Raising a glass to the long
AMBLECOTE, an historic township just north of Stourbridge, was originally in Staffordshire. It became the country’s smallest urban district in 1898 – the council actually met in the Fish Inn at Coalbournbrook.
Amblecote was incorporated into Stourbridge in 1966 and eventually into the larger Dudley metropolitan borough in 1974. After many years as an agricultural village, the Industrial Revolution saw Amblecote become a place of mines and factories, producing coal, clay, sand, bricks, iron, ship
ware and glassware.
From the early 17th century, the glass-making industry was established here, with Huguenot glassmakers from the Lorraine region of France. By Victorian times, it was one of the world’s leading glass manufacturing districts, with renowned glassmakers such as Webb Corbett, Stuart and Tudor Crystal, and Royal Brierley.
Activity
Interestingly, some of the early pub landlords and families worked in the glass-making industry. With all this activity, it’s not surprising that there
were once more than forty pubs serving the district, several of which were home-brew pubs, although little more than a handful survive today.
Most of the pubs in Amblecote were concentrated in three locations. Firstly, around Holloway End, near the River Stour bridge and canal, just beyond the Stourbridge boundary. The Old Wharf Inn is now the only surviving pub hereabouts, dating from 1841 and overlooking the Stourbridge Canal wharf and historic Bonded Warehouse.
Previously known as the Barrel Inn and Moorings Tavern and once a home-brew pub, it has recently been reopened by Nickolls & Perks, longestablished Stourbridge wine and spirits merchants.
Two doors away was The Foster’s Arms, a former Wordsley Brewery pub dating from 1850, but closed in 1939.
Demolished
Nearby, The Navigation was demolished in 1854 to make way for a railway extension to Bradley’s iron foundry.
Opposite the railway yard, The Bridge was another former Wordsley Brewery pub dating from 1861, but closed in 1906.
Further along Stourbridge Road, near the junction with Vicarage Road, was the Royal Oak, originally dating from 1829 and known as the Green Dragon. It was rebuilt in 1958, closed in 2013 and is now a veterinary surgeon.
Opposite the athletic ground was The Rising Sun, a former South Staffordshire Brewery/ Edward Rutland pub, once used as changing rooms for Stourbridge FC (now known as the “Glassboys”). It was closed in 1926 and demolished in the 1940s.
Nearby, The Holly Bush dated from 1850, but was known as The Jaguar when it closed in 1981.
Crossroads
The traditional centre of Amblecote was ‘The Fish crossroads’ at Coalbournbrook, named after the historic pub at the junction of Stourbridge Road and Wollaston Road, opposite the terminus of the Kinver Light Railway and its still-surviving depot.
The Fish is probably the oldest surviving pub in the area, originally dating from the early 1800s, but
converted into a Chinese restaurant in 1996. It retained some memories of its former use as the council meeting room, including a refurbished civic clock.
Nearby was the Little Pig, a former home-brew pub and coaching inn dating from 1844. It was rebuilt by T.W. Edwards
in 1930, closed in
2013 and became estate agents.
Perhaps one of the saddest losses was The Glassmaker’s Arms on the corner of Collis Street. The original pub dated from 1862 and was a fine building, acquired by Bent’s Brewery (Stone) in 1904. But it was rebuilt as an uninspiring two-storey building and demolished an
in 1979.
Nearby, in ‘Tobacco Box Hill’ was the Queen’s Head, dating from 1861, a short-lived Diamond Brewery (Dudley) pub, closed in 1907.
Another focal point of Amblecote was the junction with High Street and Brettell Lane. Here, The Maverick survives as a real-ale tavern and former
CAMRA Pub-of-theYear. Formerly The White Horse and renamed in 1992 to reflect its Wild West theme, it dates from 1829 and was previously a home-brew and Holt Brewery (Birmingham) pub before passing to Mitchells & Butlers in 1918.
Dial
Close at hand was The Old Dial, dating from 1841 and now an Indian restaurant. On the western side of High Street was The Board Inn, dating from 1834, once leased by John Rolinson’s Five Ways Brewery (Netherton), but closed by 1913.
Brettell Lane dates from the 1770s, and once had eleven pubs, of which only three remain. Strictly speaking, the northern side of the road is beyond the boundary of Amblecote, but The Red Lion, dating from 1829, survives as another realale tavern.
At the other end of the street, The Swan was originally known as The Swan with Two Necks. It once had its own small brewery (1841-1921), before being bought by Joule’s Brewery (Stone), and survives as another popular local hostelry.
On the corner of Collis Street, The Starving Rascal (formerly The Dudley Arms) dates from around 1850 and was renamed in 1974, recalling its alleged ghost of a beggar who was turned away from the pub on a freezing cold night in Victorian times. It’s another CAMRA awardwinning pub, which is being refurbished by Black Country Ales. In its heyday, other pubs along Brettell Lane included The Acorn (1861-1980), The Builder’s Arms (18501937), The Cross Keys (1850-1906), The Dog & Partridge (1869-1936), The Park Tavern (1861-1920), The Pheasant (1871-1904), The Roebuck (1870-1909) and The Unicorn (18451973), some of which survive as shops or houses.
Home Brew
Running parallel with Brettell Lane is King William Street, once home to The Greyhound, a former home-brew and Eley’s Brewery (Stafford) pub dating from 1862, closed in 1983 and now a house. Nearby were The Hope &
Anchor, first known as The Stocking Inn and closed 1971, The Leamington Brewery Stores, and The Woodman, a homebrew pub dating from 1861 and closed in 1906.
In Collis Street, The Robin Hood dates from 1868 and is a former Talbot Brewery (Cradley) pub, which was sold at auction in 1929 for £1,500. It survives as another CAMRA award-winning real-ale pub.
Clay fields
Amongst the clayfields, collieries and brickworks on the eastern side of Amblecote were a handful of pubs. This area was completely transformed between 1970 and 1998 with over 8,000 new homes (Withymoor Village).
At the end of a lane off Vicarage Road, The Birch Tree survives, originally dating from around 1850, serving local labourers and formerly owned by the local Simpkiss Brewery, complete with its haunted cellar!
On the nearby Penfields estate, The Ten Arches, named after the nearby Stambermill railway via
duct, is the only new pub remaining in the area.
The Pear Tree (Stamford Road) had a bowling green and pleasure gardens, but was closed in 1940, whilst The Cottage of Content (Amblecote Bank) lasted only until 1903, The Spread Eagle (Vicarage Road) until 1912 and the Waterfall (Amblecote Lane) until 1919.
So, of the forty or so pubs originally serving Amblecote, just eight sur
vive, but they include a handful of award-winning pubs serving a great variety of real ales for everyone to enjoy!
With acknowledgements to Tony
Hitchmough, Amblecote History Society, local authors Bob Clarke and Michael Reuter, and CAMRA.