Forgotten Stourbridge
The Royal turf

So what's so special about this run down, locked up alleyway towards the top of the High Street, right next to Pizza Express? Well the older generations of Stourbridge will recall that years ago, what is now Pizza Express used to be a rather posh shop called Cranages, selling cakes and bread and a very nice cafe upstairs. At the back of Cranages was a bar called the Royal Turf, accessed via this alleyway.

The Turf was an extraordinary bar because it was beautifully panelled in wood and was in plan view a near perfect semicircle - even the doors were curved to match! It was always seen as a rather upmarket place, and in the sixties it was even possible to see the odd celebrity there, particularly from the music scene. Local boy Robert Plant was a regular, I saw Chris Wood of the band Traffic in there one night and apparently fellow member and major star Stevie Winwood was too shy to go in!

Other regulars included Martin Lickert, a long term pal of Robert Plant, who was Ringo Starr's chauffer for a while! It was common to see Ringo's Mercedes Pullman limousine in Stourbridge High Street, as he used to let Martin borrow it for the weekend to go back to Stourbridge! Martin also had a role in the Frank Zappa movie - 200 Motels. Sadly Martin died only recently.

Do you have any recollections of the Turf? Send us your stories!

Welcome | About Stourbridge | Stourbridge Glass | Stourbridge Tour | Can you help? | What's on in Stourbridge
Stourbridge Lion | Stourbridge Music | Sport | Long Lost Friends | Clubs & Charities | Stourbridge Genealogy
Stourbridge Area | Stourbridge Business | Links | Home | Contact Stourbridge