Pubs of Manchester

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

Sunday 28 April 2013

Dog & Partidge, Davies Street

Dog & Partridge, Davies Street, Salford (right). (c) Neil Richardson [1].

The Dog & Partridge on Davies Street, off Broughton Road (roughly where today's Blackfriars road runs) was a beerhouse formed from the knocking together of a few back-to-back houses.  It's first recorded in 1850, Cornbrook Brewery owned it by the 1890s and they rebuilt the Dog & Partridge in 1899.  The beerhouse lasted until 1969 after it was served with a compulsory purchase order in March 1968 for the Trinity clearance scheme [1].  Davies Street ran north, to the west of and parallel to the still-surviving Bridgewater Street to the River Irwell, roughly where St Simon Street runs north-to-south, and the Dog & Partidge was was halfway up on the left.

1. Salford Pubs Part One: The Old Town, including Chapel Street, Greengate and the Adelphi, Neil Richardson (2003).

Golden Quoit / Bee Hive / Crystal Palace, Watkin Street

Former location of the Golden Quoit, Watkin Street, Salford. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

The Bee Hive beerhouse is first recorded in 1843 on the corner of St Simon Street (formerly Sandon Street) and Watkin Street, streets which still exist off Blackfriars Road near Broughton Bridge.  In the case of Watkin Street though, only a couple of yards of it remain.  By the 1870s, the Bee Hive had become the Crystal Palace, and when William Whittaker, a champion quoits player took over, he renamed the beerhouse the Golden Quoit.  It was a wedge-shaped boozer with the vault at the thin end with the parlour or newsroom on the St Simon Street side.  Hardy's Crown Brewery took over the beerhouse in the early 1900s and in 1939 they modernised the Golden Quoit inside and out [1].  The beerhouse passed to Cornbrook Brewery and lasted until about 1970 having stood on its own for a few years after the surrounding houses had been demolished.

1. Salford Pubs Part One: The Old Town, including Chapel Street, Greengate and the Adelphi (2003).

Thursday 25 April 2013

Black Mare, Cannel Street

Black Mare, Cannel Street, Ancoats. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

The Black Mare stood on the corner of Beatson Street and Cannel Street, opening in 1822, and so preceded the Beerhouse Act of 1830. By the 1850s, the Beatson Street Brewery stood opposite, even though the Black Mare had a brewhouse of its own.  The Black Mare survived the numerous rounds of demolition and rebuilding of this part of Ancoats, but closed in 1968 as a Groves & Whitnall house with its distinctive green tiled frontage [2].  Thankfully a couple of 1962 and 1966 photos exist in the archives [1], taken before the pub and neighbourhood were cleared for the unsuccessful Card Room Estate. Cannel Street (formerly Canal Street) used to run parallel to and just west of (Old) Mill Street, and the old location of the Black Mare was behind the odd-looking new pharmacy that has recently opened in the recently christened 'New Islington' part of Ancoats.

Former location of Black Mare, Cannel Street. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

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

Wednesday 17 April 2013

Miners Arms, Chapel Street

Miners Arms, Chapel Street, Hanky Park. (c) Sue Richardson, North Manchester CAMRA [1].

The Miners Arms beerhouse was on the corner of Heath Street and Chapel Street, first licensed in 1853, passing to Yates' Castle Brewery, Ardwick, by the start of the next century.  In 1914 the landlord was found guilty of selling ale to an under-14-year-old, who turned out to be just 9 years old!  A few years later and the landlady (previous landlord's daughter) was found guilty of serving the "long pull" (i.e. oversized measures).  The Miners Arms lasted until 1963 - another one that fell on Black Sunday (28/4/63; read more about it here thanks to Sue Richardson, wife of the late, great Neil) - after the compulsory purchase order, Ellor Street No.3, of 1959.


Miners Arms, Chapel Street, Hanky Park. (c) Neil Richardson [2].

The landlady of the Miners was quoted in the Salford City Reporter a few days before it closed for good: "I'm lucky if I can fill a table on weekdays, but they're very loyal on Saturday nights; some of them come a fivepenny bus ride to drink here again [2]."  She was talking about her old Hanky Park locals, who, by this time, had been displaced to areas like Lower Kersal and Little Hulton.  Of course, Chapel Street has long gone, and the street layout of Hanky Park was wiped away for the new Pendleton; the former location of the Miners Arms was roughly where the modern day Whitebeam Close and Broadwalk intersect.  This shot of that area typifies the terrible job Salford Council did of redevelopment:


Former location of Miners Arms, former Chapel Street. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

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

Saturday 13 April 2013

Gorton Brook / Gorton Arms, Clowes Street


Gorton Arms, Clowes Street, West Gorton, 1994. (c) Alan Winfield with permission.

The Gorton Arms was demolished in the late 2000s having loomed over this corner of Belle Vue Street and Clowes Street as a Wilsons house, previously the Gorton Brook.  Apparently, the Gorton Brook name comes from a mix of Corn Brook and Gore Brook, both of which run through this part of West Gorton [1]. 

Gorton Arms, Clowes Street, 1988. (c) John Law (johnmightycat1 at flickr) with permission [1].

Clowes Street is best known as the location of St. Mark's Church where St. Mark's (West Gorton) Football Club, later to become Manchester City F.C. via Ardwick Association F.C., were formed.  Whether the Gorton Brook and the football club coincided is unknown, but we know the pub became a Banks' house and changed its name to the Gorton Arms.

Gorton Arms, Clowes Street, late 2000s. (c) Gary Taylor at manmates [3].

Shown at the archives in 1971 and 1972 as a Wilsons house, the Gorton Brook / Gorton Arms has been reduced to an imprint on this corner of Belle Vue Street and Gorton Lane, since Clowes Street was truncated after Pottery Lane formed part of the unofficial north-east ring road.  

Former location of Gorton Brook, Clowes Street. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

Wellington, Ellor Street

Wellington, Ellor Street, Hanky Park, Salford. (c) Tony Flynn [1].

The Wellington stood on the corner of Goodwin Street and Ellor Street in Hanky Park, Salford.  The beerhouse opened at some point between 1852 and 1855, and soon managed to obtain a full licence, while beer was also brewed on the premises.  By about 1880, Threlfalls Brewery had taken over and the Wellington had been rebuilt.  In 1915 the windows of the pub were put through during the anti-German Lusitania riots after the landlord had been heard to sympathise with a nearby German pork butcher whose shop had been attacked [1].  

Sadly the Wellington's fate was sealed in 1960 when it was earmarked for demolition for the wholesale redevelopment of this part of old Salford.  Despite the pub being 'first class in every way', the Wellington closed at 9:30pm on 28th April 1963 [1].  This date may resonate with old Salfordians as "Black Sunday" when all of Hanky Park's pubs were forced to close for demolition.  The old location of the Wellington on Ellor Street was roughly where Citrus Way is today, not far from the surviving Flemish Weaver.

1. Hanky Park, Tony Flynn (1990).
2. Salford Pubs Part Three: including Cross Lane, Broad Street, Hanky Park, the Height, Brindleheath, Charlestown and Weaste, Neil Richardson (2003).

Live & Let Live, Regent Road

Live & Let Live (right), Regent Road, Salford. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr [1].

The Live & Let Live on the corner of West Egerton Street and Regent Road can be traced back to 1869, and by the 1880s it had extended into the shop next door.  Like the Sir Colin Campbell in the same row (and the all shops between), the Live & Let Live beerhouse was bought up by Walker & Homfray, passing to Wilsons when they acquired W&H.  It lasted until 1985 [1], lost to the Regent Road widening scheme which decimated Regent Road.

Former location of the Live & Let Live, Regent Road. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

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

Wednesday 10 April 2013

Harrington Inn, Hyde Road

Harrington Inn, Hyde Road, West Gorton. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image.

