The Swan Inn, Pelsall

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The Swan was the oldest recorded pub in Pelsall with its records dating back to 1809 and during its history it was the centre of village life.  In its history the Swan's community survived great hardship including Pelsall's colliery disaster of 1887 when an explosion at No.9 colliery shook the village and 12 people lost their lives. The village also survived the scarlet fever outbreak of 1886 and then typhoid which raged locally until 1895.

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The miners and ironworkers who populated the village stayed loyal to The Swan, the dominant pub in the village, home to friendly societies and local unions including the railway union who met there for 22 years.  

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The best description of The Swan and the community who frequented it in the early years was penned by Pelsall Historian, William Farmer 1901 - 1985.

In his book, Pelsall Early Years of the 20th Century, William Farmer recalls a character known as 'Fiddler Jack' and his connection with The Swan and wrote the following:

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By The Swan public house, there was a cluster of small cottages and a shop kept by Mr and Mrs Blakemore.  Mr Blakemore was a haulier with a horse and cart an also did a little farming.  His one delight was in playing the fiddle, in fact he was known locally as Fiddler Jack.  On summer nights we would go into the shop, they sold pop, aniseed balls, liquorice strips, popcorn, kali and general stores.  Mr Blakemore needed no asking to play for us, he would fetch his drink from The Swan, bring out his fiddle and chair and would play to us for hours.