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(George
Stevens recalls three ancient West Bromwich public houses that
have ceased to grace the Black Country scene) - from The Blackcountryman
volume 2 issue 2
The Three
Crowns
(Author's note - unfortunately, the original written article
gives me no indication of the name of this inn. I will try and
locate the name, if anyone does know which inn this refers to
please email me)
(Mike Williams believes, with good cause, that he can identify
the pub in question "Reading your
article on the Blackcountry inns, The Pub opposite the park was
the Three Crowns Because my father was the manager in the 50’s
and 60’s, the one just up the road was the Hen and Chickens")
(Yvonne Gibson also confirms this information: "The
pub opposite the Police station, Library, park in Hilltop was
the Three Crowns. My Great Grandfather was landlord there for
about 36 years up to the 1950's I think! His name was George Henry
Gibson his wife was Jane Elizabeth (nee Armstrong). I would appreciate
any memories, photographs or any more details relating to any
of these".) - Please email me if you
have further information.
This
was the most notable of Hill Top's inns and stood opposite the
Park, a little way up from The Three Crowns. The earliest mention
of the inn gives John Siddons as licensee in 1801. Siddons is
also mentioned in this connection in 1818, 1834 and 1851. In addition
to being a publican, he was also a saddle pistol maker.
James Hayes appears to have been successor to the above; his
name appears in 1855 and again in 1861. In 1872, however, Mrs
Jane Hayes, his widow, owned the property.
A contemporary, describing the inn-sign in 1867, talks of a large
gilded box-iron. A box-iron was an instrument used by laundries
to frill the cuffs of shirts worn by the dandies of the time.
The inn sign was to be removed the following year by supporters
of Alexander Brogdan when they marched to the inn in a torchlight
procession to vent their feelings. Brogden was the first Liberal
MP for Wednesbury and Landlord Hayes was obviously a Tory! In
addition to the removal of the inn sign, the lamp in front of
it and all the windows were smashed.
(From Blanche Charles in Wellington, New
Zealand - I am most interested in this, as I am a 3x great-grand-daughter
of John SIDDONS, who actually died in 1849, from anthrax. While
I can't tell you anything about the present-day name of the inn
in question, in John Siddons' day the inn was actually called
the "Box Iron", which is borne out by the above description
of the inn-sign.
Furthermore, while, as you say, John SIDDONS
had, at various times, been described as a pistol filer and whitesmith
- as well as an inn-keeper or victualler - his brothers Luke (father
of William Turton SIDDONS, also mentioned in your article) and
Jesse SIDDONS had established themselves as manufacturers of cast
iron kitchen utensils, which may well have included box irons.
In addition, in 1846 John's son, another
Jesse SIDDONS (my 2x great-grandfather) and Jesse's cousin, Joseph,
established an iron foundry (still in production and still in
100% family ownership in West Bromwich today) which bears their
names: Joseph & Jesse Siddons Ltd. (After Jesse's death in
1871, his share of the business was bought out by Joseph's family).
I know that J & J Siddons Ltd definitely manufactured box
irons, as I have begun collecting them and also have a copy of
one of their old catalogues.
Blanche has supplied a photo of a J & J Siddons box iron
which shebought and restored recently. You can see the chimney,
and the iron operates by lifting the top and filling with hot
coals or embers. You can just see, on the back, the cover to a
little flap which can be opened to help regulate the temperature)
Blanche continues - I disagree with the
statement that a box-iron was used to frill the cuffs of shirts..
A box-iron was no more than a general laundry iron which came
in a variety of styles and sizes. They were everyday irons, used
for general ironing, and were named box irons because they were
able to be opened and filled with either an iron "slug",
pre-heated on a fire, or hot coals. (Those which were filled with
coals or embers usually had chimneys). The iron which was used
to frill ruffles and cuffs was a very small dainty implement called
a "goffering iron".
Incidentally, John SIDDONS' oldest surviving
son, James SIDDONS, was also a publican. Here is his entry, from
"Jones Mercantile Directory" 1865: SIDDONS, James ,"Gough's
Arms", High Street, Portobello, Willenhall.
William Turton Siddons, erstwhile landlord of the British Oak
in nearby Hawkes Lane took over the inn in 1875, moving to the
Royal Exchange only 18 months later. Charles Rhodes was the next
landlord in 1876, and he was succeeded by William Burman (1880).
Other publicans were John Mills (1884), Alfred Nayler (1886),
John Nayler (1887), Charles Crump (1887) and Thomas Finney (1888).
In 1911 the license was extinguished under the Compensation Act.
Mr Tom Prestage, a local resident, recalls that when he was a
boy rum and coffee were served to early-morning customers at the
inn.
The Royal Exchange
Charles Udall, a funeral carriage and car proprietor, was the
owner of the Royal Exchange in 1851. Four years later, he erected
a concert hall next to the inn. This hall was later called the
Theatre Royal.
Udall's public house was reached from a passage in Queen Street
and his home brewed beer sold for 3 halfpence a pint. One of the
'helpers' at the inn was Old Blind Joe who was also the local
'knocker-up'. Joe lived on the premises.
