Jono's Tourism

10/09/2024

As part of the Lichfield History festival, in September and October, organised across all Staffordshire Libraries and Arts, Archives and Museums, I’ll be hosting my ‘Jono’s Photos of Lichfield’ event at Lichfield Library (on the ground floor of the Hub at St Mary’s) again this year.
I’ll be bringing my vintage postcards of Lichfield and surrounding villages again, by this time I’ll also be bringing some of my many memorabilia items, part of what I call ‘Jono’s Museum of Lichfield’!!
It’s a FREE event, drop-in between: 10.30am to 12noon on Tuesday 8 October 2024.
It’s market day too, so you can pick up some bargains on the market square before / after the event, and you can get a cup of coffee and a slice of cake from the cafe at the Hub too.
Remember, you can pop along to ‘Ask Jono’ a question about the history of Lichfield too, or bring along a piece of Lichfield memorabilia that you own.
See you on 8 October at the Library!

Staffordshire Libraries Staffordshire Archives and Heritage The Hub at St Mary's Lichfield Markets Guildhall Lichfield

09/09/2024

Lichfield's Market Square of the Past...
Two more of my vintage postcards of Lichfield, this time of Market Street / Market Square. Both are unposted and undated, but the first one, looking up towards Market Street, is from the late 1930s / early 1940s (you can see the railings around the statue of Samuel Johnson, which were removed to help the war effort during World War Two). To the right you can see the building that was the Minster Cafe, owned by Frederick Garratts bakery company, and is now part of the Nat West bank building. Behind that is BT Sadlers draper's shop (now Birds bakery shop and Specsavers) and then BT Redingtons, the tobacconists (now the City Cobbler leather goods shop, previously City Jewellers of Lichfield).
The second postcard is from the 1950s (the railings around the Johnson statue are now missing), looking across the Market Square towards Dam Street / Conduit Street. On the far left of the photograph you can see J&C Ivison, florists, a long-standing family business, now located on Bird Street.
To the right, on Market Street, you can see the fabulous building that was home to FJ Long & Son, department store, demolished in 1970 to make way for the (not quite so fabulous!) Nat West and HSBC banks. On the far right, on Conduit Street, you can see the old Malt Shovel pub, now the Fat Face store.
I love the canopies drawn down over the shop frontages, a very popular sight in the early part of the 20th century, but not so prevalent today. The small, slim cars of the day are definitely in contrast to today's SUVs and 4 x 4s!

Ivison, The Lichfield Florist Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum & Bookshop Specsavers

08/09/2024

My last batch of photographs from the 2024 Sheriff’s Ride come from the return of the Ride into the city. The Ride horse riders and cyclists were met on Beacon Street, by the Cathedral Hotel, by the Sword Bearer and two Mace Bearers, who escorted the procession in to the cathedral close, where they were greeted by Canon Steed at the Bishop’s Palace.
After a short break the Ride continued down Dam Street, across the Market Square, and then finished outside the Guildhall on Bore Street.
Despite the grey and drizzly day a great event, continuing the long history of one of Lichfield’s key customs and traditions - Long Live the Sheriff’s Ride!

Sheriff of Lichfield Guildhall Lichfield

08/09/2024

Lichfield’s very first Junior Sheriff!
My second batch of photographs from yesterday’s Sheriffs Ride come from the lunch time break at Freeford Manor, home of the Dyott family.
Nine-year-old Grace Francis, who goes to Streethay Primary School, accompanied the ride all around the route, sometimes in the horse and carriage and sometimes in one of the official cars.
Grace became the first Junior Sheriff of Lichfield, on the 471st anniversary of the Ride, when Gregory Stonynge became the very first Sheriff in 1553.
Grace seemed to enjoy every second of her big day and I’m sure this will start a long tradition of the new role of Junior Sheriff!

Sheriff of Lichfield Streethay Primary School

08/09/2024

I followed the historic Sheriff’s Ride on Saturday, these photographs show the start of the Ride, featuring horses and cyclists, setting off from the steps of the Guildhall.
A great welcoming speech by Lichfield historian Lesley Smith, as Queen Mary I, the English monarch when the first Sheriff’s Ride took place in 1553.
The 2024 Sheriff of Lichfield, Cathy Wood, waved the horse riders, and cyclists off at the start of their 20 mile perambulation of the city boundaries.
As they left the city on their journey round the boundary of the old County of Lichfield the rain started to fall, but the rain had stopped by the time they reached the lunch break at Freeford Manor (where my next batch of photos will be from).

Guildhall Lichfield Sheriff of Lichfield Lichfield Markets The Tudor of Lichfield Poms Brunch Melbourne in Lichfield Lesley Smith Historians Arthur Price Factory Shop

08/09/2024

Although it was a bit damp the Whittington Craft and Country Fair held yesterday, Saturday 7 September, is one of my favourite events of the year, a very traditional fair, and always a very friendly atmosphere. Held each year at the wonderfully-named Bit End Field, just behind St Giles Hospice.
Whittington Craft & Country Fair Richard Winterton Auctioneers Love2dream

05/09/2024

A walking history tour of Lichfield for Katherine, family and friends with my friend Victorian Jono this morning, lunch at Encore bar on Market Street, followed by a meeting with Visit Lichfield and Lichfield District Council over a very exciting project for September 2025 (keep following my page for more details!) and then an afternoon coffee with my friends at Poms Brunch on Bird Street - now that’s what I call a good Jono day!

Poms Brunch Encore Lichfield

05/09/2024

Interesting article by historian and author Alison Weir about George Boleyn, Dean of Lichfield Cathedral, installed as Dean in 1576.
Alison is a regular speaker at the Lichfield Festival and I’d recommend booking on to one of her talks if she returns to Lichfield, always very interesting and informative!
Lichfield Festival

Mystery surrounds the identity of George Boleyn, Dean of Lichfield, a volatile character who died in 1603.

Some have suggested that he was the legitimate son of George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, but the latter left no recorded heirs. He may have been Rochford's bastard, yet the tomb (now lost) that he commissioned for himself in Lichfield Cathedral bore his arms without the bend sinister denoting bastardy. It bore the Boleyn bulls quartered with crowned lions rampant.

A crowned lion rampant appears in one quarter of the arms of Henry Parker, Lord Morley, and as a badge on his Garter stall in St George's Chapel at Windsor. He was the father of Jane Parker, the wife of Lord Rochford. Yet the coat of arms on her supposed grave site in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London shows a different heraldic beast.

Identifying the family of the Dean's mother, who must have borne the crowned lion rampant, might help to establish his true place in the Boleyn family tree.

📷 Henry Parker, Lord Morley

04/09/2024

After the Boys of Summer have gone…
Despite the fact we’ve moved from Summet to Autumn, Tuesday afternoon was probably warmer, and sunnier, than most of the days of July and August!
The colours of Autumn mixed with the delayed summer sunshine, and Lichfiekd looked marvellous as usual.
A poor July and August often leads to an Indian Summer in September…although perhaps I’m being overly optimistic..it is British weather after all!

The George Hotel Duke of York Lichfield The Angel Inn The Daily Grind Cafe Bar Lichfield The Hub at St Mary's Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum & Bookshop ES Jewellery Ltd The Beacon Lorna Sumnall

03/09/2024

Jono’s Street Map of Lichfield!
I meet quite a number of Lichfeldians who don’t know the names of the city centre steeets. So, they know the name of a shop or business, but they don’t know the name of the street that it’s on.
So I thought I’d run a number of Facebook posts about each of the major streets in the city, along with a bit of history about each one.
Now I know that lots and lots of you will know the names of the streets but, if so, it’s always good to see the photographs of the buildings on any street in detail which you may have missed when walking round ad a local - if you look upwards you will see some of the amazing features and the roof line of the buildings is always very impressive.
So, I’m starting my walk round with historic, quaint Dam Street.
Named after the dam, or causeway, between the two bodies of water on either side of it, Minster Pool and Stowe Pool, which provide a walkway from the Market Square, and city centre, to the cathedral.
It’s packed with historic, several of them listed, buildings on either side of the street, is picturesque and very popular with visitors.
Starting at the junction of Reeve Lane (named after Bishop Arthur Stretton Reeve, bishop of Lichfield from 1953 to 1974) close to the entrance of the cathedral close, it runs all the way down to the junction of Conduit Street / Market Street.
Causeway House is a fabulous Grade II listed Tudor building which was, at one point, the Elizabethan Cafe.
The crystal shop, just before Quonians Lane, used to be the building that was the young Samuel Johnson’s first school, run by Dame Anne Oliver. On the other side of the road you can find Dame Oliver’s ladies clothing and accessory shop, named after Sam’s first school teacher.
Just past Quonians Lane is Quonians House, the former home of acclaimed stonemason and wood sculptor Robert Bridgeman, whose stonemasons workshops were just found the corner from his family home.
Bridgeman and Sons were responsible for thousands of sculptures and artwork over the decades, including the vast majority of the stone statues on the west front of Lichfield Cathedral.
The end street plaque of Dam Street is situated on the left hand side of the Lloyds Bank building. However the street address of Lloyds is 22 Conduit Street - so the building is one third Dam Street and two thirds Conduit Street!
So, that’s my pocket guide to Dam Street - so if you’d like me to continue my street map guide than please let me know!

