chief saleroom in the town for the
disposal of landed property. The site being required for Corporation
Street, the building was "knocked down" on the 21st April, 1879.

_The Woolpack_, in Moor Street, saw many strange events, and had in its
olden days undergone some few changes for there are not many sites in
Birmingham that can compare with this in regard to its recorded history,
but at last it is being cleared to make way for a more modern structure.
It is believed there was a tavern called the Green Tree here close upon
500 years ago, and even now there is still to be traced the course of an
ancient "dyche" running through the premises which was described as the
boundary dividing certain properties in 1340, and forming part of that
belonging to the Guild of the Holy Cross. The house itself was the
residence of William Lench, whose bequests to the town are historical,
but when it was turned into a tavern is a little uncertain, as the
earliest notice of it as such is dated 1709, when John Fusor was the
occupier. It was the house of resort for many Birmingham worthies,
especially those connected with the law, even before the erection of the
Public Offices, and it is said that John Baskerville used to come here
for his tankard of ale and a gossip with his neighbours. In the time of
the Reform agitation it was frequented by the leaders of the Liberal
party, and has always been the favourite shelter of artists visiting the
town.

_The Woolpack_, in St. Martin's Lane.--Some eighty odd years ago the
tavern standing at the corner of Jamaica Row and St. Martin's Lane was
known as the Black Boy Inn, from the figure of a young negro then placed
over the door. Being purchased in 1817 by the occupier of a neighbouring
tavern called the Woolpack, the two names were united, and for a time
the house was called the "Black Boy and Woolpack," the first part being
gradually allowed to fall into disuse. Prior to its demolition it was
_the_ noted market hostelry for cattle dealers and others, the respected
landlord, Mr. John Gough, who held the premises from 1848 till his death
in 1877, being himself a large wholesale dealer. When the Town Council
decided to enlarge and cover in the Smithfield Market, the old house and
its adjuncts were purchased by them, and a new hotel of almost palatial
character has been erected in its place, the frontage extending nearly
the entire length of St. Martin's Lane, and the Black Boy and the
Woolpack mus