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The Crown Hotel The General Elliott "Cutlers" Station Street.

Very sad it's been empty so long - I have fond memories of music gigs there in the late 60's / early 70's

Surely something positive could be done with it?!
 
Just looking at the crown brings back so many memories from 60s my friends and i spent every saturday and sunday nights in there upstairs listening to bands irecall seeing a gtoup called evoluton and black sabboth and many other bands. That later became famous best pub in town in those days
 
Not really my 'thing', but I can (just) remember going to The Crown when it hosted the Jug Of Punch folk-club, residents being The Ian Campbell Group. Later, the club moved to Digbeth Civic Hall. Went much later when it was Henry's Blues House - much more to my liking! I'm surprised The Crown is still standing, to be honest.

G
 
Big Gee said:
Not really my 'thing', but I can (just) remember going to The Crown when it hosted the Jug Of Punch folk-club, residents being The Ian Campbell Group. Later, the club moved to Digbeth Civic Hall. Went much later when it was Henry's Blues House - much more to my liking! I'm surprised The Crown is still standing, to be honest.

G
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so am i G nearly everything else has gone :mad:

lyn
 
Big Gee said:
Not really my 'thing', but I can (just) remember going to The Crown when it hosted the Jug Of Punch folk-club, residents being The Ian Campbell Group. Later, the club moved to Digbeth Civic Hall. Went much later when it was Henry's Blues House - much more to my liking! I'm surprised The Crown is still standing, to be honest.

G
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Big Gee Ian Campbell there's a name from the past nearly every poster on the wall I looked at in the 60's had his name on . Now his two sons regularly appear in the press and on stage Robin and Ali in the two versions of UB40 so the Campbell name goes on
 
Big Gee said:
Not really my 'thing', but I can (just) remember going to The Crown when it hosted the Jug Of Punch folk-club, residents being The Ian Campbell Group. Later, the club moved to Digbeth Civic Hall. Went much later when it was Henry's Blues House - much more to my liking! I'm surprised The Crown is still standing, to be honest.

G
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Yes, I went when it was Henry's - still got my membership card somewhere around!
 
WStreeter, yes, Ian Campbell was big back in the Sixties, probably the first British 'folk group' that made the big time in this country. I used to go to the Jug Of Punch at Digbeth Civic Hall when he was the resident band - the place would usually be packed out. The band was talented and entertaining, but I didn't much care for it when they did 'political' stuff. Lorna Campbell apparently still sings on occasion.

G
 
My friend and I went to the Jug of Punch in Digbeth a few times, not really my sort of music but we knew Dave Pegg who played bass with Ian Campbell for a while before joining Fairport. We used to chat in the bar for most of the time!
 
I saw Dave Pegg playing bass with another band a couple of years ago. And Dave Swarbrick was (briefly) married to a friend of ours some time ago - sorry about the name-dropping! For my money he was the outstanding member of Ian Campbell's band.

Yes, the crack at the 'Jug' was to get in the bar early on and stay there! I remember only too well the 'draught cider hangovers'.....happy days.

G
 
I used to go to Henrys Blues House in early 70's. If I remember correctly the tables were made of large wooden barrels. Or am I getting confused with somewhere else maybe?
 
BrummyPaul said:
I used to go to Henrys Blues House in early 70's. If I remember correctly the tables were made of large wooden barrels. Or am I getting confused with somewhere else maybe?
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Did you mean tables in the bar downstairs? I don't think I ever went in there!
I can't specifically remember any tables in the two upstairs rooms where the bands played - were there any?
 
A Sparks said:
Did you mean tables in the bar downstairs? I don't think I ever went in there!
I can't specifically remember any tables in the two upstairs rooms where the bands played - were there any?
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Thanks for your response, I do think I have the wrong place and agree that there probably wouldn't have been tables upstairs at Henry's. But I now think the pub I'm looking for was actually on one of the corners on Bristol Street. Either the building on the corner of Horse Fair and Essex Street or maybe even on another corner further along Bristol Street. All I know is we used to go there upstairs on a Thursday or Friday night in 1974 before going on to Bogarts. Frustrating not recalling the name of the pub! :)
 
Hi everyone, this is great information, thanks for everyone's input on this thread. Really interesting to hear about all the folk clubs going on in the Crown!

