Pubs of Manchester

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

Saturday 26 July 2014

White Horse Hotel, Broom House Lane

White Horse Inn, Broom House Lane, Eccles. (c) Tony Flynn [1].

When the old White Horse (formerly the Shovel & Broom, Trafford Volunteer and Volunteer) was rebuilt by Robinsons Brewery, the grand-looking White Horse Hotel opened in 1935.  It dodged a bombing in 1941 during WWII but couldn't survive the M602 being built in 1969, and the estate-style White Horse was built to replace it, about 200 yards away on the Eccles-Salford border.  This pub itself, well known for being ran for years by Coronation Street's 'Liz McDonald', was reported to be at risk and is now closed awaiting conversion into a Sainsbury's supermarket.

1. A History of the Pubs of Eccles, Tony Flynn (1980).

White Horse / Volunteer / Trafford Volunteer / Shovel & Broom, Broom House Lane

White Horse, Broom House Lane, Gilda Brook, Eccles. (c) Tony Flynn [1].

The White Horse on Gilda Brook Road in Eccles is famous for being run by Bev Callard (aka Liz McDonald out of Coronation Street), but this estate-style pub has its roots in the Shovel & Broom, as far back as at least 1803.  On what was then Broom House Lane which ran through farmland, the pub was renamed the Trafford Volunteer in 1809, then the Volunteer a year later.  Ale was brewed on the premises in the mid-1800s and the pub, which was the White Horse from about 1825, became an Kays Atlas house.  When Robinsons of Stockport took over Kays and therefore the pub in 1929, they decided to rebuilt the White Horse and the new pub opened in 1935 [1].

1. A History of the Pubs of Eccles, Tony Flynn (1980).

Fox Inn, Old Market Street

Fox Inn, Old Market Street, Blackley. (c) Roger Hall [1].

The Fox is a standard Joseph Holt's house on Old Market Street in Blackley, but this isn't the original pub.  As pictured in Roger Hall's book (spot the outside urinal!) [1], the old Fox Inn was part of a row of cottages and may have been known as the Turf for a time, after the horses races which were hold on the fields behind Exchange Street.  The Fox Inn was licensed in 1860 and was bought by Holt's in 1875, and they built a new Fox when the cottages were demolished [1].

Fox Inn, Old Market Street, Blackley. (c) Roger Hall [1].

1. The Pubs of Blackley, Roger Hall (1980).

Sunday 20 July 2014

Angel Inn, Chester Road

Angel Inn, Chester Road, Stretford. (c) Trafford Council. Click here to view full image [1].

This spot on Chester Road in Stretford has boasted a pub for well over two centuries.  Today the brilliantly-designed estate-style pub, the (Bass) Drum, sits sadly empty though still illuminated at night, apparently waiting for conversion into (or replacement by) a drive-through MacDonald's.  Before the Drum was the Angel Hotel, which was a replacement for the original pub.  The Angel Inn dates back to 1780 and the brew-pub was a popular stopping off point for stagecoaches on the way into Manchester [1]. 

Former location of the Angel Inn, Chester Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

Saturday 19 July 2014

Travellers Call, Ashton Old Road

Travellers Call, Ashton Old Road, Beswick. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

The Travellers Call was a small, terraced Wilsons boozer with its vault opening out onto Ashton Old Road in Beswick.  The Travellers Call will have started out as a Wilsons beerhouse, as it isn't shown on the 1891 Town Plans (1:500), whereas the fully-licensed public house, the Grey Mare, next pub on the north side of the old road on the way out of town, is.

Former location of Travellers Call, Ashton Old Road. (c) Old Maps [2].

The Travellers Call is seen in this 1960s archive photo with the cafe next door still standing, suggesting that it may have been in front of where the army barracks are shown on the 1891 map.  This stretch of Ashton Old Road, where Alan Turing Way now bisects it it has been cleared of all the terraces.  These days the Cornerstone Centre doctor's surgery sits on the site of the old pub.

Former location of Travellers Call, Ashton Old Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

Sunday 13 July 2014

Golden Lion, Wilmslow Road

Golden Lion, Wilmslow Road, Withington. (c) Jules Selbas at Closed Pubs [1].

