The Old Crown, a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
in
Deritend
Deritend is a historic area of Birmingham, England, built around a crossing point of the River Rea. It is first mentioned in 1276. Today Deritend is usually considered to be part of Digbeth.
History
Deritend was a crossing point of the River Rea ...
, claims to be one of the oldest extant secular buildings in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England. It is
Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, and claims to date back to c. 1368, retaining its "black and white" timber frame, although almost all of the present building dates from the early 16th century.
History
It is believed the building was constructed between 1450 and 1500 with some evidence dating to 1492 (the same year the
Saracen's Head
The Saracen's Head is the name formerly given to a group of late medieval buildings in Kings Norton, Birmingham. The buildings, together with the nearby Old Grammar School, won the BBC ''Restoration'' series in 2004. Following the restoration p ...
in nearby
Kings Norton
Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward within the Government of Birmingham, England. The district lies 6.5 miles south-southwes ...
was completed). Leland noted the building, upon entering Birmingham, in 1538 as a "mansion house of tymber". It is thought to have been originally built as the
Guildhall
A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...
and School of St. John, Deritend. This Guild owned a number of other buildings throughout Warwickshire, including the Guildhall in
Henley in Arden
Henley-in-Arden (also known as simply Henley) is a town in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. The name is a reference to the former Forest of Arden. Henley is known for its variety of historic buildings, some of which date ...
. The building was purchased in 1589, by "John Dyckson, alias Bayleys", who, in the 1580s, had been buying a number of properties and lands in
"the street called Deritend" and in Bordesley. Described as a
tenement
A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...
and garden, running alongside Heath Mill Lane, the building remained in the Dixon alias Baylis (later Dixon) family for the next hundred years.
In the original deed, John Dyckson is described as a
"Caryer", which in the West Midlands at this time, when roads were nothing more than
hollow-ways and
bridle path
A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...
s, implied that he owned several trains of
pack-horses. These would have needed stabling, and Dixon would have needed warehouse space to store goods awaiting dispatch, and arrived goods awaiting collection. Such facilities would be useful to other travellers, and it may well be that the use of the house as an
Inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
, dates from this time. Indeed, since England was in the grip of a patriotic pother over the failed
Armada the previous year, it would have been opportune to adopt the name: 'the Crown'. However, the earliest ''documentary evidence'' of the building's use as an
Inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
is from 1626; and it being "called by the sign of the Crowne", from 1666.
[In a marriage settlement dated 21 Dec 1666. (Birmingham Archives and Heritage, MS 3881/48).]
Heated skirmishes were fought around the building when
Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
's forces raided Birmingham during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
.
The building was converted into two houses in 1684 and then converted into three houses in 1693. It remained three houses until the 19th century. In 1851,
Joshua Toulmin Smith
Joshua Toulmin Smith (29 May 1816 – 28 April 1869) was a British political theorist, lawyer and local historian of Birmingham.
Born in Birmingham as Joshua Smith, the son of William Hawkes Smith (1786–1840), an economic and educational ref ...
saved the Old Crown from demolition when
the Corporation proposed demolishing the building in order to "improve the street". Again in 1856 and 1862 the Corporation proposed to demolish the building; Smith saved the building each time.
In 1991 a local pub company owned by the Brennan family bought the Old Crown. In the summer of 1994, Pat Brennan and his youngest son, Peter, were doing repairs and clearing out the old sheds to the rear of the property when they found the old well, which had been closed off for more than 100 years. Now restored, it is situated at the rear entrance of the pub. At the end of May 1998, under the guidance of Pat and Ellen Brennan and their sons Patrick, Gary and Peter, after the family's £2 million investment into Birmingham's most famous hostelry, The Old Crown was restored to its former glory and reopened.
Construction
The building is wide and deep on the ground floor. On the first floor, which overhangs the front, it is deep. When built, the original building had a central hall with a length of and a width of . Below this were a number of arched cellars. On the upper floor were just four rooms. The building had a courtyard to its rear which contained a
well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
. It was deep and surrounded by large stones. The well was excavated and deepened to produce a total depth of . The new section of the well was lined with square bricks. At the top, it was at its narrowest diameter and at its widest diameter. It widened to around at the bottom. The well was cleaned in 1863 and Smith added an iron gate to the top of it to preserve it whilst keeping it accessible.
See also
*
List of oldest companies
This list of the oldest companies in the world includes brands and companies, excluding associations and educational, government, or religious organizations. To be listed, a brand or company name must remain operating, either in whole or in part, ...
References
Sources
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External links
The Old Crown's web siteBirmingham City Council page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Crown
Pubs in Birmingham, West Midlands
Grade II* listed buildings in Birmingham
Grade II* listed pubs in England