Wilton, Cross Lane

Wilton Arms, Cross Lane, Salford, 1974. (c) NAH1952 at flickr.

On the corner of Cross Lane and Liverpool Street in Salford sat the Wilton, first licensed in 1862, this pub had a thing for W's.  In the early 1900s Arthur Walters ran the Wilton which was owned by brewers Watson, Woodhead and Wagstaffe, before being taken over by Walker & Homfray in 1912 when they also acquired a couple of shops next door.  William Mottershead had the Wilton in 1940s, William Hayhurst in the 1950s and Josephine Walker in the 1960s, by which time it was a Wilsons house.


Wilton Inn, Cross Lane, Salford. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

The Wilton was subject to a Compulsory Purchase Order in 1971 and four years later Salford Council paid owners, Grand Metropolitan, £20,000 and pulled it down [1].  Today the Co-Op funeral services stands here, diagonally opposite the closed Ship.

Former location of Wilton, Cross Street, Salford. (c) googlemaps.

1. Salford Pubs - Part Three: Including Cross Lane, Broad Street, Hanky Park, the Height, Brindleheath, Charlestown and Weaste, Neil Richardson (2003).

Kings Arms, Rochdale Road

Former location of Kings Arms, Rochdale Road. (c) googlemaps.

Pictured here in 1971 a couple of years before it closed down, the Kings Arms opened in 1823 when King George IV was on the throne.  Its attached brewhouse became the Phoenix Brewery in the 1860s under Lawrence O'Neill.  He went on to become boss of the Cornbrook Brewery so the Kings Arms became a tied house [1].  When the pub had to close in 1973 due to redevelopment of the area it was a Charrington house at No.231-233, having swallowed up an hold beerhouse next door - appropriately the Queens Arms - in the late nineteenth century [1].  Its location was roughly opposite Livesey Street on the right side of Rochdale Road on the way into town.

1. The Old Pubs of Rochale Road and Neighbourhood - Manchester, Neil Richardson (1985).

Fountain Inn, Livesey Street

Former location of Fountain Inn, Livesey Street. (c) googlemaps.

These premises on Livesey Street off Rochdale Road were a fish and shop for many years, run by a Mr Gill.  It had previously been the Fountain Inn from 1845 to 1906 [1].  The pub / chippy was at No.60 so that puts it probably further down Livesey Street on the right hand side, past the St Patrick's RC church and its refectory looking towards Rochdale Road. 

1. The Old Pubs of Rochale Road and Neighbourhood - Manchester, Neil Richardson (1985).

Richmond Inn, Rochdale Road

Former location of Richmond Inn, Rochdale Road. (c) googlemaps.

The Richmond Inn was a beerhouse at No. 48 Rochdale Road on the corner of Goulden Street.  It was licensed as a Cornbrook Brewery house from 1852 until 1901, when there was no renewal application [1].  Today Goulden Street is no accessible from Rochdale Road as these two flats sit astride it, with the Marble Arch in the distance.

1. The Old Pubs of Rochdale Road and Neighbourhood - Manchester, Neil Richardson (1985).

London & North Western, Cross Lane

London & North Western, Cross Lane, Salford, 1920s. (c) Neil Richardson (2003).

Replacing a smaller nearby pub a few yards south called the Railroad Tavern or Railway Inn, the London & North Western Railway Hotel was built at a cost of £5,000 in about 1890 on Cross Lane at the corner with Wilton Street.  It was opposite the Cross Lane Lancashire Fusiliers barracks.


London & North Western Hotel, Salford. (c) James Herring at flickr.

John Higham who was previously at the Railway Inn took over and in 1891 advertised "the prettiest and best-conducted concert hall in Lancashire."  Salford Football Club was based at the London & North Western around this time and McEwan's and Burton Ales were on offer.  By the 1930s, Threlfalls Brewery owned the pub, followed by Whitbread by the 1980s when it had several makeovers [1].

London & North Western, Cross Lane, Salford. (c) James Herring at flickr.

In October 1981 the Salford City Reporter announced that the "dirty, dingy, nicotine-stained Victorian pub" had been transformed into the Norwest, a "trendy under-30s disco bar."  In 1983 live entertainment on was none other than the famous Foo Foo Lamarr, yet by 1985 the pub was known as The End.  It was indeed nigh as the pub was derelict by 1989 and pulled down a year later [1].