The Golden Lion stood at 579 Wilmslow Road, the poor relation of the other two Lions in the area, the still-serving Red Lion and the sadly closed White Lion.  The Golden Lion was once a Hardy's Crown Ales then Tetley's house, as seen in a number of great archive photos from 1959, as a Hardy's house, then under Tetley's in 1970, 1972, and one from the rear, also in 1959.  The Golden Lion turned into one of the ubiquitous Mr Q's pubs in the early 2000s before closing in 2006, but I recall it having a brief spell as the Manor House.

Remains of the Golden Lion, Wilmslow Road. (c) Didsbury Action File.

The reaction of locals to the plan to build 48 apartments to replace the Golden Lion was "The People of Manchester Say Thank You For Yuppie Flats".  The pub was finally demolished in April 2009 and the sign still poking over the hoardings is all that remains of the Golden Lion.  Predictably, the company - Clarke-Lyons of Didsbury - who, in 2005, successfully lobbied the hapless Manchester City Council for permission to demolish the pub, did absolutely nothing with the land, bar fence it off in the ugliest way possible.

Former Golden Lion, Wilmslow Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

Carousel Hotel, Heald Grove South

Carousel Hotel, Heald Grove South, Rusholme. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

The Carousel Hotel stood on Heald Grove South, which still runs today from Walmer Street (home to the Rusholme survivor, the Albert) to Moss Lane East (home to the recently lost and now coffee house, the Whitworth).  As can be just made out from the sign in the 1969 archive photo, the Carousel also had a bar and restaurant.  Looking from Walmer Street, this side of Heald Grove (it's since lost the south suffix) has been modernised in contrast to the classic terrace which still runs along the east side.

Former location of Carousel Hotel, Heald Grove. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

Saturday 12 July 2014

Cecil Commercial Hotel, Cecil Street

Cecil Commercial Street, Cecil Street, Greenheys. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

The Cecil Commercial Hotel must have been an impressive-looking hotel at No.63-65 Cecil Street in Greenheys, bordering Moss Side.  Pictured in 1955, it was the falling down and seemingly vacant, and by time these two 1973 photos were taken, the old Cecil Commercial Hotel, along with all its neighbours, were well and truly derelict.  The hotel has a little bit of impressive history, as it was here that Friedrich Engels lived - renting it under a pseudonym - from 1866-1868, when it was already the former Cecil Commercial Hotel.  Part of Cecil Street still runs through Greenheys and Moss Side today, parallel with Lloyd Street North from Denmark Road before disappearing into the University campus.

Frederick Engels rented this building, formerly the Commercial Hotel, from 1866-1868 - See more at: http://images.manchester.gov.uk/Display.php?irn=59504&QueryPage=%2Findex.php%3Fsession%3Dpass&QueryName=BasicQuery&QueryPage=%2Findex.php%3Fsession%3Dpass&Anywhere=SummaryData%7CAdmWebMetadata&QueryTerms=Moss+Side+hotel&QueryOption=Anywhere&Submit=Search&StartAt=21&__utma=92605445.1394371572.1399646187.1404850715.1405178688.15&__utmz=92605445.1403814225.12.3.utmcsr%3Dgoogle%7Cutmccn%3D%28organic%29%7Cutmcmd%3Dorganic%7Cutmctr%3D%28not+provided%29&EMUSESSID=087113fdd2450a617724baf6d2ce4596&__utmb=92605445.43.10.1405178688&__utmc=92605445#sthash.9MfD99YS.dpuf
Frederick Engels rented this building, formerly the Commercial Hotel, from 1866-1868 - See more at: http://images.manchester.gov.uk/Display.php?irn=59504&QueryPage=%2Findex.php%3Fsession%3Dpass&QueryName=BasicQuery&QueryPage=%2Findex.php%3Fsession%3Dpass&Anywhere=SummaryData%7CAdmWebMetadata&QueryTerms=Moss+Side+hotel&QueryOption=Anywhere&Submit=Search&StartAt=21&__utma=92605445.1394371572.1399646187.1404850715.1405178688.15&__utmz=92605445.1403814225.12.3.utmcsr%3Dgoogle%7Cutmccn%3D%28organic%29%7Cutmcmd%3Dorganic%7Cutmctr%3D%28not+provided%29&EMUSESSID=087113fdd2450a617724baf6d2ce4596&__utmb=92605445.43.10.1405178688&__utmc=92605445#sthash.9MfD99YS.dpuf
Frederick Engels rented this building, formerly the Commercial Hotel, from 1866-1868 - See more at: http://images.manchester.gov.uk/Display.php?irn=59504&QueryPage=%2Findex.php%3Fsession%3Dpass&QueryName=BasicQuery&QueryPage=%2Findex.php%3Fsession%3Dpass&Anywhere=SummaryData%7CAdmWebMetadata&QueryTerms=Moss+Side+hotel&QueryOption=Anywhere&Submit=Search&StartAt=21&__utma=92605445.1394371572.1399646187.1404850715.1405178688.15&__utmz=92605445.1403814225.12.3.utmcsr%3Dgoogle%7Cutmccn%3D%28organic%29%7Cutmcmd%3Dorganic%7Cutmctr%3D%28not+provided%29&EMUSESSID=087113fdd2450a617724baf6d2ce4596&__utmb=92605445.43.10.1405178688&__utmc=92605445#sthash.9MfD99YS.dpuf

