00:00Here we are at the oldest pub in Birmingham, the Old Crown.
00:07The building actually predates the Civil War by some years.
00:12They say it was founded originally in 1368.
00:15In fact, when Leyland visited Birmingham in the 16th century, he noted the building which was here.
00:22So here we are actually inside the Old Crown and with me I have Ciaran,
00:26who's going to tell me a little bit about the history of this magnificent place.
00:31Ciaran, so when does the pub date from?
00:35So on the building it says 1368 and I think that's when the site dates from,
00:41but the actual construction of the building was 1450s to 1500s.
00:50Is there any original features of the building still that can be seen?
00:54Yeah, so if you were to walk around, all of the original beams that could have been used,
01:01have been used back when it was renovated.
01:05And you can see that by just looking up and seeing all of the dark and light beams.
01:10There's also the original construction of, is it Wattle and Dorb?
01:16Yeah.
01:16In one of the rooms that's been preserved by conservation as well.
01:21So lots of original features.
01:22Of course the beauty of the pub is actually on the main entrance into Birmingham as a town itself.
01:28And of course the Civil War passed through here.
01:30What were the connections to the pub to the Civil War?
01:33So I wasn't there, so I can only tell you what I've read.
01:37But I know about Prince Rupert men and I know that they were camped up on Camp Hill,
01:46hence why it's called Camp Hill, up at the top of the road there.
01:51So I understand that the old crown had a position along the line where they marched into the city and
02:02obviously the bloodbath that ensued after that.
02:07Yeah.
02:07Because one of the reasons that you have survived is because you're a pub.
02:10Yeah.
02:11The troops needed to water horses, they needed to be fed, they needed to be housed.
02:16So all the pubs on this line, like the old ship inn further up, actually survived.
02:20Oh wow.
02:20And actually that's one of the reasons you're still here, which I think is quite fantastic really.
02:23So have you had any other famous people stay here?
02:26Again, the history books tell us that Queen Elizabeth I stayed here.
02:32And we've got a room upstairs that has actually got an emblem in there that commemorates her stay.
02:40So don't quote me on the dates, but I think it was around 1575.
02:45Well, Kieran, thank you very much.
02:47So the old crown, this is the consistency of Birmingham.
02:51I think that's a brilliant comment to actually make.
02:54Birmingham may change, but the old crown remains the same.
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