Pubs of Manchester

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

Saturday 28 April 2012

Carlton, Camp Street


Carlton, Camp Street, Lower Broughton. (c) Ian S at geograph under Creative Commons.

The Carlton is a sorry sight these days on the corner of Grecian Street and Camp Street in Lower Broughton.  A fire at the recently boarded up pub a couple of years ago has left it in an advanced state of disrepair, such that its freehold for sale at just £80,000.


Carlton, Camp Street, Lower Broughton. (c) UK Pub Sales.

The Carlton can be traced back to a grocers and tea shop in 1850 which was soon expanded to a post office, and by 1965, owner John Harrop had a beer licence.  By the 1880s, a music licence was obtained for the beerhouse now known as the Carlton Inn [1].


Carlton, Camp Street, Lower Broughton. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr [2].

In 1883 an application was turned down to build a new public house on the site of the Carlton which was to serve the rapidly expanding population in the Broughton area of Salford.  However, by the 1900s, Empress Brewery had the Carlton and expanded it into the house next door [1].  


Carlton, Camp Street, Lower Broughton. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

As shown above in 1931, the next owners were Walkers of Warrington and by the 1960s the Carlton was a Tetley's house [1].  Burtonwood were next owners in 1993 as shown by Alan Winfield a couple of years later.  In its later years it looks like it was a Pub Co concern, and predictably, was allowed to run down before its inevitable closure.


Carlton, Camp Street, Lower Broughton. (c) Ian S at geograph under Creative Commons.

1. Salford Pubs - Part Two: Including Islington, Ordsall Lane and Ordsall, Oldfield Road, Regent Road and Broughton, Neil Richardson (2003).

Friday 27 April 2012

New Inn, Cambrian Street

New Inn, Cambrian Street, Miles Platting, 1970s. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

Shown at the archives in 1938 with its corner door still in place, the New Inn on Cambrian Street was only round the corner from its namesake on Whitby Street.  The New Inn is pictured above in the 1970s and it was open until 1985, known locally as Palmer's [1], presumably after an old landlord.  

New Inn, Cambrian Street, Miles Platting. (c) Google 2012. View Larger Map.

On the corner of Lind Street and Cambrian Street, the building is still there today as Petro Fine Furnishings, although entirely clad in corrugation.  Another photo from the archives shown the New Inn as a Red Rose Ales house in 1963.

New Inn, Cambrian Street, Miles Platting. (c) Google 2012. View Larger Map.

1. The Old Pubs of Ancoats, Neil Richardson (1987).

New Inn, Whitby Street

New Inn, Whitby Street, Miles Platting. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

The New Inn stood on Whitby Street off Ridgeway Street and Bradford Road at the Ancoats / Bradford end of Miles Platting.  The exact location of the New Inn was at the top end of Tinsley Close on the corner of Ridgeway Street, as Whitby Street was been lost to the redeveloped street layout.

1. The Old Pubs of Ancoats, Neil Richardson (1987).

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Elephant & Castle, Whit Lane


Elephant & Castle, Whit Lane, Charlestown. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr [1]


The Elephant & Castle was at the bottom end of Whit Lane in Charlestown which is today known as Cromwell Road, where these two trees are.  The beerhouse opened in the 1840s and Wilsons Brewery took over from Cardwell & Company in 1899.  The distinctive, classic Wilsons cream tiled frontage an draughtboard above the vault door was added in the 1920s.  Like most of the pubs around this part of Charlestown, Salford, the Elephant & Castle was lost to redevelopment after it closed in 1973 [2].  


Elephant & Castle, Whit Lane, Charlestown, Salford. (c) Neil Richardson [2]

1. www.flickr.com/photos/61756486@N05.
2. Salford Pubs - Part Three: Including Cross Lane, Broad Street, Hanky Park, the Height, Brindleheath, Charlestown and Weaste, Neil Richardson (2003).

Royal Oak, Whit Lane

Royal Oak, Whit Lane, Charlestown, Salford. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr.

The Royal Oak on the corner of Williams Street and Whit Lane in Charlestown was known locally as 'Mad Mullers' for unknown reasons.  It was opened in a converted shop in about 1865 and by the 20th century was owned by the Rochdale & Manor Brewery before Sam Smiths (the smaller brewery formed from Tadcaster's John Smiths) took all Rochdale & Manor's Salford houses in the 1940s.  Pictured above in 1973, the Royal Oak was demolished along with almost all the pubs in Charlestown for redevelopment soon after [1].  This end of Whit Lane exists today as Langley Road South, and the Royal Oak was where this factory is, opposite the still standing but long-closed Kings Arms.