Bulls Head, Hyde Road

 
Bulls Head, Hyde Road. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

The Bulls Head was a terraced pub at the bottom, Ardwick end of Hyde Road.  It's shown at the archives in 1971, and a few years in earlier, twice in 1958, showing the Bulls Head's neighbours, a laundrette and cafe.  These photos show it as a Tetley's house, previously owned by Daniel Clifton & Co. (Royal Oak Brewery, Stockport), and then as a Dutton's pub by the early '70s - all presumably under Whitbread.  

Bulls Head, Hyde Road. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [2].

The Bulls Head was at No.18 Hyde Road on the north side, which must put its former location somewhere near the old Kwik Save opposite the Apollo and the old, shut Parliament Club (the white building on the left, below), once owned by the Gio Goi clothing label founders, the Donnelly brothers.

Former location of Bulls Head, Hyde Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Bee Hive, Worsley Fold

Bee Hive, Worsley Fold, Pendlebury, Salford. (c) Neil Richardson & Roger Hall [1].

The original Bee Hive Inn was on Worsley Fold, one of seven cottages, and opened in 1868 as a purpose-built beerhouse.  It was nicknamed "Tunches", after a landlord who was nicknamed Tunch.  The first landlord was Thomas Rothwell who later moved to the Worsley Brewery who took over the beerhouse.  The exciting-sounding Dahlia Club and Clifton Gooseberry Society - "the rooms were tastefully decorated with flowers, cut blooms, plants and vegetables" - used to meet at the Bee Hive but its quiet existence was ended when Walkers of Warrington took over the Worsley Brewery.  They decided to build a new Beehive, probably in the 1920s, a little distance away on Rake Lane to address the new housing that had been built in the area [1].

1. The Pubs of Swinton & Pendlebury (including Clifton and Newton), Neil Richardson & Roger Hall (1980).

Beehive, Rake Lane

Beehive, Rake Lane, Pendlebury, Salford. (c)Neil Richardson & Roger Hall [1].

The Beehive was an large interwar estate pub built by Walkers of Warrington when they took over the Worsley Brewery (at some point in the 1920s) who'd previously owned the original Bee Hive nearby.  The new Beehive on Rake Lane was always a popular local for the nearby housing estates of Cliveley and Rake Lane, on the outskirts of Pendlebury and Swinton [1].  In recent years, however, the Beehive has become yet another suburban pub to close, and these days it's the Holyrood Nursery.

Former Beehive, Rake Lane. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. The Pubs of Swinton & Pendlebury (including Clifton and Newton), Neil Richardson & Roger Hall (1980).

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Stevenson's Hotel, Yarburgh Street


Stevenson's Hotel, Yarburgh Street, Moss Side. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

Stevenson's Hotel was a residential hotel in Moss Side but had a licensed bar open to the public.  Shown here in 1961 and later without the whitewash in 1969, it was on the corner of Yarburgh Street along Stanley Street.  Although Stanley Street has been lost to redevelopment of this Alexandra Park area of Moss Side, Yarburgh Street still runs from Withington Road on the Whalley Range border to Claremont Road.

Unicorn, Hyde Road

Unicorn, Hyde Road, Gorton. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

The Unicorn was a Boddingtons house on the corner of Savoy Street and Hyde Road in not far from Belle Vue.  It is pictured at the archives in 1971, then 1972 and from a more unusual angle showing the 'Kurtain Queen' shop on the main road and a terrific van down the Savoy Street side, not forgetting that three-wheeled Reliant Robin on Hyde Road.