Pigs ’n’ pints
Part one – Upper Gornal
I’M sure we’re all familiar with the rhyme asking, “Who put the Pig on the Wall at Gornal to see the band go by? Was it: Billy the Boy, Jimmy the Go, Billy on Th’ Ob or The Pokey Mon….” In January, the Bugle included a poem recalling eight pubs in one mile in Upper Gornal. I also knew that there were several old pubs in Lower Gornal and Gornalwood, so was keen to know more.
Upper and Lower Gornal were originally part of Sedgley Manor. Gornal was famous for its homebrewed beer, with recipes handed down from generation to generation. Nearly every pub brewed its own beer before the commercial breweries took over. It was thirsty work when the Industrial Revolution came to Gornal, with collieries, claypits, brickworks and quarries, including Gornal’s distinctive yellow sandstone.
Many pubs dated from the mid1850s, but some have much earlier roots. Over the years, around 25 pubs served Upper Gornal, mainly grouped along Kent Street and Clarence Street, with almost 40 in Lower Gornal and Gornalwood. Now barely 15 remain, but they include some fine real ale pubs. In this article, we’ll look at some historic pubs in Upper Gornal.
Sited astride the old turnpike road running from Dudley to Wolverhampton, Upper Gornal was always more accessible than the more isolated settlements of Lower Gornal and Gornalwood. Between Jews Lane and Moden Hill, there were over a dozen pubs, virtually one on every street corner.
Slaughterhouse
One of the oldest pubs in Upper Gornal is the Britannia, a former home-brew house dating from 1780. One of its earliest landlords, Henry Perry, was a butcher who had a slaughterhouse behind the pub, and later, Louisa Perry continued as one of the few women butchers in the country. The pub was kept by the Perry family for over 100 years, and was popularly known as “Sally’s” or “Old Sal’s” after long-serving landlady, Sally (Perry) Williams, who kept the pub from 1942-1991. Philip Bellfield
reopened the brewery in 1995, but ceased brewing when Batham’s (Brierley Hill) took over the pub in 1997. The pub had a “makeover” in the 1920s and retains many original features, including handpulls on the wall, a mirrored bar-back, wooden panelling and etched windows, and is included in CAMRA’S national inventory of historic pubs. Since it’s also haunted, ladies tend to go to the toilets in pairs because of apparitions seen there. Some say that one of the pub’s finest moments was when Nigel Farage called in during his 2014 election campaign!
A few doors away was the Shakespeare, dating from 1854 and originally
the Painters Arms, but converted into take-aways in 2000. Further along Kent Street was the Pig on the Wall, originally the Miner’s Arms dating from 1841 and later the Bricklayer’s Arms. It was also known as “Hammond’s” after licencees Annie and William Hammond who kept the pub between 1913-1974, and was home to the Painter’s Morris
team. After a fire in 1987, it reopened as the Pig on the Wall under John and Pat Green, and was not only the first pub in Gornal to have a 1am licence, but also had six hotel bedrooms. Many will remember this lively pub which was sadly closed and replaced by Mcdonalds in 2002.
At the junction with Jews Lane was the Green Dragon, dating from 1826, with its pigeon club and popular dances, but converted into a restaurant in 2006. Other historic pubs in Kent Street included the Limerick (1851), which became a Co-op store in 1909, and the Lion (1859), originally named the Exhibition Inn where Ada Cartwright brewed, but closed in 1963.
Modern
From 1858-1937, Edward and John Bodenham kept the Royal Oak (18391972), while the Three Horseshoes (1832) was originally known as the Horseshoe Inn until 1913, but closed in 1921. The modern Spills Meadow pub, opened in 1976, is no replacement for these historic pubs.
At the top end of Clarence Street is the Jolly Crispin, a former 18th century shoemaker’s house named after the patron saint of shoemakers, St Crispin. It became a pub in 1831 and has plenty of history. In 1845, Joseph Penn was convicted of manslaughter
here and was transported to Tasmania. It was a home-brew pub until Simpkiss (Brierley Hill) took it over in 1940. Until recently, it was the taphouse for Fownes Brewery, who had their beer served in the Stranger’s Bar at the House of Commons in 2013. It remains a popular free-house, winning CAMRA awards, with Fownes’ “Crispin’s Ommer”, other guest beers and regular “tap-takeovers”. Almost opposite was the Cottage of Content (1848-1998), now a restaurant.
Nailmakers
Not far away was the Horse and Jockey (1833-1986), popular with local nailmakers and remembered for the foaming tankards served during the Sedgley Wakes in the adjoining field, with free roast beef and landlord Jack Millard’s rabbit in port wine! Nearby, the Leopard also dated from 1833, with the Sedgley Brewery next door. Landlord Lawrence “Lol” Abbis kept the pub until 1962 and knew everything about dogs, pigeons, ferrets and game, but it closed in 2015 and was replaced with housing.
In the 1830s, Ruiton folk were wellknown for selling white sand, ground from Gornal stone in the local windmills. They also bought salt from Droitwich and Cheshire and sold it from their distinctive wagons across the Black Country. Several historic pubs supported their trade.
Chapel
Next to the Wesleyan chapel in Duke Street, the White Lion dated from 1833, but was gone by 1913. Towards the top end of Vale Street was the Good Intent, originally a row of houses dating from 1820 and converted into a pub in 1851. It was kept by Harold and Gemma Guest from 1937-1976, but sadly closed in 2010. Further along Vale Street, the Bull and Butcher (1845) only survived until 1913, and further down Holloway Street, the Crown (1841) was converted into offices in 2011.
In Hill Street, the Duke William (1833) was one of six beerhouses within 500 yards, which was losing money and closed in 1928. A few doors away, the Durham Ox (1864) was converted into a house in 1994.
Mill
In Mill Street, the Mill (1852) recalls the 17th century Ruewardine (Ruiton) windmill. In the 1880s, it was kept by William Parrish who also owned the Junction Inn, a local colliery and several racehorses. It was home to the local Band of Hope and once had a small brewery run by William Naylor until 1940. It was bought by Holden’s (Dudley) in 1981, and it’s now a popular local pub, run by Sam Vasey and Charlotte Smith.
Although all the collieries and quarries have now closed, and many historic pubs were swept away by redevelopment, a few iconic pubs survive in Upper Gornal serving some excellent real ale. Long may they prosper!
■ With acknowledgement to Tony Hitchmough, Joseph Mckenna, Angus Dunphy, Trevor Genge, and lowergornal.co.uk