1. www.flickr.com/photos/61756486@N05.
2. Salford Pubs - Part Three: Including Cross Lane, Broad Street, Hanky Park, the Height, Brindleheath, Charlestown and Weaste, Neil Richardson (2003).

Saturday 21 April 2012

190. Metropolitan, Lapwing Lane

Metropolitan, Lapwing Lane, West Didsbury. (c) Manchester After Dark.

Formerly the Midland

Website:  www.the-metropolitan.co.uk.


Metropolitan, Lapwing Lane, West Didsbury. (c) Fetch Didsbury.

189. Four In Hand, Palatine Road

Four In Hand, Palatine Road, West Didsbury. (c) Gene Hunt at flickrCreative Commons.

As we arrived at our second pub of the day, we were surprised to see a 4 x 4 army tank sat in the car park and wondered jokingly what sort of pub we were about to enter.  Fortunately the only danger to our health would more likely to be from death by boredom as this was a very basic, open plan public house, with little to recommend it other than its prominent location on the corner of Palatine Road and Lapwing Lane.  If the Woodstock was the sort of place you would take your Nana, then this is the place you would meet your mistress for dinner, sure in the knowledge that you wouldn't be seen by anyone you know. 


Four In Hand, Palatine Road, West Didsbury. (c) Pubs of Manchester.

Bargain food deals were heavily advertised and to be fair to them, plenty were dining in there and a good sprinkling of kids added to the charm (?) of the place.  It could have been that busy due to the impending Manchester United game about to be shown, but this did little to keep us from staying for a further pint.  As for the beer, two uninspiring choices of real ale, with reasonable levels of quality, together with the usual 'FMCG' of Fosters, Carling, Strongbow, Guinness, etc.  As pub goes, very bland and inoffensively average; again, suits some people, but not for us.

Website:  www.fourinhandpub.co.uk.

1. http://menmedia.co.uk/whos_parked_their_tank_on_my_lawn.

188. Woodstock, Barlow Moor Road


Woodstock, Barlow Moor Road, West Didsbury. (c) Woodstock.

The start of the West Didsbury crawl began with this imposing building sat back on Barlow Moor Road, just across from Albert's restaurant, the former Barleycorn public house of days gone by.  Looking like a typical Didsbury residence, it is something of a strange pub-cum-restaurant which would appear to be more the sort of place you would take your mother or Nana to for Sunday lunch.  Inside it's very much decked out for food, and even though it was a Saturday when we visited, it was already beginning to attract the coffee and croissant crowd from early doors. 

Woodstock, Barlow Moor Road, West Didsbury. (c) Woodstock.

Outside is a decent covered smoking area, and probably would be quite nice in the summer, but again, it's not a place for the casual drinker, more suited really to the students and Didsbury clientele.  As for beer, there were three different real ales on, reasonably well kept but far too cold.  Not a particular bargain at £3.40 a pint either.  So in conclusion, not really a boozers' pub, but would suit some more than others.

Website:  www.thewoodstockarmsdidsbury.co.uk.


Woodstock, Barlow Moor Road, West Didsbury. (c) Woodstock.

Worsley Hotel, West Worsley Street

Worsley Hotel, West Worsley Street, Ordsall. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr.

The Worsley Hotel was diagonally opposite the Crown Inn on the south east corner of Tatton Street and West Worsley Street.  Fully licensed, the pub was built at a cost of £2,000 by George Lindsay in 1869, but by start of the next century Threlfalls owned the Worsley.  The brewery built new toilets in the yard and converted the upstairs clubroom into bedrooms although them new lavs meant that the bedrooms overlooking the yard were no longer used.  Like almost all the pubs in this northern part of Ordsall, the pub was closed and knocked down in the 1973 to make way for redevelopments [2].

1. www.flickr.com/photos/61756486@N05.
2. Salford Pubs - Part Two: Including Islington, Ordsall Lane and Ordsall, Oldfield Road, Regent Road and Broughton, Neil Richardson (2003).

Crown Inn, West Worsley Street


Crown Inn, West Worsley Street, Ordsall. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr.

The Crown was on the north west corner of Tatton Street and West Worsley Street, opposite the Worsley Hotel, and opened in the 1860s. Groves & Whitnall took the beerhouse in 1891 and it passed to Greenall Whitley in the middle of the twentieth century.  The Crown closed in 1974, yet another victim of Ordsall redevelopment [2].

1. www.flickr.com/photos/61756486@N05.
2. Salford Pubs - Part Two: Including Islington, Ordsall Lane and Ordsall, Oldfield Road, regent Road and Broughton, Neil Richardson (2003).

