Modern times have not been good times for Britain’s pubs, and there have been a huge number of closures.
Like other areas, Telford has been hit hard, and many a local has been lost forever. In some cases the pub building has been converted and given another life, like, for instance, the former Pear Tree Bridge Inn at Oakengates, which was turned into flats, or the Royal Oak in Madeley, which is now an Indian restaurant.
Often though the pattern has been of demolition followed by redevelopment, with perhaps the name of the former pub being remembered in some way by whatever is built on the site.
Then there are those pubs which have had a less dignified fate, with their grim story being: closed down, burned down, knocked down.
In our photo selection we showcase just a few of Telford’s disappeared pubs and clubs from relatively recent years. They were once lively, social places of laughter and chat, drinking and darts, music and pool. Now gone.
Raise a glass and say goodbye.
21. It's not where you think
The Old Shawbirch pub was not in Shawbirch. It was in Trench Road, Trench. It had been boarded up for years by the time this photo was taken in September 2017. According to the Campaign for Real Ale it had closed around 2007, although another source gives 2009. | Shropshire Star
22. Demolition day off
Demolition nearly complete at the Old Shawbirch pub. It's Boxing Day, Thursday, December 26, 2019, so nobody is at work. It was already boarded up by February 2012 after which, according to local councillors, it became the target of vandals, anti-social behaviour, and squatters. Currently the empty site remains boarded up and overgrown. | Shropshire Star
23. Pub with a grim past
The Queens Head Inn, Ketley, seen here being demolished on September 26, 1973, had a grim place in criminal history. The licensee, a Mrs Edge, was murdered there in September 1950 by Frank Griffin. He was hanged in January 1951, one of the last people to be executed at Shrewsbury Jail. | Shropshire Star
24. The music's over
The Haygate on Haygate Road in Wellington was a large pub well known as a live music venue. But it became dormant after the proprietors moved to France. Here it is being demolished in January 2019. The site has been redeveloped. The Haygate played host to thousands of bands from all over the world, and built up a reputation as a place for young and emerging rock bands to grow their fanbases and connect with other musicians. Among events held there was a punk and ska festival, and the pub had also hosted an indie festival. The pub seems to have dated back to the 1930s or perhaps late 1920s - it was certainly in existence by 1939. | Shropshire Star