The Brown Cow, on the corner of Butler Street and Woodward Street, was originally licensed in the 1820s to the Pollard Street Brewery until Walker & Homfray took the firm over in 1929. Mick Burke remembers the Brown Cow being frequented by the then notorious Whizz Gang from the Woodward Street area. These were a gang of local criminals going by names such as "Flinka" (Alf Flynn - tobacco and cigarettes man) and "Reynolds" (Alfie Lacy - safe-breaker). One Sunday night in the 1930s the Whizz Gang did over a Post Office on Ordsall Lane and nicked the safe. Despite a huge police search it was never found, and rumour was that it had been dumped in the canal at Ten Acres Lane in Newton Heath. The robbery was the downfall of the Whizz Gang as they were caught selling stolen stamps in the Brown Cow [1].
The Brown Cow was replaced by an estate pub of the same name in the 1960s when this part of Miles Platting and Ancoats was regenerated. This is also long-closed, with the old pub fenced off and seemingly functioning as flats.
Former location of Brown Cow, Butler Street. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.
Brown Cow, Woodward Street, Miles Platting. (c) Neil Richardson [2].
Former location of Brown Cow, Butler Street. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.
2. The Old Pubs of Ancoats, Neil Richardson (1987).
Good description. A rough pub - I recall fights outside on Saturday nights, wheN I lived nearby in the 1960s. Though as on the south side of Butler street, I'd say it was marginally in 'Ancoats' rather than 'Miles Plattting'.
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents, Edith and James Frost, ran the old pub in the early 60s, then the new pub after it was rebuilt in the mid 60s. It was so poorly built that the first winter they spent there there were icicles on the bed sheets. They moved not long after.
ReplyDelete