Kings Arms, Boundary Street East

Kings Arms, Boundary Street East, 1950s. (c) Bob Potts [1].

The Kings Arms closed in 1966 on Boundary Street East, a street which used to run parallel to Grosvenor Street, adjacent to the Aquatic Centre on Oxford Road and leading to the where the now closed Scubar sits on York Street.  Pictured above in the 1950s (Oxford Road in the background), the Kings Arms at No.58 was nicknamed the Bundle of Sticks, which stems from the old beerhouse which used to stand across the street but was refused a beer licence in the late 1800s; it's thought that regulars from the Bundle of Sticks then took their trade to the Kings Arms, and with it, the nickname.  Another possible explanation could be that it comes from the Friendly Society which used to meet in the Kings Arms - their 'Unity' sign was a bundle of sticks fastened together with the motto 'Unity Is Strength' [1].

Former Boundary Street East. (c) googlemaps.

1. The Old Pubs of Hulme and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Bob Potts (1997).