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The old crown meet up

Couple more,it was a very interesting place,
could have been a museum or n/trust property,
it is that has been said a hotel,not sure if i,d
have liked to stay there.
regards Derek.
 
Just as a matter of interest or not, all along the passageway upstairs,at the crown.
were about half a dozen pictures of ron smuge smith,depicting Hockley brook,
foundry lane,west brom,and others. Derek.
 
wendy..thats a lovely pic of a pic...i never seem to able to take them very good...

derek...there is already one of me in the stocks.....:headhit::headhit::headhit:

lyn:):):)
 
somehow this new building looks so out of place...heath mill lane...

thats maggie on the right of the 2nd pic trying to hide from me....:D

lyn
 
some great photos and nice to see the old crown the way some of our members have shown it ..well worth a visit if you have never been good atmosphere and pleasant surroundings.. nice company as well:D
 
hi norma...thats just what maggie and me thought.....but thats the town planners for you...:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

glad you liked the look of the crown....

lyn:)
 
Froth,
Thanks for that. Who would have thought I would have found a watering hole, on a Brum site, worthy of a visit, near to where I now live. It is now in my little book.
Presume you sampled the food and it passed muster?
Will.
 
A.Willoughby said:
Froth,
Thanks for that. Who would have thought I would have found a watering hole, on a Brum site, worthy of a visit, near to where I now live. It is now in my little book.
Presume you sampled the food and it passed muster?
Will.
Click to expand...

It could do with a few more real ales. The food is wonderful:taste
It mecca to me it's where the AOFB started.Well worth a visit Will:)
 
Nice one Wendy i do that sort of stuff all the time,
and Lyn you can do that sort of thing with your camera,
you have macro settings read the instructions..
best wishes Derek.
 
lol derek..there you go again on about me macro settings....you should know by now i am not technical.....i just aim..click and hope for the best...:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:


lyn:):):)
 
hi all ive just come accross a 1998 evening mail and there is a double page spread telling the story of pat brennan the previous owner of the crown.....and how he came from being a young lad of 14 walking warily past the crown from work to becoming the owner of the pub and spending £1.7 million restoring it forty years later....if i scanned it all i think it would be difficult to read it properly so what i will do is condense the story and post it later..it makes fascinating reading.....

lyn:):)
 
Presumably that was the guy who the current owner was telling us about on Saturday? He spent all that money without receiving grants from the bloody Council when they're only too happy to splash the cash on much less deserving cases! No wonder he retired to Ireland and doesn't come back.
 
the same one david....he was a grafter thats for sure....theres a lovely pic of him too so after dinner i will post that and a bit of his life story...

lyn
 
as promised a little bit about the previous owner of the old crown...

pat brennan came to birmingham aged 14 with his dad leaving his mom in ireland..i presume it was to find better work...
many is the time after a hard days work he would wearily walk past the crown on his way up to the coventry road to seek out a pawnbrokers to give him a few bob until friday payday..

his dad worked as a foreman on the building sites and his last job was to work on spaggetti junction.

pat earned £2.10s in ireland as an apprentice carpenter so when it shot up to £5.18s in brum he thought he was rich...until he realised that he had to send money over to his mom who had 7 younger mouths to feed..

pat and his dad lived a caravan on a building site in olton but he knew from a very early age that the pub trade was for him...

he cut his pub teeth working part time at the cabin in union passage then moved to the eagle and tun to help out his sister..soon after he was offered and took the roebuck in broad st but not long after he was hauled up in front of the ansells directors who promptly sacked him for incompetence in the stock room and they told him he couldnt be trusted with a fish and chip shop...

pat then went back to the building sites...by the time pats 3rd child was born he once again delved into the pub trade...working at father murphys club over the white swan in aston...

he knew he had blown his chance with ansells and so went to see mitchells and butlers who gave him another chance...

after that his name was to go over the doors of many pubs..the drovers arms in bradford st..the observatory in handsworth..the shakespeare in summer row...

by 1987 he had saved enough money to be able to go to the bank and ask them for £53.000 to buy the marquis of lorne in cattell road small heath..

his populist pub keeping worked..the old smithy winson green soon fell into his lap..so did the aston hotel..the first of many whos names pat can barely remember....

he liked any pub with a challenge in it...and so eventually along came the old crown...

and the rest as they say is history...

it cost pat 1.7 million pounds to restore the old crown and by 1998 the work was completed...almost 40 years to the day when as a young lad pat used to walk past it on his way to the coventy road....

if you ever get to read this pat i would just like to say on behalf of birmingham a big thank you for helping restore some of our history to its former glory....

lyn...:):):)






 
this coin was given to me on sat by the present owner anthony...it was commissioned by the brennan family to commenorate the reopening of the old crown in 1998...

only 2000 where struck at the birmingham mint....


 
What a nice gesture by the present owner Lyn. I think we should pencil him in for another visit. I remember the refurb very well and went there for a meal shortly after it was compleated realy good food but exspensive. I do hope MR Brennan is enjoying his retirment and the City Treasurers of the time will hang thier heads in shame.
Makes you wonder how many buildings we may have lost in the past.
 
hi rob...yes they should hang their heads in shame...i missed it on the news last night but apparently there are plans to more or less completely demolish whats left of the old digbeth:(:( i could wrong but i beleive it to be the oldest part of birmingham....

and yes i am up for another visit...maybe next time we can get you upstairs...:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

it was lovely to be given one of the coins and anthony and his wife are a lovely down to earth couple...so much so that when i was out the back they were asking my opinion on how to deal with their climbing plants...or maybe it was me who offered advise....:D:D

lyn
 
Thanks for posting all that info Lynn as you say it's very sad. I think Pat deserves a plaque for all he has done!!. I would love to go again. Just keep us posted.:)
 
hi wendy...i do feel i must go there again...as i must admit i was so busy snapping away i didnt take in as much as would have liked to...next time (and i will prob regret it) i will leave me camera at home.....

will keep you posted....

lyn:)
 
Lyn, thanks for taking the time to send us that interesting bit of Brum history. I remember The Old Crown from the 60's and only hope that one day I can join you all there.:)

Graham.
 
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