On the 25th November 2015 we went to Cannock to visit The Four Crosses which became an important coaching house in the latter part of it's history. But to get there we had a bit of a journey ourselves.
The Four Crosses is closed and has been for a while so we were expecting to just go and have a beer outside and take a couple of pictures. But my son, Clint, found a phone number for the pub and gave it a ring. The phone was answered by a chap called Alan who confirmed that, yes, the pub was closed, he had been installed there as a caretaker and was doubtful as to whether it would open again. My son then explained what we were doing and asked, politely, if there was a chance that we could call in for ten minutes, have a quick look round and take a couple of pictures. It was a resounding no. He was under strict instruction not to let any one in or even discuss the place in detail. So, that was that.
Except, it wasn't. My son then decided to rind the brewery that owned the pub (unfortunately, neither of us can remember which brewery it was). He eventually found the manager that was dealing with it and explained to him, then asked, politely again, if there was any chance we could go and have a look round and take some pictures.
The answer came straightaway, "Of course, no problem. when do you want to go? I'll tell Alan to expect you and let you have the run of the place" Result!
So, here we are on our way!
And here I am outside the front of the pub.
It's a big old place and with lots of interesting architecture (not that either of us profess to know anything about architecture, it just looks good). We made our way round the back and found the way in.
No, not that, this,
Anyway, we knocked on the door a couple of times and, after a short wait, a guy opened the door. This was Alan, and we both got the distinct impression that he wasn't best pleased that we'd gone over his head and he now had to put up with us.
But, Hey ho!!!
After a while he warmed up a bit and he told us that since the place closed there'd been several people interested but it never went anywhere. One company wanted to turn it into a hotel (it has quite a lot of bedrooms) but one of the biggest obstacles was the fact that the doors to the bedrooms were not fire rated and, because it's a listed building, they wouldn't be able to change the doors ( I don't know the rules for listed building works, but you would think there would be a way round that, a compromise, maybe. Better to make changes than let it rot).
Here's a few pictures of the inside,
As you can see, nice fireplaces, lots of oak beams and all the furniture still in place. There's also a few interesting things on the walls too.
This is a picture of what was supposed to be a military uniform found in a trunk in the attic in the 1950s. The jacket is made of velvet and the trousers are buckskin. It was made for a boy and dates to the 1850s. It's now in a museum.
This one tells the history of some of the other inns on Watling Street, most of which no longer exist.
Well, it's getting late and I've probably done enough for tonight. It also seems quite tiring doing it on your own or maybe that's just my age. Anyway, I'll attack it again tomorrow but for now,
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment