Applejacks, Portland Street

Former Applejacks, Portland Street. (c) Stephen Richards at geograph under Creative Commons [1].

Applejacks was a basement bar beneath what is now the Macdonald Townhouse Hotel on Portland Street.  Described as a celebrity haunt down a dead-end street (presumably that is Abingdon Street) opposite the Old Monkey, Applejacks was a short-lived venue in this Grade II-listed building, the grand Pickles Building built in about 1870 [1].  This door down Abington Street may have been the entrance to Applejacks (that's the Grey Horse in the distance along Portland Street).

Former Applejacks, Portland Street. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2754052.

Cabaret 88, Princess Street

Cabaret 88, Princess Street. (c) Paul Dean with permission.

On the west corner of Portland Street and Princess Street in town, Cabaret 88 was a short-lived club that opened on Friday 3rd April 1987. To promote the bar opening there were skimpily-dressed girls on the pavement outside handing out roses.   

Cabaret 88, Princess Street. (c) Paul Dean with permission.

As can be seen from the flier and ticket shown here, thanks to Paul Dean, Cabaret 88 was an over-21s establishment with male strippers and wet t-shirt competitions.  The bar was at No.36 Princess Street, which today is the Roomzzz Aparthotel.

Former location of Cabaret 88, Princess Street. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

Excelsior Hotel, Manchester Airport

Excelsior Hotel, Manchester Airport, Ringway. Original photo at Historic Images [1].

The Excelsior Hotel was the original Manchester Airport Hotel before Ringway (as it is still often called locally) was expanded in the 1990s.  The Excelsior used to be outside the original Terminal 1 which opened in 1962, and it was often used as overspill free parking for the small car park outside the terminal [2].  The Excelsior was also familiar to plane spotters (and families on 'days out' at the airport; hugely popular back in the day) as the entry to the old spectator gallery was next to the hotel [3]. 

1. www.historic-images.co.uk/lancashire/manchester-airport.
2. www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-269384.html.

3. http://mancunian1001.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/recreational-bus-and-coach-travel-in-the-1980s.

Hyde Road Hotel / Palm Court / Caesar's Palace / Jennison's Ale House, Hyde Road

Palm Court, Hyde Road, Belle Vue, Gorton. (c) Junior Blue at bluemoon.

Situated on the site of the old Belle Vue House, the huge pub at the entrance to the Belle Vue Zoological Gardens and speedway stadium on Hyde Road was probably best known as Palm Court, which it was named in 1942 (seen here in 1962).  Within the hotel ground floor were two bars, a bar parlour and four smoke rooms, as well as a dining room and refreshment/tea room [1].  Upstairs were a staggering nine further dining rooms and twelve bedrooms plus a retiring room [1].

Palm Court, Hyde Road, Belle Vue. From Wikipedia under Fair Use.

By 1971 the Palm Court was renamed Caesar's Palace licensed bar and grill, and its penultimate incarnation was as Jennison's Ale House, named after John Jennison, the founder of Belle Vue Zoological Gardens.  It appears to have been the Hyde Road Hotel originally (not to be confused with the other one, further down the road) but it was closed in 1980 due to structural concerns.  It must have been demolished around this time as I don't recall it during many visits to speedway meetings in the early-mid-1980s.

1. http://manchesterhistory.net/bellevue/hyde.html.

Wembley / Doubloon, Adswood Road

Wembley, Adswood Road, Adswood, Stockport, 1998. (c) Alan Winfield with permission.

The Wembley Hotel was a huge pub build between the wars by Wilson's Brewery on Adswood Road in Adswood, Stockport, near the junction with Garners Lane.  It was named after Wilson's Wembley Ale which, despite its use in football-related adverts in the 1930s, was nothing to do with the sport.  Rather, it came from the 'WMB' abbreviation for Wilsons Mild Beer which was a good seller back then, and 'Wembley' Ale was born in 1932 [1].

Wembley, Adswood Road, Adswood, Stockport. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

In 1934, Wilson's produced a number of adverts in response to Manchester City's FA Cup triumph.  "If you can't get to Wembley, Let 'Wembley' come to you".  Comedian Sydney Howard appeared in printed adverts and in a short film called "Up for t'Cup", saying:  "Well lads - you were great at Wembley - as great as Wembley Ale is at home [1]."

