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Birmingham: The Old Crown In Digbeth Photos (Part 2)

On Monday the 11th of September, 2023, I visited the Old Crown in High Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, for the first time in my life, as part of Birmingham Heritage Week.

Being a Brummie, born and bred, I have passed this pub a lot of times, especially as I got older and I always wondered what it would be like inside. Although as an adult I could have popped in at any time I never got around to it until now. I am pleased I saw, as part of Heritage Week, that this Medieval pub was presenting an exhibition on the 655-year history of Birmingham’s oldest pub. It included never-before-seen photos and illustrations of the Grade-II* listed venue, as well as giving away a booklet by Carl Chinn.

I couldn’t really look around and appreciate how historic it is as much as I would have liked and take better shots inside of the old features because it was packed (and noisy) but I managed to take some decent enough photos to share. Sadly, and bloody annoyingly, 19 photos didn’t turn out at all. It had been a long day for me, coming from Edgbaston after doing a lot of walking around Cannon Hill Park (also another Heritage Week event) and it was a very hot day so my phone was heating up, on charge and playing up by now so that would explain that mystery. It is just my usual bad luck but that’s a subject for another day!

I would have liked to have taken better ones outside too but there are seemingly never-ending roadworks going on and fences everywhere so the options to take decent photos, including crossing to the other side which is completely blocked off, makes it all very restricting indeed.

As someone who battles mental health problems daily, it wasn’t easy being there on my own and my anxiety was very high but it is a nice pub to go to and I am glad I went. I hope to take some better photos one day, however, at £5.50 for a pint of lager shandy, I won’t be going there that often!

The Old Crown In Digbeth Photos (Part 2)

The interior of The Old Crown in Digbeth. Taken on 09/09/23.

The Old Crown well in The Old Crown in Digbeth. Taken on 09/09/23.

The History of The Old Crown sign in The Old Crown in Digbeth. Taken on 09/09/23.

History of The Old Crown in Digbeth. Taken on 09/09/23.

Blog Posts

Birmingham: The Old Crown In Digbeth.

Birmingham: The Old Crown In Digbeth, Birmingham Photos (Part 1).

Notes And Links

The Old Crown – Official website.

The Old Crown on Facebook.

The Old Crown on Twitter.

The Old Crown on Instagram.

The Old Crown on YouTube.

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Birmingham: The Old Crown In Digbeth Photos (Part 1)

On Monday the 11th of September, 2023, I visited the Old Crown in High Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, for the first time in my life, as part of Birmingham Heritage Week.

The Old Crown In Digbeth Photos (Part 1)

Looking towards the side of The Old Crown in Digbeth. Taken on 09/09/23.

Looking towards The Old Crown in Digbeth. Taken on 09/09/23.

The Old Crown in Digbeth. Taken on 09/09/23.

Looking towards the side of The Old Crown in Digbeth. Taken on 09/09/23.

The Old Crown sign at The Old Crown in Digbeth. Taken on 09/09/23.

The interior of The Old Crown in Digbeth. Taken on 09/09/23.

Blog Posts

Birmingham: The Old Crown In Digbeth.

Birmingham: The Old Crown In Digbeth, Birmingham Photos (Part 2).

Notes And Links

The Old Crown – Official website.

The Old Crown on Facebook.

The Old Crown on Twitter.

The Old Crown on Instagram.

The Old Crown on YouTube.

Birmingham: The Old Crown In Digbeth

On Monday the 11th of September, 2023, I visited the Old Crown in High Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, for the first time in my life, as part of Birmingham Heritage Week. The pub was celebrating its 165th birthday over the weekend.

Photos Of The Old Crown, Digbeth

Click here to see photographic memories of my time there.

About The Old Crown, Digbeth

The Old Crown pub is in Deritend and is a Grade II* listed building retaining its black and white timber frame. Almost all of the present building dates from the early 16th century.

The Old Crown is Birmingham’s oldest secular building and has existed since 1368.

It is Birmingham’s oldest inn with Queen Elizabeth I staying here in 1575 on her way home from Kenilworth Castle.

Rooms are individually decorated with a mix of en-suite and shared bathrooms. Facilities include TV, tea and coffee, towels and free wifi.