London & North Western, Cross Lane, Salford. (c) James Herring at flickr.

The location of the old London & North Western today is right at the bottom of Cross Lane, just north of the Regent Road roundabout and the  railway line which passes beneath.

Former location of London & North Western, Cross Lane, Salford. (c) googlemaps.

1. Salford Pubs - Part Three: Including Cross Lane, Broad Street, Hanky Park, the Height, Brindleheath, Charlestown and Weaste, Neil Richardson (2003).

Woolpack, Meyrick Street

Woolpack, Meyrick Road, Salford. (c) Salford_66 at flickr.

The Woolpack closed and was bought by Salford Council in 2008 and had been earmarked for imminent demolition despite a local campaign to get it reopened.  A classic 1970s estate pub, this rough and ready Salford boozer was busy with OAPs and Pendleton locals from the nearby estate and tower blocks so its closure was a surprise to many.

Woolpack, Meyrick Road, Salford. (c) deltrems at flickr.

The Woolpack opened by Wilsons Brewery on 22nd December 1970, and was run by John Shortman who had previously run the Wheatsheaf on Broad Street.  It had been pre-fabricated miles away in St Helens then erected on site on Meyrick Street off Belvedere Road [1].

Woolpack, Meyrick Road, Salford. (c) Robin Gosnall at flickr.

The interior was originally decked out in a ship theme, specifically, those that carried wool - the bar was constructed in the form of stacks of bales of wool [1].  This decor changed in the 1990s under new ownership and in its last days appeared to offer Boddingtons and Heineken, giving a clue as to its likely Pub Co ownership.

Woolpack, Meyrick Road, Salford. (c) Gene Hunt at flickr.

Earlier this year it was revealed that the Woolpack may be reprised as the subject of a Salford University Built Environment study which may see it reopening as a community centre or even as a pub with microbrewery [2].  Not sure what has become of this initiative...

Woolpack, Meyrick Road, Salford. (c) Google 2012. View Larger Map.

1. Salford Pubs - Part Three: Including Cross Lane, Broad Street, Hanky Park, the Height, Brindleheath, Charlestown and Weaste, Neil Richardson (2003).
2. www.salford.ac.uk/news/details/1319.

Woodman / Sports, Belvedere Road

Sports, Belvedere Road, Salford, 1990. (c) deltrems at flickr.

The Woodman was an estate pub built to replace the old Wilsons pub around the corner, the Grapes on Cross Lane, as well as the licences of Grove on Church Lane and Prince of Wales Feathers at Windsor Bridge.

Woodman, Belvedere Road, Salford. (c) James Herring at facebook.

It was built on Belvedere Road, parallel to Broad Street, around the same time as the closed Woolpack and still surviving Flemish Weaver, opening in 1971.  In 1985 it was converted into Sports theme pub but closed in 1990 and was demolished in 1993 [1].

Woodman, Belvedere Road, Salford, 1972. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

1. Salford Pubs - Part Three: Including Cross Lane, Broad Street, Hanky Park, the Height, Brindleheath, Charlestown and Weaste, Neil Richardson (2003).

Grapes, Cross Lane

Grapes, Cross Lane, Salford, 1961. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

The Grapes at the top of Cross Lane, Salford can be traced back to 1803 when the Dog & Partridge on Richmond Place was granted a licence, when land to the west of Cross Lane was all fields.  It was renamed the Weavers Arms in 1816 then the Two Greyhounds in 1823, before becoming the Grapes Hotel in 1824, by which time Ellor Street and houses had been built around the pub.  In the 1840s and '50s the pub was run owned by Joseph Bleakley of the Sun Brewery in Ardwick. Towards the end of the century the Grapes advertised dinners, teas, well-aired beds and "balls, conversaziones and parties [1]."  

Former location of Grapes, Cross Lane, Salford. (c) googlemaps.

The Manchester Brewery had the Grapes followed by Walker & Homfray then Wilsons when it closed in 1966.  The fixtures and fittings of the pub were bought up by a local firm who exported the mahogany doors and acid-etched windows to America, while the licence was passed to the Woodman / Sports estate pub on nearby on Belvedere Road [1]. The Thorn Court tower block now stands on the site of the old Grapes, with the closed Paddock, Corporation and Golden Gate / Craven Heifer all in within a stagger of this once pub-rich Salford lane.