I am researching The Crown for a project and am really interested in the history of the building. It's origins and drawings - I attended Birmingham Archive today but the plans were too delicate to handle. Wondered if anyone had any ideas about any other information repositories for the building and where there might be more on the history.

Best wishes,
J
 
As mentioned earlier in thread it appears to have been the General Elliott Hotel (if not rebuilt). First mention I can see in newspapers is 1876, address given as Tonk St at this time. This map from 1889...

0 - Station St.jpg
 
Hi MWS thanks very much for a speedy reply! That's interesting information, and the GEH does match the rough layout of the Crown. Thanks again for the map.

J
 
There's a bit in the Bham Daily Gazette 4 Aug 1949 where someone asks what the original name was. The answer given is it was built about 1878 and from 1880 was known as General Elliott Hotel and renamed Crown hotel in 1896.

Though going by previous reply it was built a few years earlier.
 
Took a picture of The Crown, Hill Street/ Station Street yesterday. Everything was boarded up with coloured panels. "Ozzy woz here" as graffiti on one. Never saw him there, but happy memories of The Grey Cock Folk Club 1977-1980s held there. Peggy Seeger, A. L. Lloyd, Charles Parker (BBC producer Singing the Fishing etc). Ewan MacColl, Red Banner Theatre who staged The Battle of Saltley Gate with black and white photographs of the struggle. MacColl asked 'Did we win?' He got the answer 'I think the police won.' Musical performers included Charles Causley.IMG_2067.jpeg
 
Hopefully is the word, I see that the headline is the pub building, but the first thing is building on the Car park, which should cause no planning problem. The historic building is stage 2, but so often developers do the quick easy bits after they own the site and then say that the rest is too expensive, not practicable, or whatever and likely the main emphasis of the original publicity disappears from view
 
We now have a famous city centre pub The Crown corner of Hill Street and Station Street taken in November 1962. Large pub wrapped around the corner. Interesting to see the first floor windows are leaded while the second floor ones are plain. First floor also has a selection of shapes above the windows and plasterwork between the windows. Couple of intersting points either end of the photo on the left we have a barbers pole and on the right there is a large lorry parked.

20210710144728_03.jpg
 
I've always loved this site, but only now have I discovered this thread on the Crown pub in B'ham. It's interesting because it's among places mentioned in my father's journal from his time in Britain in 1944. He caroused on more than one occasion at a pub called the Crown. Unfortunately he didn't leave an address. He probably never took note in the first place.

The confusion for me is that there's also a place called the "Old Crown". Is it the same place? And if it isn't the same place, does anyone have a suggestion as to which one might be more likely the preferred hangout by RAF airmen during the war?
 
The Crown is a quite common name, and there were 11 Crown pubs in Birmingham in 1943, together with the Old Crown, , and also three Crown & Anchors. The Crown in this thread is very central and might well have been used by servicemen, but possibly someone with more military knowledge might be able to help decide
 
I have never been in the Crown on Station St but I can remember my Dad telling me, more than 50 years ago, that it had a very long bar. I think he said the longest in Birmingham.
 
From 1976-1979 the Grey Cock Folk Club used the upstairs room. One of our fellow Birmingham Polytechnic students had a fine voice and would sometimes sing from the floor. Met A.L. Lloyd - Bert didn't have a great voice, but he had composed the Penguin book of English Folk song and was an able poet who could make lost fragments into a coherent song. Heard Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger. Sad this won't be a performance space again.
 
mikejee said:
The Crown is a quite common name, and there were 11 Crown pubs in Birmingham in 1943, together with the Old Crown, , and also three Crown & Anchors. The Crown in this thread is very central and might well have been used by servicemen, but possibly someone with more military knowledge might be able to help decide
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What two streets are at the corner of this Crown? Might they be Heath Mill Lane and High Street? Bear in mind that I'm in a different country.
 
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