Birmingham's oldest pub still serving after 650 years

National World - LocalTV

The Old Crown in Digbeth is Birmingham’s oldest pub and one of the city’s longest-running businesses. Believed to date back to the 14th century, it has survived wars, near-demolition, and sweeping urban change. Richard Gullick meets its director to uncover the secrets to its survival — and why it still matters in 2025.

Transcript

00:00The Old Crown isn't just a pub, it's a survivor.

00:05Believed to date back to the 14th century,

00:07its timber frame has outlived monarchs, bombs and Birmingham's skyline.

00:12It's been a guild hall, a school, a wartime shelter

00:15and now a watering hole with history soaked into its beams.

00:19What makes it endure isn't just nostalgia, it's purpose.

00:23Places like this only last when they still serve the people around them.

00:27I think appreciation, just love working here.

00:34I have done since I started, it's a unique building to work in.

00:41It's a pleasure to come here every day and watching it change,

00:47I guess is probably the most satisfying.

00:50So seeing when we took it on, from where we took it

00:53and then seeing where it is now, you know, that gives us a lot of pleasure.

01:00McKernie took over in 2015, inheriting not just a business but a living museum.

01:06But running Birmingham's oldest pub isn't just about freezing it in time,

01:10it means constantly balancing preservation with progress.

01:14And it's that balance which has made the Old Crown more than just a heritage site.

01:18It's still a proper local, with live events, food and rooms upstairs for the night.

01:23Our main job, when we took the pub on, it was a little bit stuck in time.

01:32Kind of post-smoking ban catered for an audience that probably wasn't here anymore.

01:39So because we were familiar and working in the area, we sort of modernised it

01:45and made an offer that was more relevant to the people that use DigBuff today.

01:52So it's a continual sort of effort, you know, each year of us trying to add and remake parts of the pub and make it more relevant.

02:05Birmingham's had more than its fair share of historic sites bulldozed for flats or retail units.

02:10This one could have easily gone the same way, but the Old Crown was rescued from demolition in the 1800s,

02:16saved again in the 1990s and keeps finding ways to outlast threats that finished off other institutions.

02:23So what is it about this place that makes people fight for it?

02:27I think it's just iconic. I think, you know, we always say that it's a place that creates memories,

02:35you know, from meeting with friends after work all the way up to celebration parties or passing through,

02:44going to different styles of events in the area.

02:48So 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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