Re: The Sydenham.
Hello Old'uns,
The actual location of the Sydenham was on the junction of Golden Hillock Road and Anderton Road.
400 ish yards down Anderton from the Sydenham was a crossroad with Sydenham Road on the left and Montgomery Street on the right.
On the corner of Anderton Road and Montgomery Street was a pub called the Marlborough. Sadly now closed, the building will remain, because it is listed.
Back to the Sydenham:- In the middle 60's my dad used to play golf with the manager who's name was Harry (can't remember his surname).
Harry left for a pub in Nottingham (I think the Robin Hood). The next manager was called Ken Townsend, who was married to Frances. This would have been around 1967/8. The pub had a very large garden down the Anderton Road side and had great bonfire parties there.
Down the Golden Hillock Road side, there was a rarely used function room called The Blue Room. I went to a diso there in 1969 and tasted my first goat curry.
Around 1971/2 Ken left to take over at the Brookhill in Alum Rock and the Sydenham was taken over by an Irish couple (sorry but I can't remember their names).
Me and dad then used to travel to the Brookhill (amongst others), but Ken didn't stay there long. I can't remember where he went to, but he was followed in by Peter Stockwell, who eventually kept the Stockland in Stockland Green, for 20 odd years.
I shall have to read up on some my other old haunts and see if I can contribute. Some of these were:- The Sampson and Lion, The Pelham, The Broadway, The Hunter's Moon, The Custard House, The Comet, The Country Girl, TheGreet, and a few more in that sort of Southeast Birmingham.
Hopefully write more soon.
Billybow.