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Fox and Grapes - Digbeth

I was up town today With my family ( very rare occasion we get together) and had a look around the pub. There is a mesh covering a small window at the back it would take 2minutes to pull down a get in. I do wish the place was made more secure:(
 
Frothblower said:
I was up town today With my family ( very rare occasion we get together) and had a look around the pub. There is a mesh covering a small window at the back it would take 2minutes to pull down a get in. I do wish the place was made more secure:(
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so do i froth..and what about the gapping hole in the wall round the back...:(
 
If and when the new station is built for High Speed 2 (HS2) it is likely to go right over the site of this pub.

I think it highly likely the pub will have to be demolished to make way for the HS2 station.

Here is a "mock up" of the site of the HS2 station and platforms (may change of course).

The area in the bottom left is where Moor St station currently stands. You can also see the BullRing in the bottom left.

https://media.photobucket.com/image/HS2%20station/tomba/RW/ProposedBirminghamHS2Station2.jpg
 
ellbrown said:
Wouldn't HS2 cut through part of Park Street Gardens opposite the Fox and Grapes?

Fazeley Street - cutting the gardens in two
Click to expand...

If you look at the link to the photo I posted above you see that the station and platforms go right over the left hand end of the Park St gardens.

So it wont cut the gardens in two as such, more likely just remove the total left hand end of the gardens (as well as the Fox and Grapes pub).
 
So all the remaining grave stones / tomb stones will have to go?

Wasn't the gardens supposed to be part of the new Eastside City Park?
 
ellbrown said:
So all the remaining grave stones / tomb stones will have to go?
Wasn't the gardens supposed to be part of the new Eastside City Park?
Click to expand...

I believe all the bodies have gone, so it is just gravestones left. But they will have to go.

Yes, the City Park will be built covering that area, and will have to be removed if (or when) the station is built.

But we could be talking 10 years away before we get a station there and a lot can change in that time.
 
Such a shame this pub has gone, I used to pop in there a couple of times per month up until about 4 years ago or so and always had a warm welcome. There were some characters who used to drink in there, wonder where they have moved on to.
 
FOX AND GRAPES UPDATE..

hi all...im not sure if some of you may know this already but i have just received this message from mike hodder birmingham city councils planning archaeologagist...it seems that the fox and grapes is still not safe and things are still up in the air:(

hi lyn...the fox and grapes was going to be retained and incorported into the city park gate developement around freeman st but thats unlikely to happen now because most of its within the site for the teminus station for the hight speed rail which also included the faox and grapes. on the face of it that does not look good for the F and G but on the other hand there is an opportunity to retain it by including it in the design for the new station. this would enhance the appearance of the station and give the F and G a new lease of life.as you know its been out of us and boarded up for some time now.
regards mike...

mike has also admitted that this building is a rare survial of the city centre and below ground there are archaeological remains of medieval and late date around it...and suggests that any of our members who are interested may like to visit the HS2 site...

lyn
 
Thank you (& Mike) for the update on the Fox & Grapes. This pub is hugely important as we have so few Georgian pubs left in Birmingham, now. I can think of one that was altered & extended beyond recognition, another that is covered in pebbledash, one that looks to have retained its character & as for the Angel on Stratford Rd...... The Fox & Grapes stands almost alone in more ways than one.
Fortunately we still have the Bull.
What is the HS2 site?
 
well shirl i have always said will they ever learn...now we shall find out...its the high speed site and there is a petition to sign for those opposed to it...i am just finding time to try and get updates on buildings that are in danger..next stop is the old fire station...

lyn
 
hi shirl..i dont know how to post links...told you i was hopeless...:cry:.i wonder if someone could go to the site and post the petition link for me on here please...thank you..

lyn
 
Is this the link that BordesleyExil and Lyn refer to?

https://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/have-your-say

It's a questoinnaire seeking views. Question 5 looks like there's possibly scope to put views forward on the F & G. Maybe Q4 too, although this is more about the selection of the route. The other questions seem to be around the general prinicples of HSR. Viv.
 
You should see what they have done with the Angel in Sparkbrook. Added an extension to it. Is still not finished. And they put new windows into it.

Seems to still have the old pub sign though, and still looks like the Angel at the front.

Doubt it will be a pub when finished.
 
the fox and grapes has been under discussion before on the forum and this pic shows it in all its glory..:) the following pics that i took in march this year tells a very different story:( at first it was said it would be demolished and then we heard it maybe retained to blend in with the proposed new metro high speed rail that is being built...to be honest i have not been back to have look because i found it most upsetting but it would not surprise me if it is just a heap of rubble now..never learn will they....
 

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Haven't been down there recently, but think it is within the land being developed for the Eastside City Park (although it's opposite Park Street Gardens).

Not sure it will survive HS2.

One of mine from March 2011 (probably already posted in that other thread).


Fox & Grapes, Park Street and the cranes of Hotel La Tour by ell brown, on Flickr

June 2010


Fox & Grapes - derelict pub on Park Street by ell brown, on Flickr


Fox & Grapes - derelict pub on Park Street by ell brown, on Flickr

October 2010


Back of the Fox & Grapes from Freeman Street by ell brown, on Flickr
 
thanks ell..sad sight indeed...unless someone else is up that way i have to be near next monday so will take a look...

lyn
 
Went past it today. It isn't part of the Eastside City Park site, but it is near the new Hotel La Tour site.

Yes does look sad, you can see how it remains with that car park, with demolished sections at each side of it.

Looks pretty much the same, nothing has been done about it (yet).
 
I pass the pub most weekends.
Except for a little opening around the back and that window open at the top it's well boarded up. It's grade 2 listed so it may open again one day, maybe not as a pub though
 
i love the way the council sing the praises of the history of the city on a board yet show no firm commitment or desire to retain any of it...the eagle and tun...the fox and grapes and also island house are under real threat of demolision now and i am under no ilusions that if they are in the way they will go...since the plans for the park and HS2 have come to light all we have heard is we hope to or may incorporate these buildings into the new plans...but in reality its just time buying...this is how much our historical buildings mean to the council and we really shouldnt be shocked or surprised as this has been going on since the late 50s and lessons have not been learnt...

lyn
 
Well all 3 places have no chance looking at this plan of the HS2 station.
Makes me laugh when they say... Island house needs to be demolished to give the new hotel a better view. Well it won't have much of a view with the HS2 station right in front of it.........
 

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thats what i mean froth...if all 3 buildings are saved i shall eat my hat..

lyn
 
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