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Mystery pub - Shakespeare Hotel


Can anyone help clear up this mystery pub, the Shakespeare Hotel, a Chesters house?  The sign above the doors reads Walkers 'Kilmarnock' Whisky (as in Johnnie Walker)...


Tuesday 17 April 2012

Amalgamated, Gloucester Street


Amalgamated, Gloucester Street, Ordsall, 1967. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s  at flickr [1].

The Amalgamated may be familiar to older generations of Britons as the original Rovers Return in Coronation Street (Salford's actual Coronation Street was only up the road and still has the famous Salford Lads Club there today).  It was used by Granada TV from 1962 and is shown above on-set in 1967 [1] - eagle-eyed readers may be able to identify the old Corrie characters.  The 'Mal' opened on the corner of Clifton Street and Gloucester Street in the late 1860s and by 1890 the beerhouse was owned by the little-known Simpson & Crummack Brewery of Miles Platting [2].  

Amalgamated, Gloucester Street, Ordsall. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr [1].

On a Simpson & Crummack inventory of their beerhouses, the Amalgamated was described as having a bar, a bar parlour, small billiard room, kitchen and three upstairs rooms.  The Empress Brewery took the Mal in 1898 then Walkers of Warrington, in the 1930s, and it closed for good in April 1970 [2], being demolished a year later.  Today Gloucester Street still runs through this part of Salford but it ends before Tatton Street.  The exact location of the old Amalgamated is where the new Carmel Close ends in this redeveloped part of Ordsall.

Rovers Return (Amalgamated), Gloucester Street, Ordsall. (c) Coronation Street blog.

1. www.flickr.com/photos/61756486@N05.
2. Salford Pubs - Part Two: including Islington, Ordsall Lane and Ordsall, Oldfield Road, Regent Road and Broughton, Neil Richardson (2003).

Friday 13 April 2012

Marsland, Dorset Street

Marsland Hotel, Dorset Street, West Gorton. (c) D.N. at ManMates Facebook [1].

The Marsland was a large and rather beautiful Chesters and then Whitbread pub in West Gorton (but in the past this area may be have been known as part of Ardwick) near St Benedict's Presbytery.  Judging from the great photo of the inside of the Marsland Hotel, sent into ManMates by Brian Burnett, it looks like it was a real favourite with couples and families from the area.

Marsland Hotel, Dorset Street. (c) Brian Burnett at Man Mates [1].

The pub is seen on the corner of Dorset Street and Armitage Street (later Reabrook Close, then Avenue) in 1963, as a Chesters house in 1965, in 1972, and finally in 1973 in the shadow of the new block of flats.  This allows us to work out where the Marsland stood in relation to the Benedict Court tower block; probably on this corner of what is now St Benedict's Square and Reabrook Avenue.

Location of Marsland Hotel, Reabrook Avenue. (c) Google 2012. View Larger Map.

1. www.facebook.com/ManMates.co.uk.
2. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alscot1/LongsightFooballTeam.html.

Swan Hotel, Chancellor Lane

Former location of Swan Hotel, Chancellor Lane, Ardwick. (c) Google 2012. View Larger Map.

The Swan Hotel used to stand on this corner of Chancellor Lane and Dark Lane in Ardwick.  The three-storey Chesters house is shown in 1963 with its grand tiled frontage to both streets.  That photo also shows a Shell petrol station sign on the other side of Dark Lane; this has been replaced by a Manchester Food Trader while a Nissan showroom car park now stands on the site of the Swan Hotel.  This page at the brilliant Manchester Museum of Science & Industry mentions Ken Martin who was brought up at the Swan Hotel, "just off Ashton Old Road in Ardwick", to Irish parents, publicans at the Swan [1].

Tom Dobbins Club, Ardwick Green North

Former Tom Dobbins Club, Ardwick Green North. (c) Google 2012. View Larger Map.

Next to the old Grove Hotel on Ardwick Green North was the Tom Dobbins Club, and the building still stands today in fine condition.  The club was in the middle building of the three shown above with the Grove to the left.  It is shown in 1971 at the archives, but there is no indication anywhere of the type of club it was.  Dobbins is mentioned here as the Chairman of the Old Scholar's Association of the nearby Ardwick Technical School [1]. 

Thanks to his family who've been in touch since since we originally wrote about him, we've learned more about Tom Dobbins.  He owned the flag manufacturers based in the Crown Mills on the nearby Manor Street, and himself lived at No.23 Manor Street round the corner.  The mill closed in 1987, which had been run by his daughter (nee Lucy Dobbins) and her husband, and the company, J T Dobbins Ltd held the Royal Warrant.

During his life, Tom Dobbins did a huge amount for the elderly people of Ardwick Green and on his passing, aged 66, the Ardwick & District Old Peoples Club was renamed the Tom Dobbins Club by none other than the Lord Mayor of Manchester.  Thanks to Christina Peake, Tom Dobbins' granddaughter for this history.

Crown Inn, City Road

Crown Inn, City Road, Hulme. (c) Bob Potts [1].

The Crown was at 122 City Road, opening in 1868, although in 1871 it was named as the Roebuck Inn on the census [1].   It was a Peter Walker & Son house and it closed in 1937 [2] and its old corner is now lost somewhere beneath the Mancunian Way - Princess Road interchange.

1. The Old Pubs of Hulme Manchester 1770-1930, Bob Potts (1983).
2. The Old Pubs of Hulme and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Bob Potts (1997).

Collyhurst Inn, Collyhurst Street

Collyhurst Inn, Collyhurst Street, Collyhurst, 1950s. (c) Bob Potts [1].

This old Wilsons house was demolished in 1960 following a Compulsory Purchase Order for redevelopments around Collyhurst Street which still stretches from Rochdale Road to Oldham Road.  The Collyhurst Inn  opened in 1845 at No.43 Collyhurst Street and was a Manchester Brewery Company house before Wilsons took over.  These delightful flats appear to on the site of the old Collyhurst Inn. 

1. The Old Pubs of Rochdale Road and Neighbourhood Manchester, Bob Potts (1985).

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Papermakers Arms, Clifden Place


Papermakers Arms, Clifden Place, Broughton. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr [1].

The sinister National Front graffiti on the wall outside the Papermakers Arms in the 1970s (yes, it really does say "NF - GET NATIVES OUT") has tactfully been airbrushed out in the version in Neil Richardson's book [2].  It's a  sobering reminder of the backward values that existed even in the more enlightened areas of the country so recently.  Clifden Place was a row of about 10 houses that overlooked the Broughton Grove Mill on the boundary of Manchester and Salford, just to the east of Bury New Road.  The last property, on the corner of Back Roman Road, was turned into a beerhouse in 1869, the Papermakers Arms.


Papermakers Arms, Clifden Place, Broughton. (c) Neil Richardson [2].

The Papermakers extended into next door in 1891 and Groves & Whitnalls owned it by the new century.  It passed to Greenall Whitley and remained standing until after the mill was demolished and the houses around become derelict.  Shown in the the 1970s when the houses were empty, the Papermakers Arms lasted until 1978 [2].  Clifden Place was eventually swept away as this part of Brougton was redeveloped.  These days Appian Way snakes past the former site of the Papermakers, as shown on the map below, marked '9' [2], although Upper Camp Street and Grove Street still survive.

Papermakers Arms, Clifden Place, Broughton. (c) Neil Richardson [2].

1. www.flickr.com/photos/61756486@N05.
2. Salford Pubs - Part 3: Including Cross Lane, Broad Heath, Hanky Park, the Height, Brindleheath, Charlestown and Weaste, Neil Richardson (2003).

Windsor Bridge Tavern, Broad Street


Windsor Bridge Tavern, Broad Street, Salford. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr [1].

The Windsor Bridge Tavern was the only beerhouse on the north side of Broad Street on the corner with Quay Street.  It was originally known as the Weighing Machine Tavern in 1838 due to the public weighing machine that was outside, and also operated by the landlord.  When the Windsor Bridge Ironworks opened, the beerhouse was renamed the Windor Bridge Ironworks Tavern.  Albert Stopford of the Imperial Brewery of West Gorton had it by 1873, and when the agreed to give up the licence of the Royal Oak on Oldfield Road, they extended the Windsor Bridge Tavern into the shop next door.  


Windsor Bridge Tavern, Broad Street, Salford, 1951. (c) Neil Richardson [2].

Stopford's ales and Imperial Stout were advertised, and later Bass, Worthington and Guinness by 1916.  Stopfords were taken over by Walker & Homfray in 1927 followed by Wilsons, when the two brewers merged, by the 1950s.  In the late 1970s, the Windsor Bridge was scheduled for demolition and it eventually was closed and demolished on 8th September 1980 [2].  The site of the old Windsor Bridge Tavern is the car park of the new university Mary Seacole Building, just at the top of Cross Lane.

1. www.flickr.com/photos/61756486@N05.
2. Salford Pubs - Part 3: Including Cross Lane, Broad Heath, Hanky Park, the Height, Brindleheath, Charlestown and Weaste, Neil Richardson (2003).

