Step off the train and walk into a Codsall pub full of character

A lot of train stations are within easy walk of a pub or bar, but Codsall Station is among the few across the country which has a pub purpose built into the existing building, allowing it to co-exist as both a travel hub and ale house.

The pub was sensitively converted in 1997 by Holden's Brewery from the waiting room, offices and stationmaster’s house at Codsall Station, having laid dormant and unused for about 20 years, and after a cellar was dug into the foundations, opened as a pub that year.

The Grade II listed building comprises a bar, lounge, snug with log fires and a conservatory, all displaying worldwide railway memorabilia, while steps lead from the conservatory up to the outside drinking terrace with tables and benches overlooking the working station platforms.

The pub is the sister pub under the Holden's Brewery name to the Great Western and shares a lot of the same characteristics, with landlord Toby Lardner saying that he had been working in pubs for years and jumped at the opportunity to run one of his own.

He said: "I started here in 2015 and became landlord a year later, having served my apprenticeship through glass collecting at the age of 16 and doing bits and bobs in pubs, then my ex-in laws took on the pub in 2007.

"I came in originally at relief manager and when the previous landlord left, I took the opportunity to take over.

"It's an amazing pub and so unique and the first time I walked in, I was just wowed by it as it's on a working train line and I don't think there's that many, so we might be one of the top five train line pubs in the whole country."

The pub is a well-known and much acclaimed part of the area, having been runner up in the CAMRA South Staffs Branch Pub of the Year in 2022, and Mr Lardner said the location and setting on the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line was one of its major selling points.

He said: "You're in Wolverhampton in about eight minutes or Birmingham in 30 minutes or Shrewsbury in 32 minutes, so this is like the perfect place to go for pre-drinks if you're going out.

"We have a lot of regulars and people who use it as their regular base, but we also find that we have a lot of people who are passing trade due to going to Wolverhampton or who are train people or who are Wolves supporters as it's a big stop off point before they go to the football.

"It's also great because of Codsall, which is an amazing area. I've just bought a house here as I'm originally from Birmingham, but I fell in love with the place and I've never wanted to go back to Birmingham."

As a Holden's pub, the drink selection at Codsall Station is centred around the Holden's brewery drinks such as Golden Glow, Black Country Bitter and Special, while also catering for customer tastes by bringing in guest ales as requested.

The food menu provides a traditional selection as well, from Black Country classics like Faggots, Mash and Peas to more traditional pub fayre such as Scampi and chips, burgers, jacket potatoes and a very popular Sunday roast.

For Toby Lardner, the pub has become his life and his love and said it was a brilliant place to work, run by a brilliant company.

He said: "It's all about the people and the brewery, who are fantastic people to work for and, as a family-run brewery, give that close knit and family feeling.

"It's the same with the regulars and the people of Codsall as it's just a really nice place and they're a really nice group of people."