Keelys LLP Fortescues The Courtyard Fine Art Lounge The Olde Nook Dame Oliver's Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum & Bookshop

02/09/2024

Further down on Market Street, at numbers 34-36 (formerly the Bureau Bar), the scaffolding is up as the refurbishment works continue, the ground floor is going to be an antiques and jewellery evaluation hub / cafe for Richard Winterton Auctioneers, and the upper floors will be offices.
A mid 18th century Georgian Grade II listed building, once two separate shops. it was merged in the 1960s when it became the Stones furniture store, later it was the Birmingham Midshires building society.

Richard Winterton Auctioneers

02/09/2024

After looking round the cellars of 33 Market Street last week, this morning saw the ’open’ front of number 18a Market Street!
Previously home to Sketchley’s, Johnson’s and Harris Clean dry cleaners, once the frontage has been installed it will become available to rent as a retail unit.
I wonder if it has a cellar…

02/09/2024

A misty, drizzly start to the day as I walked up lovely Dam Street, so I had no option but to call in to the Olde Nook cafe for a full English breakfast!

The Olde Nook

01/09/2024

The Producers Market is on at Lichfield Market Square, 10am to 4pm, and the Pitches indoor lifestyle market is on at the Hub at St Mary’s (in the cafe above Lichfield Library),10am to 3pm, Sunday 1 September.

The Hub at St Mary's Metamorphic Charm Short and Curly's Lichfield Coffee Roasters MangiaMangia The Koalaty Bakery Co.

30/08/2024

I had a wonderful walk round the upper floors, and the cellars, of 33 Market Street on Thursday.
The offices on the upper floor are currently empty so I was able to explore without disturbing anyone, and, as many of you know, I love having a look round the cellars of Lichfield shops and businesses!
The cellars are very large and some of the walls are covered in graffiti from previous owners of the shop on the ground floor. Clearly they were children of the 60s and 70s as there were lots of CND (Campaign fir Nuckear Disarmament) symbols and references to the 70s punk rock band The Damned!
The oak beams in the cellars are absolutely immense and help to underpin the three-storey early 1700s (Georgian) Grade II listed building.
There are lots of original features in the building (including a disguised priest hole) and there are lovely views across to Lichfield Cathedral from the windows at the rear.
For many years the building was home to wine merchants: Mounsdon’s; Innes, Smith & Co; Victoria Wine and The Wine Market, before becoming Pickering’s Hair Salon in the early 80s and has been Colin Lee Opticians since 1984.
But - does it have a ghost 👻 I hear you say? Well the staff are convinced there is, including the ghost of a former drayman who died when a large beer barrel he was delivering fell on him, crushing him to death, and his spirit continues to haunt the building that used to sell…spirits…sorry about that ‘joke’!!
I loved walking round (and under!) this stunning building and my special thanks go to Ben and the team at Colin Lee Opticisns for showing me round.
The offices on the upper floors are available to rent from chartered surveyors Burley Browne, what an amazing space to work in, more details can be found on their website at:

https://www.burleybrowne.co.uk/property/details/5747/33-Market-Street-Lichfield-Staffordshire-WS13-6LA-Office-

Colin Lee Opticians

29/08/2024

Lovely blue sky morning in Lichfield today and the Community Day, organised by Lichfield City Council, held on the Market Square, was very busy and good fun!
Guest of honour was Lichfield’s own Gold Medal 🥇 Olympian, Sophie Capewell, who won gold in the cycling team sprint in Paris a few weeks ago. Sophie started her cycling career with the Lichfield City Cycling Club, as a junior, and proudly ‘revealed’ her gold medal during an interview with Lichfield’s Town Crier, Adrian Holmes.
Lots of my friends from Lichfield organisations were there including: Lichfield Garrick, the Hub at St Mary’s, Samuel Johnson Birtplace Museum, St Giles Hospice, the Lichfield Late Night Listeners, the Sandfields Pumping Station, Tamworth and Lichfield RNLI, Lichfield and Tamworth Cats Protection, Lichfield Police, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, Lichfield Litter Legends, the Big Red Bike, Lichfield Arts and more!
A great event, and, for once in August, the sun shone In Lichfield!

Lichfield Garrick LICHFIELD LITTER LEGENDS The Hub at St Mary's Lichfield Markets Guildhall Lichfield Lichfield and Tamworth Cats Protection The Big Red Bike Lichfield Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum & Bookshop St Giles Hospice RNLI Tamworth & Lichfield Branch Saving Sandfields Pumping Staion - Britain's Industrial Heritage Lichfield Arts

28/08/2024

Lichfield’s Super Saturday!
On Saturday 7 September you can see:

🐎 The Lichfield Sheriff’s Ride
🎶 Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park
🏡 A Cellar tour at Erasmus Darwin House
🚗 The Whittington Craft and Country Fair

The Sheriffs’s Ride and Proms in Beacon Park (general admission) are free entry, the cellar tour at Erasmus Darwin House (a Jono recommendation!) is £4pp and entry to the Whittington Fair starts from £6pp.

Something for everyone in Lichfield on Saturday 7 September - I’m aiming to be at all four so look out for my photographs on the day!

Book tickets for the Erasmus Darwin Cellar tour at:

https://www.erasmusdarwin.org/event/cellar-tour-2024/2024-09-07/

Sheriff of Lichfield Whittington Craft & Country Fair Lichfield District Council Erasmus Darwin House Richard Winterton Auctioneers Prizm Solutions Ltd Trinity Brew Co. Arthur Price Factory Shop Arthur Price The Kitchen Shop Guildhall Lichfield Lichfield Markets Visit Lichfield The Angel Inn Duke of York Lichfield Beacon Street Area Residents' Association The Earl of Lichfield Arms Kings Head Lichfield

28/08/2024

Lovely vintage postcard of Lichfield Market Square with views of the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum and Market Street. Undated but 1920s or 1930s judging from the cars and dress wear.
Love the two gentlemen having an elongated chat in the middle of the road - they definitely would not be doing that today!
*Postcard courtesy of my friend ‘John the Postcard’!
Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum & Bookshop Lichfield Markets Guildhall Lichfield The Hub at St Mary's

27/08/2024

Enjoy £5 off a ticket at the Trinity Comedy Club - courtesy of Jono!
The Comedy Club, at the Trinity Brewery tap room, Essington Close (opposite the Peugeot garage on the Birmingham Road) takes place on: Thursday 5 September, doors open at 5pm.
The club features four comedians, an MC and the ticket price includes a FREE pint of Trinity beer.
Ticket price is £15pp - BUT - the team at Trinity are offering a £5 discount for Jono’s Tourism followers.
All you need to do is enter: Jono10 in the promotion code box when you book and you’ll receive £5 off each ticket - courtesy of Jono!
Remaining tickets are very limited so book now using the link below - and don’t forget to use the code Jono10!

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/DTMH

Trinity Brew Co. Rub Me Tender BBQ
Cokey Falkow Jonny Pelham Comedy

25/08/2024

A photograph of one of my alter egos, Victorian Jono, taken by my friend Mike Wetson a few weeks ago on Bore Street, by the Five Gables Tudor buildings.
I was about to host a guided history tour of Lichfield, and I think that Mike ‘captured’ me quite well!

Lunch at Loafers Guildhall Lichfield Victorian Jono

25/08/2024

A friend asked me the other day about this unusual design on one of the windows of Moat House on Bird Street (opposite the Lichfield Register office).
It has diamond-shaped lead inserts rather than the clear design that the other windows on the same building have.
I’m not sure why this design was only used for one of the windows - perhaps it just made the building look different?
Most House was built c1750, right in the middle of the Georgian period, when Lichfield was very successful, and very wealthy, due to it being an important coaching city, and it is a Grade II listed building.
Called Most House after the moat that ran around the cathedral close, and to the front of Erasmus Darwin House, a few metres away on Beacon Street. The moat is believed to have been dry, and possibly only filled with water when the local area flooded.
I can only find records of it being called Moat House back to the 1950s so it may have been known by another name before that.
Next door to Most House is Langton House, built c1775, and named after Bishop Walter Langton, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry from 1296 to 1321. I can find records of it being called Langton House back to the 1930s.
In 1975 the two buildings were sold for a combined total of £100,000 although today their estimated value is £1.2 million pounds!

