The Woodman, Claverley

The Woodman, Claverley.

This photograph was taken in August 1937.
The house was run by W. Butler, Springfield Brewery, Wolvehampton.
The licensee was Alfred Ceb Yardley – probably the man on the doorstep.

The house sign (on the right) records that beer was drawn from the wood, i.e.
beer that was served straight from a wooden cask on the counter or back fitting.

Personal note:
At the time (indeed until the early 1950s), beer was often drawn by beer engines from the cellar and was piped to the counter through lead pipes, which hung from the cellar ceiling. They were flexible enough to be moved from cask to cask on the stills. I remember the last house (in Worcestershire) to have its lead pipes replaced by plastic pipes, in the mid 1960’s. This had the effect of producing better beer, because the pipes could be cleaned more easily.

This photograph is from the 1961 Butlers calendar.