The 19th century boozer The Woodman reopened to the public in September. It had been closed for two years due to the strain following the pandemic as well as HS2 works on its doorstep. However, Union Inns has taken over the pub and promises to protect “the institution that is the British pub”.
That means protecting the Woodman by retaining substantial areas of its interior including the Minton tiles that feature at the terracotta building. Union Inns director John Brearley said that the business had signed a 25 year lease with Birmingham City Council. It’s a stone’s throw away from the Curzon Street terminal.
We take a look at some of the other classic Victorian boozers in the city and it seems there are not as many as you may first think. Many of the pubs are either older, or newer than the Victorian period. Queen Victoria reigned from 20 June 1837 to 22 January 1901 a total of 63 years, seven months and two days.
Read more: The beautiful buildings of Birmingham we should never have pulled down
Many of the early pubs in Birmingham were built before that period with the oldest pub in the city The Old Crown built in 1368 so making it hundreds of years before classing as a ‘Victorian pub’.
Other classic and well known pubs have either come and gone like many of the M&B pubs in the region. The Maypole, The Fox Hollies are just a few which were built in the 1920s and are now both supermarkets. The Hare and Hounds famous for the first gig of UB40 was actually built around 1820, so again cannot be classed as a Victorian pub.
Here are just a small collection of some of my favourites in the area.