Wilsons Wembley Ale. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

The Wembley was renamed the Doubloon for an ill-fated time in the 1970s, and is pictured above in 1974 [1].  The Wembley was demolished a couple of decades ago after gaining something for a reputation for unsavouriness and dodgy dealings.  

Doubloon, Adswood Road. (c) Stockport Council. Click here to view full image [2].

The Adswood Road Surgery sits on the site of the old pub, and the short Wembley Close is a reminder of the old boozer and Wilson's Wembley Ale.

Wembley Close, Adswood. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. A History of Wilsons Brewery 1834-1984, Neil Richardson (1983).

2. www.stockport.gov.uk.

Greyhound / Game Bird, Ladybridge Road

Greyhound, Ladybridge Road, Cheadle Hulme, 1998. (c) Alan Winfield with permission.

The Greyhound, shown above in 1998, was a classic inter-wars estate pub, formerly known as the Game Bird, on the corner of Councillor Lane and Ladybridge Road in Cheadle Hulme.

 Greyhound, Ladybridge Road. (c) Cheetham-Mortimer.

At No.169 Ladybridge Road, it closed in June 2010, and although was briefly hawked around for sale for alternative use, was demolished in October later that year [2].

Greyhound, Ladybridge Road. (c) Lost Pubs [3]

The Greyhound was ale-free for a number of years but offered Tetley cask towards the end, and had an upstairs function room.

Greyhound, Ladybridge Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

Greyhound, Ladybridge Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

While the above two images are from 2008, fast-forward to 2012 and the Greyhound is no more.  Last I heard there was an application for a Morrison's 'M' store for the site [4].

Greyhound, Ladybridge Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. www.flickr.com/photos/raver_mikey/2789361385.

2. www.camrahops.com/guide/004000/Pub004246.htm.

2. www.closedpubs.co.uk/cheshire/cheadlehulme_greyhound.html.

3. http://iainroberts.mycouncillor.org.uk.

Tinplate Workers Arms, Red Bank

Tinplate Workers Arms, Red Bank. (c) Old Maps [1].

At the bottom of Red Bank, facing the Crown & Cushion (until recently Manchester's oldest licensed premises) was the Tinplate Workers Arms.  It was situated just before the railway bridge that crosses the Medlock and Red Bank known as Scotland Bridge.

Former location of Tinplate Workers Arms, Red Bank. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

The view from the Tinplate Workers Arms would have, for many years, been the grand-looking Crown & Cushion, a pub which dated back to 1741.  

View from the former Tinplate Workers Arms, 1990. (c) deltrems at flickr.

Of course, this traditional old Holt's has sadly fallen victim to the Co-Op's ambitious redevelopments and closed in 2011 so the same view today is somewhat different.

View from the former Tinplate Workers Arms, 2013. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html.

George & Dragon, Red Bank

Former location of George & Dragon, Red Bank. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

On the corner of Cliff Street (now lost) and Red Bank on the way down into town was the George & Dragon.  It was just north of the bridge that passes the railway over Foundry Street (now Faber Street), so on the far right in the above shot where the a block of 'Green Quarter' flats now stand.  Note the triple landmarks in the distance - Urbis (now the National Football Museum), the Manchester Wheel (now moved to Piccadilly Gardens) and the Beetham Tower.  This 1966 photo shows the corner of Cliff Street from Red Bank, so it that building is probably the old George & Dragon - you can see the remnants of what may be the sign above the former corner entrance.

George & Dragon, Red Bank. (c) Old Maps [1].

1. www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html.

Fish Market Hotel, Old Shambles

Fish Market Hotel, Old Shambles. (c) Old Maps [1].

The Fish Market Hotel used to stand next door to what was the original location of Sinclair's Oyster Bar at the original Old Shambles, off Victoria Street and Old Millgate. On the Old Millgate side was the Oyster Bar and next door-but-one the other way was the Fox Hotel.  The Fish Market Hotel was, as you'd expect, named after the Fish Market which stood in front of the pub in the middle of the Old Shambles in the early-mid-1800s.  Later on that century the Fish Market became a Coal Exchange then a Cotton Waste Exchange [2].

1. www.old-maps.co.uk.

2. http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/gone/marketplace.html.

Grotto, Cromford Court

Grotto, Cromford Court. (c) Old Maps [1].

