See inside 14th century Birmingham pub with black-and-white timber frame rescued from demolition three times
Watch the director of a thriving 14th century West Midlands pub discuss why he thinks it's stood the test of time.
The Old Crown in Digbeth is Birmingham’s oldest pub, believed to date back to the 14th century.
It has been a guildhall, a school, a wartime shelter and is now a watering hole with history soaked into its beams.
Birmingham has had more than its fair share of historic sites bulldozed for flats or retail units. The Old Crown could have gone the same way, but it was rescued from demolition in the 1800s, saved again twice in the 1990s and keeps finding ways to outlast threats that finished off other institutions.
Kieran McInerney took over the pub in 2015, inheriting not just a business but a living museum. But running Birmingham's oldest pub isn't just about freezing it in time: it means constantly balancing preservation with progress, and it's that balance which has made the Old Crown more than just a heritage site.
Kieran said: “I just love working here, I have done since I started. It's a unique building to work in. It's a pleasure to come here every day and watching it change is probably the most satisfying. Seeing when we took it on, from where we took it and then seeing where it is now, that gives us a lot of pleasure.
“When we took the pub on, it was a little bit stuck in time - kind of post-smoking ban, catered for an audience that probably wasn't here anymor,e so because we were familiar and working in the area, we sort of modernised it and made an offer that was more relevant to the people that use Digbeth today. It's a continual effort, each year of us trying to add and remake parts of the pub and make it more relevant.
“I think it's just iconic. We always say that it's a place that creates memories, from meeting with friends after work, all the way up to celebration parties or passing through going to different styles of events in the area, so I guess it's got so much popularity, it's because so many people have passed through and had a great time here.”
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