in 1856 and 1862 the Corporation proposed to demolish the building; Smith saved the building each time. In 1991 a local pub company owned by the Brennan family bought the Old Crown. In the summer of 1994, Pat Brennan and his youngest son, Peter, were doing repairs and clearing out the old sheds to the rear of the property when they found the old well, which had been closed off for more than 100 years. Now restored, it is situated at the rear entrance of the pub. At the end of May 1998, under the guidance of Pat and Ellen Brennan and their sons Patrick, Gary and Peter, after the family's £2 million investment into Birmingham's most famous hostelry, The Old Crown was restored to its former glory and reopened. Construction The building is wide and deep on the ground floor. On the first floor, which overhangs the front, it is deep. When built, the original building had a central hall with a length of and a width of . Below this were a number of arched cellars. On the upper floor were just four rooms. The building had a courtyard to its rear which contained a well. It was deep and surrounded by large stones. The well was excavated and deepened to produce a total depth of . The new section of the well was lined with square bricks. At the top, it was at its narrowest diameter and at its widest diameter. It widened to around at the bottom. The well was cleaned in 1863 and Smith added an iron gate to the top of it to preserve it whilst keeping it accessible. See also List of oldest companies References Sources External links The Old Crown's web site Birmingham City Council page Pubs in Birmingham, West Midlands Grade II* listed buildings in Birmingham Grade II* listed pubs in England