Pubs of Manchester

All pubs within the city centre and beyond.
A history of Manchester's hundreds of lost pubs.

Sunday 10 January 2010

Cross Keys, Jersey Street


Cross Keys, Jersey Street, Ancoats. (c) Mace at flickr.

Further up Jersey Street where it crosses Radium Street is the recently closed Cross Keys. These two images from the Manchester Archives and Local Studies Image Collection show the pub in better days in 1962 and 1967, the latter is a reminder of how houses and pubs were crammed in between the mighty mills of old Ancoats, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. It's shown below as a Taylor's Gold Medal Eagle Ales house.

Cross Keys, Jersey Street. (c) 'All Work & No Play: An Ancoats Scrapbook', Heritage Works / Countryscape.

The photo below from The Conservation and Protection of Victorian Pubs in Manchester (a nice little booklet priced 35 pence from Beer-Inn Print) shows how Ancoats folk would congregate in and around their local pubs, until the City Council, in their wisdom, decided to destroy their communities by ripping down houses and replacing them with waste ground. The photo is probably from as recently as the 1980s.

Cross Keys, Jersey Street, 1980s. (c) Debbie Hickey & Jacqui Norwood [1].

The Cross Keys has been a licensed house since 1830 but the original pub was situated about 50 yards further up Jersey Street and was briefly known as The Amalgamation. It was demolished in the late 19th century to make way for a brass foundry [3]. So, the Cross Keys set up on the corner of German Street, which was renamed to Radium Street in 1914 for obvious reasons. What's not so obvious is 'Radium'. In 1914 radium was a pioneering cancer treatment at the Christie Hospital and a number of eminent names including Ernest Rutherford campaigned in the Manchester Guardian to raise £25,000 to bring this treatment to the region. Thanks to a series of 'Radium Days' and a generous donation from a certain Edward Holt, the Radium Institute was established in the Manchester Royal Infirmary. Following another donation from Sir Edward and Lady Holt, this time of land at Nelson Street, the Manchester & District Radium Institute, later to become the Holt Radium Institute was formed, which then merged with Christie Hospital. Edward Holt, in case you're wondering, was indeed the son and heir of the one and only Joseph Holt, and Manchester's finest brewers continue to support The Christie today.
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Cross Keys, Jersey Street, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.
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In more recent times the pub attracted some of the Sankey's clubbing crowd and was reportedly open all hours - the sign above the door says 'Dance Bar'. Never went in here so can't comment, but when Tetley's bought it from Taylors Eagle Brewery in 1922 the sale notice described on the lower floors a lobby, bar parlour, vault, smoke room, kitchen, scullery, clubroom and three cellars [3] - sounds like a big old place. Incidently, the bedrooms upstairs were looted in an 1834 robbery which made the local papers: 'they slipped upstairs, entered a bedroom and forced open a chest in which cash and silver plate were deposited, and took twenty guineas and seventy soveriegns... they did not meddle with the plate. Several young men, strangers of suspicious appearance, had been loitering about the door during the afternoon and it is possible that the robbery was committed by some of the London thieves on their way to Doncaster Races [3].'

Cross Keys, Jersey Street. (c) Ancoats Forever Facebook.
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A recent planning application proposed the demolition of the Cross Keys, replacing it with a retail and office block.
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Proposed development on Jersey Street.
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The Cross Keys is still up for letting or sale in 2010, perhaps someone will give it a go when the seemingly stalled regeneration of old Ancoats is complete.
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Cross Keys, Jersey Street, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.
. 1. All Works & No Play: An Ancoats Scrapbook, Heritage Worls / Countryscape.
2. An Endangered Species? The Public House - The Conservation and Protection of Victorian Pubs in Manchester, Debbie Hickey & Jacqui Norwood (1993).
3. The Old Pubs of Ancoats, Neil Richardson (1987).

18 comments:

  1. I got involved in a family tree and have traced my Great Great Great Grandad Matthew Lowe back to being the Publican of a pub on Jersey St (No13) from the 1851 census I wonder if "The Amalgamation" was that pub or was there many others on the street.It would be great if anyone could help
    Thanks John Briggs

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  2. The Cross Keys is one of many pubs that stood on Jersey Street. The Green Dragon, Royal Oak, Cross Keys and Church Inn we've included so far. Also from the records is the Vine, New City Inn, Beehive, Lord Napier, Murrays Arms and Jersey Lily. We'll cover all of these and try to find out about Matthew Lowe in the process. There is mention of 13 Jersey St here www.ancoatslittleitaly.com/tony_rea_ice_cream.html, which must have been close to the Green Dragon.

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  3. I enquired about this pub today, for conversion to residential, and was told (not very convincingly) that it was sold.

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  4. I am the landlord, please enquire info@sigmaproperty.co.uk for further details.

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  5. The cross keys was. My home and the family business 1989 to 1992

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  6. The Alehouse License for the Cross Keys Inn in Jersey Street was transferred from George Savage to Joseph Richmond Dearden.The transfer was passed in the City Police Court and was published in the Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser on 7 Jan1855. Also in the same newspaper on the 13 Octo 1855 it was again transferred to James Augustus Richmond. I have gained this info whilst research my Richmond family tree in Manchester.

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  7. My Auntie Sissy and Ted Bullows had it in the 60/70's. Cheers, Rik.

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  8. Matthew lowe is also my gg grandad, interested in hearing more
    Matthew

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  9. Sorry that should be ggg grandad, checked on the census, so the first poster and me are related
    Hope.someone reads this, keen to get in touch
    Matthew

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  10. Has been turned into an office with nice grey double glazing, also still has the dancing bar sign above the door!

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  11. Who owns this building now?

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  12. My dad Samuel TETLOW spent many happy hours in them Ancoats pubs some great football teams and players over many years. Samuel TETLOW 1908-1977

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  13. I am doing my family tree and I have found out my great, great grandmother lived at the Royal Oak Pub with her husband in the 1881 census. is this the pub that is being talked about?

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  14. Joe De Fleece was the landlord in the early 1980s. Before that he had the Flying Horse Greengate.

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    1. My grandad Joe Doyle was also landlord and Joe De Fleece and his wife Anna were friends with my grandparents George and May Wilson also..

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  15. Was it #50 Jersey Street?

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  16. I live very close to this place. Got a planning application through my door from the council - had a look online, and the whole block is being regenerated, but the pub and the bakery are being left untouched. I wonder if someone’s planning to do something with the place

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  17. I just watched an episode of Bulman, the Cross Keys was in one scene.

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