Is this the Fleur-De-Lys? Click for a larger version. Image kindly supplied by David Evans.
Here’s a quick one for a Sunday. Some time ago, reader and Bon Viveur David Evans found this image for sale at a church fayre in Brownhills, at I believe at St. James. He didn’t purchase it, but he did take a crafty snapshot.
Here’s what he had to say:
I think it may well be the original Fleur-de-Lys , on the Watling Street… Perhaps Norton Canes folk can identify it?
I snapped a photo of this while it was in a frame and for sale at St James church some while ago, so it remains their property -but I forget to note the details
cheers
David
The last incarnation of the Fleur-de-Lys, as the Water Margin restaurant, burnt down a couple of years ago (those pesky arsonists again…), but the original was quite noted, I believe. The pub in the picture is clearly a pub in a mining area – check the brace trusses around the building.
Remember, the Grove Pit Disaster was said to take place ‘under the Fleur-de-Lys’.
Further, was there a history of fox hunting hereabouts? Was this an activity the occupants of a local hall may have been involved in? It’s not something I’ve noted recorded here at all. Perhaps it was a hazardous activity in a landscape covered with abandoned mineshafts and bell pits…
On a side issue, ‘Sparking Ales’ – this is before lager, I presume. Whats that all about, then?
All contributions welcome. Comment here, please, or BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Thanks.
Oh, and the title? Can’t let that pass. RIP Minnie. A real singer.
