034. Sir Ralph Abercromby, Bootle Street

Sir Ralph Abercromby, Bootle Street, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.

A pub that has become a little run down of late which is a shame as it used to be a cracking boozer. The beer was better than last time we came in though and it is real ale. With its location right next to Manchester Police Station, there was a certain infamy about the place and one of the few places you could guarantee a lock-in if the landlord liked you, particularly as the constabulary next door turned a blind eye due to many of them wanting to pop in at all hours after a shift ended. There is a pool table in the corner, moved from the back room which was tiny and it seemed pleasant enough. Just needs a few quid spending on it to bring it back to its former glory. Encouraging news is that the landlord of the Waldorf and most recently, Town Hall Tavern, is going to take it over. This should mean some decent beer and hopefully Marble Brewery produce as well, like the Waldorf now sells. Sir Ralph Abercromby was was Lieutenant General during the Napoleonic Wars but the pub itself was known as the Abercrombie as a Chesters house as shown in these 1946 and 1970s photos, and Sir Ralph Abercrombie Inn, a Whitbread house, in the past before the pub reverted to the correctly spelt name.

Sir Ralph Abercromby, Bootle Street, 2010. (c) Pubs of Manchester.