1. Salford Pubs - Part Three: Including Cross Lane, Broad Street, Hanky Park, the Height, Brindleheath, Charlestown and Weaste, Neil Richardson (2003).

Temple Hotel, Cheetham Hill Road

Former location of Temple, Cheetham Hill Road. (c) googlemaps.

Seen here in 1958 with its faded sign advertising a bowling green, in the background in 1959 and here in 1971, the Temple was in the shadow of St Luke's church in Cheetham Hill.  What remains of the church is a sorry sight today with only the tower and damaged graves remaining after the main church building was demolished due to dry rot.  There was a pub here before the Temple was built in 1851, a picturesque Tudor inn called the Eagle & Child.  The site of the pubs is now modern housing around Schoolside Close, though to their rear remain playing fields which must have been where the bowling green and also a pond were.

St Luke's Church, Cheetham Hill Road. (c) googlemaps.

Empress, Cheetham Hill Road

Empress, Cheetham Hill Road. (c) googlemaps.

The Empress is a nicely preserved old pub a few yards up Cheetham Hill Road from the Griffin.  Manchester author, historian and pub sign expert, Arthur Chappell, describes how "Queen Victoria, head of the British Empire in its heyday, survives over what is now a furniture shop. An Empress without an Empire [1]."

Empress, Cheetham Hill Road. (c) Arthur Chappell at socyberty.

"Her sign carries an air of sadness and lament for a by-gone golden age when Britain ruled the waves before the counties under her control flexed their muscles and fought for their right to independence.  Queen Victoria, Empress of nothing.  Here  she is at her least amused, looking very sorry for herself, at the height of mourning for her love, Prince Albert.  That the pub named in her honour has gone adds to the aura of sadness around this sign, but it is fantastic to see a sign survive so long after the pub has gone."

Empress, Cheetham Hill Road. (c) gogglemaps.

Even the Empress's sign on the side of the pub has been well-preserved.  Whether the pub gave name to the street, or vice-versa, is unknown.  Read more of Arthur Chappell's Pub Sign Essays which are all based on Manchester boozers.

Empress, Cheetham Hill Road. (c) gogglemaps.

1. http://socyberty.com/history/empress-cheetham-hill-road-manchester.

Griffin, Cheetham Hill Road

Griffin, Cheetham Hill Road. (c) googlemaps.

Stretching north of the city centre, Cheetham Hill Road's shops hide a number of old pubs.  The Griffin is shown here in 1971 as a Wilsons house on the Cheetham Hill - Crumpsall border.  In its heyday the Griffin had Irish bands playing regularly but today is shop selling fabrics to the local Asian communities.

Griffin, Cheetham Hill Road. (c) googlemaps.

151. Soup Kitchen, Spear Street

Soup Kitchen, Spear Street. (c) kittysays.

We finally called in here after hearing several glowing reports of the Soup Kitchen's real ale and bottled selection.  Located in what appears to have been an old clothing warehouse and then gym, this canteen-style café bar is tucked away down Spear Street, just off Stevenson Square opposite Noho, and has recently added a couple of hand-pulls to its soup & sandwiches, chilli & curry type menu.  

Soup Kitchen, Spear Street. (c) Pubs of Manchester.

Only one real ale was on during our visit but Maxim's Delilah from Tyneside served in glass tankards was a decent pale ale, if a little cloudy, coming in at about £3 a pint.  Real ale, continental draught lagers and a fine offering of bottled ales, such as Dunham Massey IPA, is the sort of selection that other, poorer and less successful city centre bars should take note of (the Soup Kitchen was established by the Bay Horse team but are now independent).

Soup Kitchen, Spear Street. (c) Pubs of Manchester.

The narrow strip of outdoor seating here gives drinkers a view of the still shabby-looking Stevenson Square, an area of the Northern Quarter which is crying out to be pedestrianised and turned into a proper European-style square full of bars and cafés.  The Soup Kitchen was pretty quiet - it was a Sunday evening - but some of the clientèle fitted with earlier reports of "city centre Guardian types with oversized prams" (he observed while looking up from the Guardian as mother tends to son in oversized pram).  

