Ma Pardoe's: the Black Country brewpub with a Victorian heart

Some pubs are simply places to drink. Others are living history, and the Old Swan in Netherton is firmly in the second camp. Known across the Black Country as Ma Pardoe's, it is one of the most treasured pubs in the West Midlands.

The Old Swan on Halesowen Road has been licensed since 1835, and the current pub and brewery were built in 1863. When the Campaign for Real Ale was founded in 1971, it was one of only four pubs in the country still brewing its own beer, a tradition it had kept since it was built.

The nickname comes from Mrs Doris Pardoe, who took over from her husband in the early 1950s and remained licensee until 1984. Brewing stopped in 1988 but resumed in 2001, and the brewery in the yard behind the pub still operates today.

The beers are as much a part of the place as the building. Regulars include Original, a mild; Dark Swan, a strong mild; Entire; Netherton Pale Ale; and Bumble Hole Bitter, with a seasonal Olde Swan beer rotating alongside. All are cask ales.

Inside, the pub holds a three-star rating on CAMRA's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, meaning it is of outstanding national importance. The front bar is largely unaltered since Victorian times, with an enamel ceiling featuring a swan picture, a standalone stove still in use, an original six-bay Victorian bar back with an etched mirror and a rear smoke room with Victorian fittings. One pub blogger called the old bar "the most wondrous room in pubdom".

Much of the pub's warmth in recent decades has come from landlord Tim Newey, who ran it for 25 years after working there for 47. CAMRA reported in 2025 that he was retiring, and by autumn 2026 the lease was being advertised with a planned £375,000 refurbishment, opening the door to a new chapter for this remarkable pub.

The Old Swan is also a Grade II listed building and a regular in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide, with a garden in the yard and darts and crib for those who fancy a game.

Whether you are a real ale enthusiast or simply love a pub with stories in its walls, Ma Pardoe's deserves a place on any Black Country itinerary. It sits on the A459 in the centre of Netherton, served by several local bus routes.