Monday 9 April 2012

White Lion, Wilmslow Road


White lion, Wilmslow Road, Withington (c) britishlistedbuildings.

In the 1980s the White Lion underwent a misguided re-branding as the Pavillion, and then the Withington Ale House, which despite its name, didn't offer much in the way of decent beer ("beware keg beers from fake casks" [1]).  It reverted back to the White Lion after a cheap refurb but sadly attracted the more undesirable type of punter, and during a visit here in the 1990s, I remember it being seedy and unwelcoming with no decent beer to speak of.  

White Lion, Wilmslow Road, Withington. (c) crinklybee

In the mid-2000s the pub closed for good and despite various rumours of it reopening or being bought by Wetherspoons, the White Lion has gone of the way of many pubs up and down the country - it's now an express supermarket with flats above.  It's a fantastic old building dating back to 1881 (I'm sure I remember the clock tower once briefly functioning) so although it will never be a boozer again, its future looks secure thanks to its Grade II listed status.  

White Lion, Wilmslow Road, Withington. (c) placenorthwest.

The White Lion used to put bands on in the 1970s and '80s, and it also had a popular cellar bar which held the Rock Disco at weekends.  The photo below shows a group of locals larking about outside the entrance to the White Lion cellar bar in '73.  Of the three Withington lions, the Red Lion thrives, the White Lion just survives, but the Golden Lion (Manor House) has gone...

White Lion cellar bar, 1973. (c) sbilts at Manchester District Music Archive.

1. Ale of Two Cities: Real Ale & Real Pubs in Manchester & Salford, CAMRA (1989).

Rutland Inn, Syndall Street

Syndall Street, Ardwick, 1849. (c) Alan Godfrey [1].

Syndall Avenue and Syndall Street still partially survive off Stockport Road in Ardwick, despite the extensive regeneration efforts of this part of town.  In the 1800s Syndall Street ran all the way from Stockport (formerly Stockport and London Road) and Hyde Road.  The Rutland Inn sat on the corner of Syndall Avenue and is shown as a Chesters house in 1965 advertising Chesters Ales and Stout, with the old terraces around it already demolished.  It was mentioned in 1882 when Stephen Chesters at the Rutland Inn., Syndall-street was listed.

Rutland Inn, Syndall Street, Ardwick. (c) London Gazette.

1. Higher Ardwick, 1849, Alan Godfrey Maps (2000).

Wellington, Clowes Street


Wellington, Clowes Street, West Gorton. (c) Google 2012. View Larger Map.

The Wellington is best known as the Jockey in Shameless, the once-excellent but now parody show about inner-city Manchester estates. The Chatsworth estate in Channel 4's show was filmed in West Gorton in the early years but has now moved to a purpose-built set in Wythenshawe which has a replica of the pub.


Jockey, Roundthorn Industrial Estate, West Gorton. (c) BBC Manchester.

Scenes from inside the Jockey were filmed in the Wellington from 2003 to 2007, and despite the pub becoming something of an attraction to fans, it closed for good in 2010 as part of the latest regeneration efforts for West Gorton.  The Wellington is seen in better times in 1972, not long after it opened.


Wellington, Clowes Street, 2010. (c) Manchester Evening News.

Waterloo, Burton Road

Waterloo, Burton Road, Withington, 1993. (c) Alan Winfield with kind permission.

The Waterloo was a Wilsons house [1] on Burton Lane, just down from the Orion, off Palatine Road in Withington.  It had a bowling green out the back, like its neighbour the Red Lion, and the Waterloo Bowling Club was based here.  Alan Winfield photographed the Waterloo in 1993 before it was knocked down to be replaced by modern flats.  

Former location of Waterloo, Burton Road. (c) Google 2012. View Larger Map.

1. www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/76494.

Saturday 7 April 2012

Crown Inn, Hyde Road

Former location of Crown, Hyde Road, West Gorton. (c) Google 2012. View Larger Map.

The Crown Inn is shown in 1959 and 1971 advertising Joseph Holt's Bitter Ale and Brown Stout (stout wasn't always black - Pale Stout was once a regular feature on our pub bars).  The Crown was on the corner of Hyde Road and Clowes Street, facing the Junction.  In the 1971 photo you can just see the still-standing Dolphin and the newly-built West Gorton high-rise  flats in the background.  The whole row has been knocked down (perhaps in preparation for the once-planned motorway which was to extend all the way from the M67 at Denton, down Hyde Road, into town?), and this sign on the grass verge handily points to where the Crown once stood, with the Dolphin in the background along Clowes Street.