One of the few remaining pubs in Washwood Heath likely to be demolished

Left: The Crossguns Pub. One of a few pubs remaining in Washwood Heath.

Although pubs in general are having a tough time in the current economic climate, when the surrounding area changes from 80% British, to 90% Pakistani within the space of ten years, this surely is a factor.
The nearby Swan pub closed down around five years ago. The 'Cross Guns' is still a relatively popular pub as people visit it from surrounding area's.





Left: Pak Supermarket recently replaced the bus garage at Washwood Heath.

Washwood Heath History (Wasshewode: first record 1454)

The Wash Brook is the stream that runs alongside Ward End Park and is thereafter culverted to its confluence with the River Tame. Its name derives from Old English gewaesc and means 'ground washed over by water' ie. land susceptible to flooding.

n 1760 the Castle Bromwich (Coleshill) Turnpike cut through the district. The old road to Coleshill had run from the Rea ford, now replaced by Saltley Viaduct, along Alum Rock Road to Stechford Road. The heathland across Washwood Heath must have made for better travel. This is land on well-drained glacial drift. There was a large gravel pit north of Phillimore Road until the end of the 19th century. Where the route crossed the Wash Brook the ford was paved and later a hump-backed bridge was built. The river is now culverted beyond this point and barely noticeable.

During the 18th century a gibbet stood at Washwood Heath. Although its site is unknown, it may have been near the junction of Washwood Heath Road and Aston Church Road, this being the highest point in the area. A public hanging of eight men at these gallows attracted 100 000 people in 1802. As was the custom the tarred bodies were left to hang in irons, a constant warning to potential law-breakers.
William Dargue - A History of Birmingham Places & Placenames


The Birmingham mail reports on the future of the Cross Guns

A PUB company locked in a “dodgy data” row over a bid to demolish a Birmingham watering hole is set to win approval for the controversial scheme.

Punch Taverns was rapped earlier this month after an investigation claimed the firm’s application for permission to knock down the Cross Guns pub in Washwood Heath Road, Washwood Heath, contained an inaccurate list of alternatives – many of which were closed or demolished.

The company, which has planned 13 houses for the pub site, insisted it had not tried to deceive Birmingham City Council into approving its proposals. Read more