Harrington Inn was a Chesters house on the corner of Hyde Road and Deepdene Street in West Gorton, shown here in full in 1958.  Like so many of Hyde Road's pub, the Harrington has been knocked down to be replaced with nothing in particular, so this corner stands empty on the bleak thoroughfare.

Former location of Harrington Inn, Hyde Road. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

Junction, Embden Street

Junction, Embden Street. Chorlton-on-Medlock. (c) Bob Potts [1].

The Junction stood on the corner of Chinley Street and Embden Street, at the bottom of Vine Street in Chorlton-on-Medlock.  The Walkers of Warrington house was at No.73 Embden Street and closed in 1923, eleven years after the above photo was taken of landlord John William Pearson at the door of his boozer [1].  These three streets mentioned were swept away in the Hulme area redevelopments of the 1970s, but the intersection of Chinley and Embden Streets and the location of the Junction was pretty much where Botham Close is marked on today's map, just to the east of the Princess Parkway, immediately north of the Royal Brewery and ASDA on Greeheys Lane.

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

Sunday 7 April 2013

Imperial Inn, Birch Street

Imperial Inn, Birch Street, West Gorton. (c) Gary Taylor at manmates [1].

Shown above still open as a freehouse, the Imperial Inn on Birch Street, West Gorton was fairly recently a Boddington's house, if I recall cirrectly.  As seen in 1971 and 1972, the Imperial Inn was previously a Wilsons Brewery pub with Watney signs.

Former Imperial Inn, Birch Street. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

This wonderful 1964 photo shows the Imperial Inn also advertising Wilsons Stout and Ales (X, XX and XXX were different strengths of ales), with not only a group of young girls posing, but a gent fixing his scooter.

Imperial Inn, Birch Street. (c) Longsight-memories at bluemoon.

Opposite the new Travel Lodge, the Imperial Inn has closed in the last few years, as has its neighbour on Hyde Road, the Nags Head, though the Travellers Call is still serving.

Former Imperial Inn, Birch Street. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

Sir Colin Campbell, Regent Road

Sir Colin Campbell, Regent Road, Salford. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr [1].

In a row of houses along Regent Road on the corner of Meter Street, the Sir Colin Campbell beerhouse opened in about 1861 (see the other lost Sir Colin Campbell for the name's origin).  It became a Walker & Homfrays house and in 1904 the brewery rebuilt the beerhouse, incorporating the plumber's next door, with an ornate brickwork and tiled facade [2].

Sir Colin Campbell, Regent Road, Salford. (c) Neil Richardson [2].

In the 1950s, the Sir Colin Campbell passed to Wilsons Brewery but it became one of the first victims of the Regent Road widening scheme when it was closed in the early 1970s [2].  Meter Street has been lost but the next street along, West Craven Street, still runs north of Regent Road (right, below).  The Sir Colin Campbell would have been to the left:

Former location of Sir Colin Campbell (left), Regent Road. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

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

La Cave, Red Lion Street

La Cave, 15 Red Lion Street. (c) Manchester Beat [1].

La Cave was an unlicensed club in the 1950s and '60s on the corner of Church Street and Red Lion Street, run by Tommy Brown who also ran Brown's School of Dancing in Moston [1].  The likes of Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders played at the club to revellers, who may have nipped out to the Red Lion for something a bit stronger at times, if the pub and club's existence coincided.

Former location of La Cave, Red Lion Street, 2008. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

The lower sides of Red Lion Street have been torn down, the east side for the Church Street multi-storey car park, while the west side remains empty.  I'm guessing this was where La Cave once stood; by the 1987 the back of the exposed building had been taken over by Cafe Lahore, one of the many curry cafes that the area has become famous for.

Former location of La Cave, Red Lion Street. (c) Slbs at geograph Creative Commons.

