The Gunmakers Arms, Bradmore, Wolverhampton

Another great looking Banks's pub with a patio area. As the Monster says, this is an inter-war pub, looking a little plainer than its Edwardian counterparts, but still very tidy in its red brick and moulded stone. The interior has two rooms. The L-shaped bar has a pool table, TV (footy) and is completely dominated by a large fireplace area in brick and a trophy collection. The rest of the room is in cream and has old photos on the walls. The lounge is also L-shaped and in cream and wood panel, with some gold pattered wallpaper. There is a small fireplace feature and decorative light fittings. There is a TV or two (not on) and the background music was 80s and soft. The service was good and the place a little quiet (but then it is so big), with several locals in both rooms and outside. Beer; usual tap stuff with Banks's MILD (very good), Bitter, Marston's EPA and Ringwood Lovey Warne (a bit thin, but well kept). Thank God for this place, an oasis in a sea of mediocrity.

This is a rather grand Banks’s (Marston’s) red brick and sandstone street corner pub that was built in the 1920’s by Butlers Brewery to replace a smaller pub that was converted from a detached private house. It is a little Tudor/Jacobean in style with stone mullioned bay windows, diamond shaped chimney stacks and four gables spread evenly across the two sides of the building. The interior has two medium sized rooms, a public bar on the left and a comfy lounge on the right both served by a central island bar counter. The lounge is narrow and slightly L shaped around to the left with the dominating wooden bar counter along the left hand wall, small fire place in the back wall with a coal stove (not used, just for show), red patterned fabric bench seating along the right hand wall divided into three booths, carpeted floor, stained glass windows, and a large flat screen TV in the front right corner, there are high tables and chairs with a second large flat screen TV on the wall round the left corner at the back of the room. The public bar is very traditional with the small L shaped wood bar counter in the back right corner, massive walk in inglenook style fire place dominating the left hand wall with a large flat screen TV above a smaller brick fire place bracketed by trophy cabinets within the inglenook, pool table in the front right corner, dart board on a small dividing wall which projects from the middle of the front wall, high ceilings, etched windows, linoleum floor and burgundy leather bench seating and stools. There is a corridor across the back of the building that connects the two rooms, this creates an unusual small enclosed courtyard at the very centre of the building which is accessed by the corridor. Finally there is a paved patio behind the building with picnic tables and a small car park. Regular ales are Banks’s Bitter and Mild with normally two changing guest beers from the Marston’s portfolio such as Brakspear, Jennings, Ringwood or Wychwood beers. On this occasion there was just Marston’s Me Duck. I had three pints of the Mild because it was very good in my opinion. This has got to be one of the top five traditional Banks’s pubs in Wolverhampton with a good reputation for well kept beer. The pub name comes from the Bradmore area of Wolverhampton being a hub for gun smiths in the 1800’s. A lovely building and a nice traditional pub interior, despite the limited beer choice I could easily spend all day in the character full public bar where I feel most comfortable. Unfortunately I’m a busy boy so I don’t visit as often as I would like to.

A disappointing visit - arrived at 1 pm on a Sunday for the Sunday Lunch advertised on their web site. There were no more than 4 people in the place and when I asked about the Sunday Lunch I got a very abrupt response of "sold out". One of the customers, who appeared to be the local vicar, seemed embarrassed enough by the inhospitality to approach us an tell as of another local place where we could get a Sunday Lunch.

A couple of cracking signs to recall the days when skills such as gun-making were prevalent in the area. This is what pub names should be all about - reflecting 'local distinctiveness'.