William Turton Siddons took over in 1878 and two years later
Walter Showell, of Showell's Brewery of Langley, bought both the
inn and the theatre. A Mr Rainbow was appointed manager, and when
he died in 1893, his wife carried on. Humphries and Moore were
next appointed as managers, but soon Humphries retired and James
Page Moore was left the sole licensee of theatre and public house.
One of the most interesting customers of years ago was 'Donkey'
Bacon, known as the wickedest man in West Bromwich. This character
sold coal from a donkey-drawn bacon box; a very small conveyance
for such as coal. He was the subject of many practical jokes,
and on one occasion his donkey was led into the bar through a
back entrance and positioned with its forelegs on the bar-top
ready to greet its master. Another time the donkey was reversed
in the shafts of the cart and the drunken Bacon drove the vehicle
backwards into the wall of a house adjoining the inn.
The windows of the inn contained some of the greatest prose that
Shakespeare ever wrote, the story of 'The Seven Ages' pictured
in coloured glasses. The following pictures were depicted - "The
infant mewing and puking in its nurses arms", "Schoolboy
with apple and satchel going to school", "Young man
with paper in hand marked 'Ballad' ", "Shakespeare himself",
"A soldier", "The justice", "The pantaloon",
"The old man propped up with cushions and deathly white".
The inn finished its days in the hands of Ansells Brewery, being
demolished in 1967. The theatre had long ceased to be used for
entertainment and was a warehouse prior to demolition along with
the inn. The inn closed for business in 1966.
The Stone Cross Inn
If one calls at the Stone Cross Inn today, the large modern-style
building will give no impression of its beginnings. A glimpse
into the Gentlemen's only bar, however could show that this was
not the first inn on the site. Two small framed photographs show
the original building.
In 1804 Thomas Sheldon (no doubt dissatisfied with the rewards
of his labour as the local blacksmith) applied for a licence for
his house, which stood adjacent to the smithy. He named his inn
after the wayside cross that stood outside. The cross was the
place where goods were left for the local people in times of plague,
the money for the goods being left at a pre-arranged time.
Thomas Sheldon brewed his own beer on 5 days of the week and
his inn became a popular place of call for waggoners en route
for Birmingham. Much talk at the inn, no doubt, centred on the
landlord's boast of once riding 100 miles on his chestnut mare
without dismounting. The skeleton of the horse was found, incidentally,
buried in the garden during demolition of the inn.
Licensees of the inn after Sheldon were :-
John Barton, William Martin (1872), Ann Martin, William Fox,
Frank Fox (at which time an excellent sign depicting the stone
cross was displayed), Alfred Jarvis, Mrs Jarvis (1910), Thomas
Burdett, Thomas Sneyd (an ex-Police Sergeant), Samuel Baker and
Albert Woodward. The last mentioned was landlord of both the old
and new buildings, the original inn being demolished in 1932.
In 1913 James Stanton, who had a brewery at the Dog and Duck
in Braybrook Street, owned the property and his beer was sold
at the inn until he sold out to Darby's Dunkirk brewery at Greets
Green in 1928. Darby's Brewery was later taken into the Mitchells
and Butler's combine and the actual brewery demolished in the
1960s.
Stone Cross (the district) was the last place in West Bromwich
to hold the traditional Maypole celebrations and the maypole was
erected in a field near to the inn and was surmounted by a bouquet
of flowers. Today, not only has the maypole disappeared (last
observance of the custom was in 1915), but also the field; and
all that remains of the original Stone Cross Inn are those two
small photographs on the wall of the bar.
Blanche adds - I think that there may also
be a SIDDONS family connection to the Stone Cross Inn. In
1804 Thomas Sheldon (no doubt dissatisfied with the rewards of
his labour as the local blacksmith) applied for a licence for
his house, which stood adjacent to the smithy. He named his inn
after the wayside cross that stood outside. The cross was the
place where goods were left for the local people in times of plague,
the money for the goods being left at a pre-arranged time.
Thomas Sheldon brewed his own beer on 5
days of the week and his inn became a popular place of call for
waggoners en route for Birmingham. Much talk at the inn, no doubt,
centred on the landlord's boast of once riding 100 miles on his
chestnut mare without dismounting. The skeleton of the horse was
found, incidentally, buried in the garden during demolition of
the inn.
John SIDDONS (of the "Box Iron")
was son of William SIDDONS, whose youngest sister, Martha, married
a Thomas SHELDON in 1778. I have not found much about them, after
their marriage, but strongly suspect that Thomas may be the above
landlord of the Stone Cross Inn.
Blanche concludes - coincidentally, although my father was English-born
and came to NZ after WW2 - (Jesse Siddons' daughter was his grandmother)
- my Kiwi-born mother also had a grandfather born in West Brom
(named ASTON), so more than 50% of my heritage is from the Black
Country and environs: e.g. ROLLASON from Oldbury / Halesowen,
MEESE from Kingswinford / Brierley Hill, JONES from Wednesbury
& Wolverhampton, ASTON from Bilston & West Brom, HUGHES
from Bilston......to name but a few.
email the web master Mick Pearson:
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