At Temper & Brown Every Brick
Tells a Story

The George & Dragon
(1850s-1990s)

Nestled in the heart of Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter, our bar lives inside what was once the legendary George and Dragon, a pub with roots stretching all the way back to the 1850s. Built during the rise of Victorian Birmingham, the George and Dragon stood proud at the junction of Albion Street and Pope Street.

It wasn’t just a watering hole, it was an architectural gem, with carved bar fronts, stained glass roundels of Saint George, and fittings that could rival any grand house in the provinces. It served a cross-section of Brum, shopkeepers, independent traders, and anyone respectably dressed. But behind its glamour, the pub witnessed a different reality too, class divides, hardship, and the small, often-overlooked acts of solidarity that held communities together.

STORIES THAT STAYED

Emily Stafford

Emily was a young servant girl who lived and worked at the pub in the 1860s. She became a victim of the harsh, patriarchal systems of the time and was unfairly scapegoated and cast aside. Today, a plaque on our wall honours her name. She’s a symbol of resilience, not just for herself, but for all the working-class women who kept Birmingham’s heart beating through sheer grit.

Kathleen dayus

Another name stitched into the fabric of this place is Kathleen Dayus. If you’ve read her memoir Her People, you’ll know how vividly she brings this area to life. She remembered pressing her father’s best suit before he went drinking at the George and Dragon, a rare treat in a tough world, but one that spoke volumes about pride, hope, and the occasional joy of being out on the town.

Lights Out,
Then On Agin

From its early days as a brewery and spirit vault through to its role in the city’s industrial boom, the George and Dragon saw Birmingham rise, struggle, and rise again. But by 1998, like many pubs across the country, it had shut its doors. The lights went out. The building was left quiet, waiting for someone to believe in it again.

That someone came in 2016, Mark Rafferty, a man with vision, local pride, and a love for good tunes and good times. He brought the place back to life, not by scrubbing away its past, but by leaning into it. It became a bar again. Not polished. Not corporate. But alive.

From California To
The Quarter

I first walked into the bar in 2017, visiting from California. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love, but I did. There was something about it, the energy, the history, the layers of lives lived in and around its walls. It stayed with me.
So when I moved back to Birmingham in 2023, looking for a meaningful project, something I could share with my son, I couldn’t ignore the pull. When the chance came up to take over the bar, I jumped at it. This wasn’t just a business opportunity. It was a full-circle moment.

Roifield Brown

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At Temper & Brown Every Brick Tells a Story

The George & Dragon (1850s-1990s)