187 Enville Street Stourbridge DY83TB Tel: 01384 374410
Katie Fitzgerald's has built a reputation for live music and parties, but it's about more than that, it's also about history and tradition. Originally a private house, the building is over 200 years old and has been a pub since the 1830 Beer Act. In the 19th century it would have been home to foundry workers and boatmen and would have looked
out across to the Stourbridge canal arm where Foster and Rastrick built the
Stourbridge Lion, the first steam locomotive to run on rails in the USA. Originally
known as the Golden Lion, it later became known as the Stourbridge Lion and
then in 2000 it became our home and was renamed in honour of Trina's
grandmother, Katie Fitzgerald, who was born in Cloyne County Cork. Trina is
related to Ireland's most famous hurling player, Christy Ring, a son of Cloyne and
is also cousin of Donal Og Cusack, Ireland's first openly gay sportsman.
Eddy & Trina
It was around 1990 that I first played a gig at what was then the "Stourbridge Lion " in Enville Street. It was Marnie Costello who established the "Lion", as it became known, as a place of great music as well as being instrumental in saving the building from demolition when it closed in 1984. I played many Monday nights or Sunday afternoons lodged in the archway in front of what was then a s piral staircase into the downstairs cellar room. Later, as The New Bushbury Mountain Daredevils, I also performed several times on stage in what has now become the cellar bar. Much like Victor Kiam of Remington fame Trina and I loved the place so much that when we had the opportunity to buy the pub in 2000 we decided to take the chance. Our previous business experience was running a shop, 'The Eye of Horus' in Cotteridge, Birmingham, so we were largely unprepared for the challenges ahead and I think many friends thought we were somewhat insane!
However I think it was our naivety that allowed us to survive the first
three years as we dealt with a huge flood, 2 cars crashing into the pub,
including one that demolished the front porch, the death of several of our
pets and most challenging, the passing of Trina's mother, Sylvia, my
stepfather Tom and Trina's father David Murphy. Despite all of this we
managed to weather the storm and after many improvements and additions,
Katie's became established as a great music venue and a place to party.
Eddy Morton
In 2015,Trina became the longest serving landlady in the history of the pub, which has survived from almost the time of Waterloo, through the Victorian era and the height of the Industrial Revolution, enduring 3 name changes from the original Golden Lion, to the Stourbridge Lion and finally to Katie Fitzgerald's. The many occupants will have seen immense changes in the world outside standing on the front step of the pub. Surviving two world wars, the end of the Cold War and still going strong throughout this second technological revolution, Katie's still looks out over to the hammer beam roof of the old Foster and Rastrick Foundry, now revamped as the Lion Health Centre and will, we hope, be there for many years to come.
In the last 20 years we have seen appearances at the pub from Ronnie Drew, Sean Cannon, Miles Hunt, Trevor Burton, Steve Gibbons, Brian Travers of UB40, Badly Drawn Boy, John Otway, Robb Johnson, Harvey Andrews, Roy Bailey, Rory Mcleod, Show of Hands, Stevie Young of AC DC, Brian Tatler of Diamondhead, Magnums Bob Catley, Dave Sharp of the Alarm, Nick Harper, Nislopi, Ian Parker, Vix from Fuzzbox, Vin Garbutt, Martyn Simpson, Martyn Carthy, Chris Difford from Squeeze, Martyn Joseph, the Neon Hearts plus countless local bands and solo and duo artists in all genres of music from Jazz to Folk to rock and Punk. We have also been proud to promote concerts by Suzanne Vega, John Cooper Clarke, the Black Country Festival, and Stourbridge Folk Festival at the Redhouse Cone. We have also supported many varied charities including, the YMCA, Hall Green Greyhounds Trust, Acorn Children's Hospice, Mind, Papyrus suicide prevention, Stourbridge food bank, The brain tumour charity, Sea Shepherd, Hillfields animal sanctuary, ROVER rescue and Mary Stevens Hospice among them. Katie Fitzgeralds is also the home of Stourbridge Foundation 4 music and the Stourbridge Community Development Trust.
Click on the Links below to
listen to the "Battle For Stourbridge' from the album " Rainbow man "
Eddy Mortons song about the events of 1962 that altered the history of the canals.
Click on the Links below to
listen to the "Queen of Stourbridge Town" from the album " Stourbridge Town"
Eddy Mortons song about the ghosts that haunt
Katie Fitzgeralds.