W
www.midlandspubs.co.uk
Guest
Does anyone have any memories of the newer version of this pub - did anyone go to the Warley Bowl and nip in here for a pint? Or even the cinema before that!!
Beech Tree Inn - Quinton [pic attached]
There's a good chance that a lot of locals born after 1970 will not be able to tell you where the Beech Tree Inn was located. Not this building of course, but the replacement Beech Tree that was erected in the inter-war years.
The Beech Tree name died out on July 18th 1968 when Bass re-named the building; for a generation it was known as the Bass House. In 1997 the building was refurbished and 're-branded', being called the Amber Tavern. Eleven years later it was closed and undergoing another re-branding exercise, such is the nature of pub marketing these days.
Certainly, no amount of jiggery pokery could recreate the atmosphere of the original Beech Tree Inn. Take a look at this picture and you can just imagine the rickety furniture, creaky floorboards, and maybe a nice log fire to keep you warm in the winter months. And as you can see on the wall advertisement the beers were brought in from Burton-on-Trent because the pub had been snapped up by Thomas Salt & Co, who also operated the Red Lion Inn further towards the village centre of Quinton.
Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton bought out Salt & Co in 1927 which meant that the Beech Tree eluded the local brewers and remained an outlet for beers from Burton. Long before the large breweries were involved with the Beech Tree beers were produced behind the premises. The Dixon family sold homebrewed ales at the Beech Tree Inn during the early-mid 19th century. They were in charge of the pub for much of the early-mid Victorian period.
Nowadays, the road junction on which the Amber Tavern stands is thunderously busy with traffic. However, during the time of the Dixon family's incumbency, and despite the fact that the Beech Tree Inn fronted the Birmingham to Stourbridge turnpike, the locality had few houses and was largely rural in nature. The Beech Tree Inn was a local watering hole for those living at the edge of Ridgacre and in the locale known as World's End. The name of the pub, coupled with the fact that the turnpike here was known as Beech Lanes, suggests that there was an exceptionally conspicuous example of the Fagaceae family around these parts.
Born in Solihull around 1804, Joseph Dixon kept the Beech Tree Inn with his wife Mary Ann who hailed from Derbyshire. The couple remained in charge of the pub for more than a generation.
Bewdley-born Joseph Southam was the licensee in the early 1880's. His wife Ann was from West Bromwich. The couple had previously kept a beer house in Longmore Street, Balsall Heath. Another couple to move out from Birmingham to Quinton was George and Ann Dexter. In the 1880's they were in charge of The Mitre in Baker Street.
The couple in charge of the Beech Tree Inn at the time of the photograph shown here were William and Martha Peace. The family can be seen posing for the camera towards the end of the Edwardian era. The two eldest children were called Louisa and Edith. William Peace had grown up close to the pub; his parents Joseph and Elizabeth had run Redhall Farm in the 1870's before moving to another farm in the Warwickshire village of Bourton-on-Dunsmore. The Peace family later returned to Quinton and took up residence in Beech Lanes. Following his marriage to Martha, William moved to neighbouring Warley.
Fast forwarding to the pub being re-named the Amber Tavern - the first manager to run the newly-refurbished pub was John Abeal, a congenial host from [I think] Cyprus. He made the short move from the Cock and Magpies.
Here's a list of list of post-war licensees in case anyone can remember any of them...
1940 - 1954 Herbert Lee
1954 - 1965 Robert Harold Taylor
1965 - 1973 Reginald Barrie Arnold
1973 - 1976 Reginald Boon
1976 - 1986 Ian McGregor
1986 - 1989 Ian Mervyn Astley
1989 - 1989 Anthony Paul Lucas
1989 - 1990 Noel Stephen Rogers
1990 - 1990 Donald Victor ?