Cafe Lahore is long gone but the old building has been tidied up a little in recent years as this scruffy little corner of the Northern Quarter becomes more gentrified, with a few restaurants and bars having opened around here in the last couple of years.  La Cave appeared to be a French-themed club, judging by the membership card; something even the NQ hasn't tried... yet.

Former location of La Cave, Red Lion Street, 2012. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

Saturday 6 April 2013

Angel, Oldham Road

Angel, Oldham Road, Miles Platting/Ancoats. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image.

The original Angel was one of the first licensed houses to open on Oldham Road, on the corner of Butler Street in Miles Platting/Ancoats, listed as far back as 1794.  In Neil Richardson's Old Pubs of Ancoats, Mick Burke remembers the 'Chesters cases' (keen drinkers of Chesters Mild!) staggering out of the Angel "like lumps of jelly, their legs wobbling all over the place - but they never seemed to fall [1]."


Angel, Oldham Road. (c) Miles Platting, Ancoats and Collyhurst Facebook [2].

There was a doctor's over the road where patients would see the queue waiting for the Angel to open, and one Chesters case told Mick on a Monday morning: "I'm bloody terrible.  I had a load on it last night.  I'm going to see if Dr Carroll will give me a bottle."  Apparently the doctor gave him one look and his advice was: "Go over there, the Angel'll be open in twenty minutes.  He'll do you more good than me! [1]."

Angel (3), Oldham Road, Miles Platting. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

The Angel was a multi-roomed boozer, with a large vault and hallway where drinkers stood shoulder to shoulder.  Albert Cook also remembers playing in his brass band outside the Angel, and after closing time the band would take drunks to the Hall on Butler Street where they could have a free potato pie supper and advice to get them off the drink [1].

Former location of Angel Hotel, Butler Street. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

The Angel is seen from Butler Street here in 1962 with Mazel Records sadly closed (that's the Old Pack Horse in the background on Oldham Road).  This 1961 photo shows the Angel in full profile with its Oldham Road and Butler Street entrances.  At some point in the '60s the Angel was demolished and replaced with the ugly estate pub, also the Angel, which lasted until the 1990s.  The line of Butler Street was moved slightly south during redevelopments of the area in the '60s, so I think the original Angel was on this corner, just south of the new Angel:

1. The Old Pubs of Ancoats, Neil Richardson (1987).
2. www.facebook.com/groups/272836182813205/photos.

Vogue Bar, Portland Street

Buffet City, former Vogue Bar, Portland Street. (c) buffetcity.

Vogue Bar was an 1980s/'90s cafe-bar type place above the nightclub of the same name at 111 Portland Street.  Both venues are still going strong today; the old Vogue Bar as the Buffet City Chinese restaurant, and the basement club is occupied by the TV/movie/sci-fi theme bar, Fab Cafe.


Former Vogue Bar, Portland Street, above Fab Cafe. (c) 192 / Local Data Company.

Friday 5 April 2013

Angel, Oldham Road

Angel, Oldham Road, Miles Platting. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image.

The Angel was a grim-looking estate pub on the corner of Oldham Road and Butler Street on the Ancoats-Miles Platting border.  It replaced the much grander, original Angel that had stood on the southern corner of Oldham Road and Butler Street since 1794.  Shown at the archives in the 1970s, the new Angel was a low-rise Whitbread boozer with its public bar and off sales entrances off the main road.  The high-rise flats either side are still standing today, albeit the ones in the distance are empty and awaiting redevelopment (rather than demolition, I think).  The new Angel was on this northern corner of the junction next to the modern day bus stop.

Former location of the Angel, Oldham Road. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

Moulders Arms, Bury Street

Moulders Arms, Bury Street, Salford. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

The Moulders Arms opened in an old bakery on Bury Street in 1840, across the road and just to the west of where the old Globe used to stand until quite recently.  In 1900 the beerhouse was rebuilt, probably by Walkers of Warrington, incorporating the butcher's next door.  Just 28 years later, the Moulders was deemed structurally unsafe and it was closed down [1].  This western end of Bury Street, where the Moulders Arms and 10 other pubs or beerhouses used to stand, have been swept away by the Trinity Way ring road.

