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Rh to be repaired, in consequence of the kind attentions of the Birmingham Liberals at the time of the general election then just passed. The whole of the front and main portion of the hotel is now used for the purposes of the Eye Hospital, the Assembly Rooms, &c, being still public—Portugal House, in New Street, on the present site of the Colonnade, prior to its being taken for the Excise and Post Offices, was used for hotel purposes, and was also called "The Royal."

The Stork:—The Directory of 1800 is the first which contains the name of the Stork Tavern. No. 3. The Square, the host then being Mr. John Bingham, the title of Hotel not being assumed until 1808. For a few years the one house was sufficient!or the accommodation required, but as time progressed it became necessary to enlarge it, and this was accomplished by taking in the adjoining houses, until, at last, the hotel occupied one fourth of The Square, from the corner of the Minories to the Lower Priory, in which were situated the stables, &:c. It was in one of the houses so annexed to the hotel (No. 1) that Dr. Hector, the friend of Dr. Johnson, resided; and at the rear of another part of the premises in the Coach Yard, there was opened (in 1833) the "The Equitable Labour Exchange." The whole of the hotel buildings were sold by auction. Sept. 26, 1881, and quickly razed to the ground, which was required for Corporation Street; but the Stork, like the fabulous Phoenix, has risen from its ashes, and in (close proximity to the old site, stands boldly forth as one of the magnificences of that-is-to-be most-magnificent thoroughfare.

The Union, in Cherry Street, was built in 1790, but much enlarged in 1825. It was one of the principal coaching houses, but will be remembered mostly as furnishing the 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 Ensor was the occupier. It was the house of resort for many Birmingham worthies, especially those connected with the law, even before the election 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