1990 - 1990 Harold Wilson
1990 - 1992 Georgina Mary Yendell
1992 - 1994 Francis Joseph McCann
1994 - 1995 Garry Lawrence Chettle
1995 - 1997 Kevin Patrick McCluskey
1997 - 2003+ John Manuel Abeal
Cheers
Kieron www.midlandspubs.co.uk
Beech Tree Inn - Quinton [pic attached]
There's a good chance that a lot of locals born after 1970 will not be able to tell you where the Beech Tree Inn was located. Not this building of course, but the replacement Beech Tree that was erected in the inter-war years.
The Beech Tree name died out on July 18th 1968 when Bass re-named the building; for a generation it was known as the Bass House. In 1997 the building was refurbished and 're-branded', being called the Amber Tavern. Eleven years later it was closed and undergoing another re-branding exercise, such is the nature of pub marketing these days.
Certainly, no amount of jiggery pokery could recreate the atmosphere of the original Beech Tree Inn. Take a look at this picture and you can just imagine the rickety furniture, creaky floorboards, and maybe a nice log fire to keep you warm in the winter months. And as you can see on the wall advertisement the beers were brought in from Burton-on-Trent because the pub had been snapped up by Thomas Salt & Co, who also operated the Red Lion Inn further towards the village centre of Quinton.
Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton bought out Salt & Co in 1927 which meant that the Beech Tree eluded the local brewers and remained an outlet for beers from Burton. Long before the large breweries were involved with the Beech Tree beers were produced behind the premises. The Dixon family sold homebrewed ales at the Beech Tree Inn during the early-mid 19th century. They were in charge of the pub for much of the early-mid Victorian period.
Nowadays, the road junction on which the Amber Tavern stands is thunderously busy with traffic. However, during the time of the Dixon family's incumbency, and despite the fact that the Beech Tree Inn fronted the Birmingham to Stourbridge turnpike, the locality had few houses and was largely rural in nature. The Beech Tree Inn was a local watering hole for those living at the edge of Ridgacre and in the locale known as World's End. The name of the pub, coupled with the fact that the turnpike here was known as Beech Lanes, suggests that there was an exceptionally conspicuous example of the Fagaceae family around these parts.
Born in Solihull around 1804, Joseph Dixon kept the Beech Tree Inn with his wife Mary Ann who hailed from Derbyshire. The couple remained in charge of the pub for more than a generation.
Bewdley-born Joseph Southam was the licensee in the early 1880's. His wife Ann was from West Bromwich. The couple had previously kept a beer house in Longmore Street, Balsall Heath. Another couple to move out from Birmingham to Quinton was George and Ann Dexter. In the 1880's they were in charge of The Mitre in Baker Street.
The couple in charge of the Beech Tree Inn at the time of the photograph shown here were William and Martha Peace. The family can be seen posing for the camera towards the end of the Edwardian era. The two eldest children were called Louisa and Edith. William Peace had grown up close to the pub; his parents Joseph and Elizabeth had run Redhall Farm in the 1870's before moving to another farm in the Warwickshire village of Bourton-on-Dunsmore. The Peace family later returned to Quinton and took up residence in Beech Lanes. Following his marriage to Martha, William moved to neighbouring Warley.
Fast forwarding to the pub being re-named the Amber Tavern - the first manager to run the newly-refurbished pub was John Abeal, a congenial host from [I think] Cyprus. He made the short move from the Cock and Magpies.
Here's a list of list of post-war licensees in case anyone can remember any of them...
1940 - 1954 Herbert Lee
1954 - 1965 Robert Harold Taylor
1965 - 1973 Reginald Barrie Arnold
1973 - 1976 Reginald Boon
1976 - 1986 Ian McGregor
1986 - 1989 Ian Mervyn Astley
1989 - 1989 Anthony Paul Lucas
1989 - 1990 Noel Stephen Rogers
1990 - 1990 Donald Victor ?
1990 - 1990 Harold Wilson
1990 - 1992 Georgina Mary Yendell
1992 - 1994 Francis Joseph McCann
1994 - 1995 Garry Lawrence Chettle
1995 - 1997 Kevin Patrick McCluskey
1997 - 2003+ John Manuel Abeal
Cheers
Kieron www.midlandspubs.co.uk