Soup Kitchen, Spear Street. (c) quda.

The decor is quirky with art hung on the walls and from the ceiling, and in a typical Northern Quarter style there is an in-house fanzine shop called Good Grief!.  The 'SK' cellar bar is open on Fridays and Saturdays until 3am and the place closes at 7pm Sunday to Wednesday, so pick the right time to pay a visit to this fine little bar.

Soup Kitchen, Spear Street. (c). North Manchester CAMRA.

Website:  soup-kitchen.co.uk.
Twitter:  @SoupKitchen_Mcr.

Five Alls / Queen Anne, Long Millgate

Former location of Five Alls / Queen Anne, Long Millgate. (c) Google 2012. View Larger Map.

The Five Alls stood opposite the Crown & Shuttle at the top of Long Millgate on the corner of Ducie Street in the mid 1800s [1].  Today's equivalent location is diagonally opposite the Ducie Bridge at the top of Corporation Street, in front of the expanded Victoria Station.  The Five Alls was run by Philemon Armitage in 1849, it was however previously and subsequently known as the Queen Anne, licensed from 1777 to 1897.  The origin of the name Five Alls is explained in Larwood & Hotten's 'History of Signboards' from 1867 [2]:

The Monarch - I rule all
The Priest - I pray for all
The Soldier - I fight for all
The Lawyer - I plead for all
John Bull - I pay for all

1. Manchester Victoria 1849, Alan Godfrey Maps (2009).  
2. The Old Pubs of Rochdale Road and Neighbourhood - Manchester, Neil Richardson (1985).

Angel's Whisper / Shamrock, Style Street

Former location of Angel's Whisper / Shamrock, Style Street, Angel Meadow. (c) googlemaps.

On the face of it the Angel's Whisper is a lovely name for a pub, and its location, on Style Street off Angel Street and overlooking Angel Meadow (and its St Michael's burial grounds), seems to explain it.  However, it is also Army slang for the call to deserters, and the pub's later name, the Shamrock here in "Irish Town" suggests there could be more to it.  An 1845 robbery at the Angel's Whisper saw Hugh Collins, George Oliver and William Jones charged with stealing 10 shillings, cigars and ale from William Wood's beerhouse, though charges were dropped.  Having opened in the 1840s, it was still the Angel's Whisper in 1869 but the Shamrock by 1873 [1].  

1. The Old Pubs of Rochale Road and Neighbourhood - Manchester, Neil Richardson (1985).

Dog & Duck, Charter Street

Probable former location of Dog & Duck, Charter Street. (c) googlemaps.

The stretch of Dantzic Lane that passes the Charter Street Ragged School in Angel Meadow was named Charter Street at some point in the 1800s.  The bridge that crosses the road was known as Charter Street bridge - this 1899 photo shows the same view as seen today.  The Dog & Duck closed down in the latter half of the nineteenth century, but was well known locally for its skittle alley and rat pit (a waist-high circular enclosure where dogs would compete to kill rats).  The Dog & Duck had a lamp outside that resembled a doctor's lamp and inside had hung boxing prints.  It was renowned for a time as "the house of call of the swell mob of Manchester and the superior class of prigs (thieves) [1]."  These two 1897 images (note the as yet unknown pub on the corner) looking up and down Charter Street show it as a busy thoroughfare.

1. The Old Pubs of Rochdale Road and Neighbourhood - Manchester, Neil Richardson (1985).

White Hart, Dantzic Street

White Hart, Dantzic Street, 1920s. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

This 1964 photo shows the Threlfalls house, the White Hart, on the corner of Dulwich Street and Dantzic Street, further along from the Dyers Arms, away from the city centre along the Irk valley.  The impressive "Threlfalls Mild & Bitter Ales" and "Threlfalls Blue Label Ale" signs seen in the 1920s, above, had been replaced by a more modest Threlfalls corner sign in 1964.  Rather unfortunately, the site of the old White Hart is now marked by 'Farlam Waste Management' and its trucks.

Former location of White Hart, Dantzic Street. (c) googlemaps.