1. Salford Pubs Part One: The Old Town, including Chapel Street, Greengate and the Adelphi, Neil Richardson (2003).

Wednesday 3 April 2013

Tramway Inn / Kings Arms / Nottingham Castle, Great Jackson Street

Tramway Inn, Great Jackson Street, Hulme. (c) Bob Potts [1].

The Tramway Inn is pictured above at No.72 Great Jackson Street with licensee, James Patrick Rowan.  It opened in 1849 [1] on the corner of Leinster Street which was in between City Road and Bedford Street and was previously known as the Kings Arms (1858) and the Nottingham Castle (1861).  The Tramway Inn closed as a Peter Walker & Sons of Warrington house in 1933 [2].  Great Jackson Street still runs through the northern-most part of Hulme, but the stretch on which the Tramway Inn once stood is now Jackson Crescent, just south of the Mancunian Way.

Former location of Tramway Inn (left), Great Jackson Street. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

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

Golden Lion, Rochdale Road

Golden Lion, Rochdale Road, Harpurhey. (c) Bob Potts [1].

The Golden was Harpurhey's oldest pub, first licensed in 1790 according to the 'Alehouse Recognizances.'  It was rebuilt in Victorian times and Chesters took over in 1900 [1].  The Golden Lion is seen in better days in 1958 (note the Lion Garage next door), 1968 and then in 1971  (new high-rise flats in the background) after Whitbread took over the brewery and its pubs.

Former location of Golden Lion, Rochdale Road. (c) Be Proud Love Manchester.

The Golden Lion was sadly knocked down years ago leaving an unsightly empty plot of land in between Harpurhey Road and Pleasant Street, which looks onto the equally ugly maisonette flats off Kingsbridge Road.  There's a good colour  photo of the Golden Lion taken in 1992 by Alan Winfield after sampling the Chesters bitter on offer [2].

Former location of Golden Lion, Rochdale Road. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

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

Monday 1 April 2013

Duke of York, Regent Road

Duke of York, Regent Road, Salford. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr [1].

The Duke of York was the first Regent Road pub along with the Wellington, opening in 1827 when there was a huge Infantry Barracks across the road.  In the 1870s it was acquired by Broadbents Steam Brewery of Chorlton-on-Medlock, passing to Threlfalls who renovated the pub in 1907 [2].

Duke of York (right), Regent Road, Salford. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr [1].

The renovations included a vault extension, smoke room extension, creation of a lounge from the kitchen and bar parlour, and new lavatories.  Not to mention the improved sporting facilities - "one of the finest Billiard Rooms in the Borough [2]."

Duke of York, Regent Road, Salford. (c) Neil Richardson [2].

The Duke of York remained open until mid-1982 under Whitbread when it, along with all other of the old Regent Road pubs, was pulled down for road widening [2].  Opposite Comus Street from the Albert, the Duke of York once stood on this corner.

Former location of Duke of York, Regent Road. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

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

Westmoreland Arms, Stockport Road

Westmoreland Arms, Stockport Road, Longsight. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image.

The Westmoreland Arms was a Wilsons house on the corner of Westmoreland Street and Stockport Road in Longsight, just east and opposite of the still standing Gold Cup.  With its neighbours on the main road in 1969, this 1970 shot shows the corner plot of the Westmoreland Arms, which today equates to this footpath, since the streets have long been cleared.

Former location of Westmoreland Arms, Longsight. (c) Google 2013. View Larger Map.

A macabre fact about Westmoreland Street is that this is where Moors' Murderer, Ian Brady, lived with his mother at number 18 (below).  I doubt a young Brady ever supped in the Westmoreland Arms but his family may have.  The Westmoreland Arms, Westmoreland Street and the streets around here were swept away in slum clearance, making way for a small park and Ardwick Sports Hall.

18 Westmoreland Street, Longsight. (c) Getty / Metro.