pal of my dads. He served me to my first real pint when I was nearly 17 (until then my dad only bought me shandy). My mom used to sing in the smoke room of a weekend and floody, as he was known to me, always enjoyed the craic. I know that my mom and dad visited him at a pub in the black country with my sister and brother in law. He will remember the name and I will get it to you.

I can remember playing darts and dominoes with people like Tommy Miley, Brendan Breslin, Con Regan, Terry Yeomans, the Hills in the main bar area that was on King Edwards Rd - the Smoke was in Little Anderton St. I did not have to walk far as we lived in the first house on the left going up big Anderton St.

Here is a picture of the Bell from 1967 when Jimmy would have been there

Hope this is of interest to you
Regards George
 
Wow, thanks George and you're right, he was 'Floody' to the world and thanks for the pic - we all would have been living there in 1967 in fact!!
Cheers!
 
hibass player
many thanks for the cracking pic of the bell
and when i read your thread it certainly brought memorys flooding back
to the old days especialy when i read the names of the guys
you played the darts and dommies with as i knew them as well
and more so of terry yeomans, we was great school buddy,
we went to school together and socialized after school
the other thre lads that hung around with at school and after school
was david allen,edgar southeren , [ whom you must have known
he lived next to terry ,tony seeney , [ ragga ]he lived at the top end
of anderton street we all mucked around together , i last heard that
terry yeomens drinks in the scarlet pimpernel in quinton
and edgar southern tells me he drinks in the pub that lays back
on raddle barn rd . do you ever see terry ? .
i used to live around the corner by old man clews bike shop
and i certainly remeber breslin and hillie. cor they was the days
the things we never got up to
there was loads of familys i knew up anderton st do you
recall paddy hardiman
thanks for the memory bass player the last time i seen terry was
1958 along with tichie allen and edgar southeren
have a nice day best wishes astonian ;;
 
Hi Astonian,

Thanks for the reply. I remember Paddy Hardiman well and his dad John, I used to visit him sometimes when he lived of Great Hampton St. I was a part of that crowd that was known as "The Rebels" along with Paddy, Ragga, Midnight, Paddy Creswell, Dave Foster, Jimmy Workman etc. the last time I saw Terry Yeomans was in the Barnes Hill club about 25 years ago.

I used to play football for the Freehouse at the weekends. Later we all spent a lot of time drinking in the Robin Hood at the bottom of little Garbett St where we would alternate between dart board and card table.

I originally lived in Garbett St so I knew a lot of the families around those squares, names that spring to mind are - Yeomans, Duckhouse, Cruise (all Barker St) Lorimer, Pilinger, Bird, Mitchell, Allen, Townsend, Ward, Hanna, Davies, (all of Garbett St) Lynch, Hopcroft, McClaren, Biddle, Doyle ( all of Alexander St) and the Cottrells, Codlings, Dephers, Ushers, Fulfords, of Anderton St. I'm sure my sisters who are older than me would remember a lot more.

Hope we have more common friends
Regards George
 
George you forgot my family the Knowles and Mclarens and the Morans the Oloughrans and do you remember Mick Mole and his sister Beryl and what about Ronnie Ash and Allen and Johnny Downs the Bell pub was a predominately an Irish pub there was a lot of Irish familys living there at the time...happy days

Mossy:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Maurice I'm so sorry how could I forget your family. I did forget the Moran - and i went to school with Damian - I remember the Moles and I haven't heard the name Ronnie Ash for 50 years... wonder where he is now?

It a sign of old age and 45 years of amplifiers to say nothing of "alcho-zheimer's" :1019: and the amount of consumption involved.
I'm not sure if you have my telephone number I will send it in an instant message and maybe we can have a good chinwag.

Cheers George
 
Still have the Bell map from c1914, and what I think must be the picture. Have reposted back on earlier post
 
Thanks for these maps. Does anybody have any photos of garbett Street, I know we weren’t all running around with Cameras’ in our pockets in the 50s 60s
Thanks to you all
 
richard321 said:
Thanks for these maps. Does anybody have any photos of garbett Street, I know we weren’t all running around with Cameras’ in our pockets in the 50s 60s
Thanks to you all
Click to expand...
if you put in garbett street in the search box we may have a thread for it with photos

lyn
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top