Peaky Blinders pub The Garrison to be auctioned
A pub made famous by Birmingham-set BBC TV drama Peaky Blinders is to be auctioned.
In the drama, set in the 1920s, members of the Peaky Blinders gang meet in The Garrison pub.
The real-life Garrison, on Garrison Lane in the city, is to be auctioned at Villa Park on 22 May and has a guide price of £160,000 to £175,000 plus VAT.
The first series of the show, starring Cillian Murphy, attracted audiences of about 2.4m.
A second series is expected to be broadcast in the autumn.
The series takes its name from a real-life gang in the city who had razor blades hidden in the peaks of their flat caps.
The sale catalogue from Cottons Chartered Surveyors describes the pub, near Birmingham City's St Andrew's stadium, as "a substantial freehold public house".
A reader in public history at Newman University, Birmingham, Chris Upton, said the father of the drama's creator, Steven Knight, used to drink at The Garrison.
"Illegal betting bookmaking often was associated with pubs," he said.
"They took the bets and passed them on and gangs were often involved in controlling that.
"We've lost so many pubs locally... It's fine in the city centre but outside there it's tough.
"I suppose this one's got a better chance because of its associations and its history but it's tough times for pubs."
The second six-part series, which started filming earlier this year, will see the Shelby family expand their empire to the north and south while maintaining a stronghold in their Birmingham heartland.
In January thousands of people turned up at casting auditions in the city.
The first series, which was generally well-received, attracted some criticism for some of the cast's "dodgy" West Midlands accents.