1. The Old Pubs of Rochdale Road and Neighbourhood - Manchester, Neil Richardson (1985).

Dyers Arms, Dantzic Street

Dyers Arms, Dantzic Street. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

The Dyers Arms was a Cornbrook Ales house on the corner of Bromley Street and Dantzic Street in the Irk valley.  There are a couple of photos from the archives here in 1964 showing the Dyers Arms in the shadow of the the Phillips Rubbers factory.  This part of town is largely given over to parked cars these days.

Former location of Dyers Arms, Dantzic Street. (c) googlemaps.

1. The Old Pubs of Rochdale Road and Neighbourhood - Manchester, Neil Richardson (1985).

Queens Arms / Gas Works Tavern, Rochdale Road

Former location of Queens Arms / Gas Works Tavern, Rochdale Road. (c) googlemaps.

This corner of Clive Street was once the corner of Cobourg Street where the Queens Arms was licensed from 1858 to 1936, when it had to close as the licence was was judged to not be required.  The pub was previously named the Gas Works Tavern, after the Rochdale Road Gasworks which were nearby, as listed in the 1864 Robertson's Directory and Manchester Guardian in 1868 [1].

1. The Old Pubs of Rochdale Road and Neighbourhood - Manchester, Neil Richardson (1985).

Live & Let Live, Rochdale Road

Former location of Live & Let Live, Rochdale Road. (c) googlemaps.

The Live & Let Live was a beerhouse that stood on part of the site of the Manchester Lodge, formerly Mamas / Victoria, a few doors up Rochdale Road from the Marble Arch.  It was licensed in 1838 but closed before 1870 [1].  The exact location of the Live & Let Live was on this corner of what was once Back Ashley Street - the cobbles show where the street once was.

1. The Old Pubs of Rochdale Road and Neighbourhood - Manchester, Neil Richardson (1985).

Galloway Arms, York Street

Galloway Arms, York Street, 1950s. (c) Bob Potts [1].

Tucked away down York Street, next door to the once Wellington (you can just see the 'THR' of its Threlfalls sign, right), The Galloway Arms was a  Wilsons house which closed in 1963 [1].  It can be seen next door to the Wellington here in 1973 with the Mancunian Way in the background, although it was no longer a public house a decade after its conversion.  The former site of these pubs (and yet another, the All Saints Tavern) is this car park on York Street, just off Grosvenor Street down the side of The Pub and Sand Bar.

Former location of Galloway Arms, York Street. (c) googlemaps.

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

Champion Inn, Welbeck Street

Champion Inn, Welbeck Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock, 1951. (c) Bob Potts [1].

The Champion Inn was a City Brewery, Creese & Co, Wilsons, and finally Walker & Homfray house when it closed in 1963, on Welbeck Street in Chorlton-on-Medlock.  Welbeck Street used to run parallel and just to the west of (Higher) Cambridge Street, and the Champion Inn was on the corner of Blansharu Street.  Today this is the site of Trinity C of E school, just opposite the Dental Hospital.

Former location of Champion Inn, Welbeck Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock. (c) googlemaps.

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

Boston Hotel, Boston Street

Boston Hotel, Boston Street, Hulme, 1960s. (c) Bob Potts [1].

Boston Street was off the Warwick Street and (Old) York Street in Hulme, both of which still exist today.  On the corner of Boston Street and Radnor Street was the Boston Hotel, a Joseph Holt's house.  This view shows Rawkin Close which is roughly where Boston Street was back in the day; the area unrecognisable from the 1960s when the Boston Hotel still stood here.

Former location of Boston Hotel, Boston Street / Rawkin Close. (c) Google 2011. View Larger Map.

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

King William IV, Justin Close

King William VI, Justin Close, Chorlton-on-Medlock. (c) Google 2011. View Larger Map.

This Chorlton-on-Medlock Chesters then Whitbread estate pub was built in 1967 on Justin Close, off Grosvenor Street and Upper Brook Street in the shadow of the Mancunian Way.  A bunch of photos from the archives show the King William IV in 1970, 1972, 1972, 1972 and again 1972.  The last one shows the built-in off licence shop, a feature of many pubs which was commonplace over the years, and has only died out in recent decades.  The King Billy closed in 1996 and - thanks to its resemblance to council housing - was converted to residential property.  It's difficult to tell it was ever a pub.

King William VI, Justin Close, Chorlton-on-Medlock. (c) Google 2011. View Larger Map.