Beacon Street Area Residents' Association

24/08/2024

I Want to Ride my Bicycle…I Want to Ride my Bike…
Entries for the Sheriffs Ride cycle event on Saturday 7 September close on Saturday 31 August.
The cycle route distance is approximately 35 miles and is mainly off-road so not suitable for road bikes. The cycle route does not follow the same route as the horses!
So, if you’d like to take part in Lichfield’s oldest running activity event (every year since 1553!), and you have access to an off-road bike, please register before Saturday 31 August via the link below - and happy pedalling!

www.sheriffoflichfield.org.uk/book-equestrian-place

*vintage photograph shows Harold
Franklin’s cycle shop st 34-36 Market Street, previously the Bureau Bar and soon to be the new evaluation centre and cafe for Richard Winterton Auctioneers.

Sheriff of Lichfield Richard Winterton Auctioneers Arthur Price Factory Shop Arthur Price We Love Lichfield

23/08/2024

Another pocket-sized item from my Lichfield memorabilia collection - a lovely enamel lapel badge bearing the inscription ‘Lichfield Cathedral’.
Not dated but looks to have some age to it, it has an interesting clip at the rear of the badge, they normally have a pin and collar but this one has a curved clip, so not sure if was attached to something else to hold it in place?
Perhaps someone from the cathedral will know the date of the badge.
Lichfield Cathedral

20/08/2024

A long forgotten Lichfield inn…
The Red Lion Inn stood on the junction of lower St John Street and Wade Street and if you remember it you’ll be doing well, as it closed in 1929, meaning you would be well over 100 years old if you enjoyed a glass of Porter in there!
It opened in the early 1800s and in the 1910s to 1920s the landlord was William Arthur Hotobin. In 1915 William’s wife, Eliza, passed away, in July 1916 their son Howard Thomas Horobin was killed in action in France aged just 21, and in September 1917 their other son, Alick Horobin, aged 24, died in a Glasgow Hospital from the wounds he received while serving in France. The sons’ names are etched on to the War Memorial in the Lichfield Remembrance Gardens. William, who died in 1922, and his wife Eliza, are buried in St Peter’s Church at Stonnall, their gravestone also carries the names of their two sons.
The Red Lion closed in 1929 when Lichfield Police refused to renew the pub’s license, due to a redundancy situation. The pub’s owners, the Lichfield Brewery Company, were awarded £1,350 in compensation due to the closure. In the early 1930s the pub building was demolished to help widen the road in to Wade Street.
The building next to the Red Lion is today a convenience store, if you look at the vintage photograph and look at the windows of the store you can see that they remain unchanged today. The outline of the gable of the Red Lion used to be visible on the side of the convenience store building but it has since been repointed and the outline has disappeared.
The Red Lion is yet another of Lichfield’s many lost pubs.
*Photograph of Howard Horobin courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive and copyright of the Trinity Mirror group.
*Photograph of the Horobin gravestone at Stonnall courtesy of the Imperial War Museum website.
The British Newspaper Archive

19/08/2024

Last week a brewery…this week…another brewery!
I can’t seem to stay away from pubs and breweries can I…trust me I get no enjoyment from this at all, it’s only to keep you all informed and entertained…😎😂
I was at the preview event for the opening of The Beacon pub on Tamworth Street this afternoon (previously the Pig / Pig and Truffle), which is part of the Titanic Brewery group (who also run the BOD chain, as in the BOD at Streethay).
It’s been refurbished and has lots of ‘nods’ to local Lichfield history with vintage photographs on the wall (including two that I provided from the St Mary’s Photographic Collection) and, of course, images of the RMS Titanic too (another local link to the statue of Captain Edward John Smith in the Museum Gardens of Beacon Park).
They have all of their real ale range on offer as well as guest ales and the usual range of wines and soft drinks.
I had one of my favourites, the Plum Porter, which was perfect for a breezy, cool Monday afternoon!
They have bar snacks, no ‘sit-down’ hot food but, along with the Beerbohm and the Whippet Inn opposite, and the Acorn and Quill and Scholar next door, there is a great choice of real ale pubs and eateries on Tamworth Street now!
The Beacon opens officially tomorrow, Tuesday 20 August, and is well worth a visit.
Titanic Brewery Bod Lichfield Citylife In Lichfield St Mary's Lichfield Memories