The pub has a restaurant and there are various local eateries a short walk away and award-winning purveyors of street food, Digbeth Dining Club, takes place just two minutes away. The Old Crown is situated a 10-minute walk from the city centre and has many local attractions within easy reach.

Having stood the test of time during the English Civil War the pub & events garden now stands proud in the heart of Digbeth, Birmingham’s thriving creative quarter.

History Of The Old Crown

It is believed the building was constructed between 1450 and 1500 with some evidence dating to 1492 (the same year the Saracen’s Head in nearby Kings Norton was completed). John Leland visited the town during his tours of England and Wales upon entering Birmingham, in 1538 noted the building, as a “mansion house of tymber”. It is thought to have been originally built as the Guildhall and School of St. John, Deritend. This Guild owned a number of other buildings throughout Warwickshire, including the Guildhall in Henley in Arden. The building was purchased in 1589, by John Dyckson, alias Bayleys who, in the 1580’s, had been buying a number of properties and lands in Deritend and in Bordesley.

Described as a tenement 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 paths, 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, 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 is from 1626. In a marriage settlement dated the 21st of December, 1666 it was noted by the sign of the Crowne

Heated skirmishes were fought around the building when Prince Rupert’s forces raided Birmingham during the English Civil War.

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 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 and 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.

The History of The Old Crown sign inside the pub.

Looking towards The Old Crown, Digbeth, Birmingham. Taken on 09/09/23.

The Old Crown in 2006.

Construction Of The Old Crown

The building is 71 feet, 4 inches (21.74 meters) wide and 20 feet, 2 inches (6.15 meters) deep on the ground floor. On the first floor, which overhangs the front, it is 21 feet, 9 inches (6.63 meters) deep. When built, the original building had a central hall with a length of 40 feet (12 meters) and a width of 20 feet (6 meters). 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. It was 26 feet (8 meters) deep and surrounded by large stones. The well was excavated and deepened to produce a total depth of 38 feet (12 meters). The new section of the well was lined with square bricks. At the top, it was 2 feet 7 inches, (787.4 millimetres) at its narrowest diameter and 2 feet, 9 in (838.2 millimetres) at its widest diameter. It widened to around 4 feet (1.2 meters) 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.

The Old Crown well. Taken on 09/09/23.

Read more about The Old Crown here.

The above article is sourced from The Old Crown website in the About The Old Crown section. The rest is from Wikipedia and is subject to change.

Opening Times

Monday to Thursday: 12:00 p.m. to 23:30 p.m.

Food service until 9:00 p.m.

Friday to Saturday: 12:00 p.m. to 0:30 a.m.

Food service until 9:00 p.m.

Sunday: 12:00 p.m. to 23:00 p.m.

Food service until 5:45 p.m.

Bookings

The Old Crown, winner of the Best Traditional Pub at the 2019 Midland Food and Drink Hospitality Awards, has 10 bedrooms and 1 apartment available to book.

Bookings are not compulsory but highly recommended, especially for weekends, due to how busy they are. They always hold some space for walk-ins, so please feel free to come down even if your preferred date is full, and they will do their best to seat you.

Some dates will show as unavailable in their booking calendar due to events that are yet to be released.

Although they do not have on-site parking, there are a number of local car parks (2 located on the High Street, visible from the hotel), feel free to enquire with them for more details or directions.

To book a room or send them an enquiry via e-mail click here.

Address

High St

Deritend

Birmingham

B12 0LD

Telephone

0121 248 1368.

E-Mail

info@theoldcrown.com

Blog Posts

Birmingham: The Old Crown In Digbeth, Birmingham Photos (Part 1).

Birmingham: The Old Crown In Digbeth, Birmingham Photos (Part 2).

Links

Images on this page of The Old Crown are the copyright of Frank Parker unless otherwise stated.

The image above of The Old Crown in 2006 is the copyright of Wikipedia user Oosoom. It comes with a Creative Commons licence (CC BY-SA 3.0).

The Old Crown – Official website.

The Old Crown on Facebook.

The Old Crown on Twitter.

The Old Crown on Instagram.

The Old Crown on YouTube.

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