Toby Neal takes a walk down memory lane to look at some of Ironbridge’s pubs from years ago.

The Railway Tavern in the early 1900s

With the rate Shropshire’s pubs are closing, future generations will be left to rely on the fading memories of today’s generation to point out which buildings were once the hostelries serving their local communities – or, if they have been demolished, where they stood.

While things are particularly bad now, pub closures have been a fact of life down the decades, and in all Shropshire towns there are buildings which have had a previous, perhaps less sober, role.

• To see larger pictures go to the gallery at the foot of this page

A photo in our Pictures From The Past slot has helped throw the spotlight on the disappeared pubs in just one town – Ironbridge.

It showed the old Railway Tavern pub in High Street, part of a row of shops and buildings which was demolished to make way for a roundabout at the bottom of Madeley Hill in the early 1970s.

It seems unlikely that there is anyone alive who supped a pint at the Railway Tavern. But, thanks to Wayne Owen, whose great-great-aunt Hannah Owen is the licensee in the doorway, we can fill in quite a lot of details about it, and also the Owen family, which was intertwined with the Ironbridge pub scene.

The photo was loaned to us by Paul France, who wondered if Hannah was connected with the Owen family who kept the Robin Hood pub for many years.

Wayne, who is from Madeley, rang in to say: “He is right – she was the sister of Edwin Owen, licensee of the Robin Hood.

“Hannah took over the Railway Tavern from her father George Owen. The Owens are associated with Ironbridge since the Iron Bridge was built and she was related to Percy Wilcox-Owen, who was an Isle of Man TT racer in 1912-13. She was also the aunt of Eustace Rogers, the Ironbridge coracle-maker.

“Her great uncles were maltsters. They owned Owen’s Buildings at Dale End.

“Her great niece Emmie ran the Horse and Jockey. She married twice – Emmie Goodwin was her second married name.

“Hannah’s father was a master shoemaker who also ran the Foresters Arms, which has sadly gone. It was in St Luke’s Road, Ironbridge.

“Her great-grandfather John was a barge owner and also ran the Coopers Arms in Ironbridge, which has again gone. I believe it was somewhere on the side of the Severn, but nobody seems able to pin down where.”

Wayne has never seen the picture before, nor indeed any pictures of Hannah before, but has various pointers which could narrow down the date.

“Her father originally had a tobacconists with his second wife alongside that pub. When he died in 1894 she took the pub over. She was born in 1861 and died in 1921. She is wearing black. I don’t know whether that is from the mourning period for her father, or just the order of the day.

“Hannah never married. The other person on the picture might be her brother, my maternal great-grandfather Harry Owen – it looks very similar to him. Harry used to brew for the Swan and the Talbot, along with doing his stonemason’s job, so it’s possible he used to brew beer for her.”

Wayne thinks that the pub may have become a shop after Hannah’s death.

Meanwhile Eric Green, a pubs historian, can shed light on the site of the Coopers Arms, and also the fate of many other Ironbridge pubs.

“The Coopers Arms was close to Eustace Rogers’ old house. There was a triangle of land and it was by the riverside, about 50 yards from the Iron Bridge,” he said.

The Railway Tavern was one of 10 demolished Ironbridge pubs, the others being The Chestnuts on The Wharfage; The Queens Head Inn, High Street; The Coopers Arms; The Crown Inn and The Blockhouse, both in Waterloo Street; The Foresters Arms, Belle Vue Road (although Wayne gives the location as adjoining St Luke’s Road – they run in together); The Anchor and The Fox Inn, both Madeley Wood; and The Wheatsheaf, in “Wharf Street”, which was presumably at or near the Wharfage.

Eric added: “A lot of the pubs are still there but people don’t recognise them as such because they’re now private properties.”

Still standing but now serving other uses are: The Rodney, on the Wharfage; The Three Tuns, High Street; Queens Head Hotel, High Street; Lakes Head Tavern, Waterloo Street; The Unicorn, Newbridge Road; The Old House, Wesley Road; The Bath Tavern, Bath Road; and The George and Dragon, Madeley Bank.

“Many of these pubs closed for various reasons. Early in the 20th Century the Consumption Act closed pubs with low ale production. In Ironbridge, the introduction of a sewerage system and slum clearance in the 1930s saw the demolition of many houses and pubs,” said Eric.

Many of the pubs in the area were little more than hovels and were rather dilapidated, he said.

If anyone has information about old pubs in Ironbridge, Madeley, or Jackfield – or is seeking information about them – Eric would be pleased to hear from them on 01952 583362.