18/08/2024

Someone was asking on one of the Lichfield pages for photographs of: Promises (the Stowaway); Ruskins wine bar; The City Frog and the Sozzled Sausage (though they spelt it Sizzled!!).
Promises / The Stowaway was by Stowe Pool, where the offices of Bromford Housing are now, Ruskins was at 20-22 Bird Street, where Pom's Brunch is now, the City Frog was on the junction of Lower St John Street and Frog Lane (now apartments) and was previously the Robin Hood Inn, the City Gate pub and Maharaja Indian restaurant, and the Sozzled Sausage had been the Smithfield Hotel, also the Three Golden Spires and was where the car park for the Tesco Superstore on Church Street is now.
All the photographs are my own, other than the two of Ruskins, which came from the late Dave Gallagher's collection, from the 'You're Probably From Lichfield If...page.

16/08/2024

Me aged 24 (haven’t aged a bit have I?!?!? 😎😂) on my Aston Villa Travellers Club pass, on way to Rotterdam for the 1982 European Cup Final. I’ve also still got my ticket for the Cup Final which didn’t, hilariously, even have the teams mentioned on it! They probably couldn’t believe that Villa had made it to the final 😂.
Finally a photo with Villa players in the Final, Gary Shaw. Gary Williams, Tony Morley and myself at the launch of the Up the Villa! beer at Trinity Brewery on Wednesday. The guys told some great stories about their time at Villa, they were my heroes then, it was a real honour to be in the same ‘lineup’ as them - after all I can pretend that I was on the winning team too can’t I!
Thanks to Simon and Fay Williams for the invite and to John Waterman, founder of the Trinity Brewery, for their hospitality and friendly welcome.
Up the Villa!

Trinity Brew Co. Aston Villa FC Rub.Me.Tender BBQ Lichfield

15/08/2024

It’s Coming Home, it’s Coming Home…
I was searching through an auction website a few weeks ago when my eye caught this photograph, which had a Lichfield tag.
At first I thought it was the statue of Captain Smith in Beacon Park, but then realised it was the memorials to the Staffordshire Regiments at Whittington Barracks.
When I looked at the reverse of the photo I was surprised to see a name that I knew - Sergeant Ransford Thomas, who had served in the Gulf War in the 1st Staffordshire Regiment.
Some of you will remember Ransford as the landlord of the King’s Head pub on Bird Street from a couple of years ago, when the pub was managed by ex-servicemen of the Mercian Regiment.
His daughter, Victoria, then aged 7, is looking at young Shane Bowers placing a wreath on the memorial.
The photograph was used in the Sunday Telegraph dated 11 November 1990.
The official, original, press photograph was from a seller in the USA (not sure how it ended up there!!) but I bought it at auction and it was posted out to me from across the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
After I had scanned it I gave the original photograph to Ransford as a gift, he had not seen the photograph or newspaper when it was published originally, so it was a lovely surprise for him! He has now made a copy for his daughter Victoria.
It’s always good to bring a Lichfield item ‘back home’ and it was a pleasure to see it reunited with Ransford and his daughter after 34 years!
The Staffordshire Regiment Museum

14/08/2024

Up the Villa!
I was at the Tap Room at Trinity Brewery, Essington Close, this afternoon, to meet up with team members of the Aston Villa 1982 European Cup winning team, helping to promote a new beer, a 5% New England IPA called…Up the Villa!
Striker Gary Shaw, winger Tony Morley and full back Gary Williams all had a go at the brewing process, as well as sampling some of the brewery’s ales and enjoying food from the on-site BBQ.
These guys were my heroes when I stood on the terraces at Villa Park, and I was there on 26 May 1982 in Rotterdam to see skipper Dennis Mortimer lift the trophy - happy memories!
Sponsors Lichfield Health and Fitness Club, based by the Coop Food store at Boley park, were also present, as well as my friends Colin and Nick, the official ale tasters of Ye Olde Citie of Lichfield!
The ale will be available from the brewery in September, the brewery, and BBQ, are open Thursday to Saturday evenings. For more details on the Breweryincluding opening days / times, see their website at:

www.trinitybrewco.com/

Trinity Brew Co. Rub Me Tender BBQ
Lichfield Health and Fitness Club
Aston Villa FC