This brilliantly named old pub, the Grotto, was next door to the better known Fatted Calf, tucked away on Cromford Court off Corporation Street.  It was on the same side as Brown's Chop House and across from the Bull's Head Hotel, Blue Boar Hotel and Slip Inn.  There's nothing else known about the Grotto, but Cromford Court, of course lost underneath the Arndale Centre, became well-known as the flats which were built on top of the shopping centre.

Cromford Courts, Arndale Centre. (c) Mancky [2].

1. www.old-maps.co.uk.

2. www.mancky.co.uk/?p=6437.

Wheatsheaf, Chester Road

Wheatsheaf, Chester Road, Stretford, 1890. (c) Trafford Council. Click here to view full image [1].

The Wheatsheaf was an ancient pub on the corner of Market Street and Chester Road in Stretford.  Pictured above in 1890, St Matthew's Church in the background can still be seen today behind the monstrosity that is the Stretford Arndale Centre, or Stretford Mall, as it is called these days.  This shopping centre was plonked on top of the historical centre of Stretford in 1969 [2] in much the same misguided way that the Arndale Centre was foisted upon Manchester city centre.  Market Street was previously known as Pool Lane, as detailed here in these drawings of the old Wheatsheaf.  There have been and remain licensed premises in the vicinity of the former Wheatsheaf, including the lost Arndale clubs, Sands, Brummels and Deno's, the recently closed Green Windmill bar and the surviving O'Briens.

Former location of Wheatsheaf, Chester Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. https://legacy.trafford.gov.uk/content/tca/display_image.asp?ImageID=2783.

2. www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/News/Stretford-Mall-An-Arndale-Shoppers-Forgot-2013.

Queens / Met Bar / Bar 2, Hope Road

Queens, Hope Road, Sale. (c) Trafford Council. Click here to view full image [1].

The Queens was a big Tetley's house at the top of Hope Road on the corner with Northenden Road in Sale near the old Sale Railway Station.  A popular boozer back in the day, its eventual closure came in about 2007. 

Met Bar, Hope Road. (c) beerintheevening.

What was once a popular family pub had a change of landlord, a disastrous makeover which ended up with bouncers on the doors, and a slow but sadly inevitable decline.  A number of refurbs and name changes didn't help matters.

Bar 2, Hope Road. (c) Closed Pubs.

Renamed Q or the Met Bar and Bar 2 towards the end, it became a haunt of those from the estates at the rougher ends of Sale and was notorious for violence and dodgy dealing.  The view from Sale Station made this big old boozer seem pleasant enough with a drinking terrace...

Met Bar, Hope Road. (c) beerintheevening.

From above, the rambling construction of the refurbished Met - different height and random wings - can be seen.  This prominent location in the centre of Sale near the tram stop (Metrolink, hence the Met) could probably support another pub in a town that is lacking in truly decent ones.

Met Bar, Hope Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

The nearby Wetherspoons (three doors down Northendern Road), Kings Ransom and Steamhouse (both across the road) all serve reasonable ale but aren't great pubs.  However, due to its history, permission was granted to demolish the old Queens and it's been replaced by a bizarrely-located retirement complex.

Former location of the Queens / Met, Hope Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. https://legacy.trafford.gov.uk/content/tca/display_image.asp?ImageID=4400.

Brooklands Hotel, Marsland Road

Brooklands Hotel, Marsland Road, Sale. (c) Laurel & Hardy British Tours [1].

The Brooklands Hotel was built in 1872 [2] on the corner of Hope Road and Marsland Road in Sale, and is shown here in 1905.  It was owned by the Grand Hotel in Manchester as used as an annexe by them; Laurel and Hardy once stayed here for their Bolton show in 1947 [1].  Sadly the Brooklands Hotel was demolished exactly a century after it was built, in 1972, and replaced by the grim Marsland House offices.  The still-serving Brooklands Tap estate-style pub and a petrol station were also built on the plot.  The memory of the Brooklands Hotel lives on in a way, as the nearby 'Little B' pub is still named as such to avoid confusion with the 'Big Brooklands'.  Comparing this 1954 photo with the view today (below) shows how this tree-lined stretch of Marsland Road is remarkably unchanged half a century later.

Former location of Brooklands Hotel, Marsland Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. http://www.laurelandhardythebritishtours.com/bolton.html.

2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/traffordcouncil/9582946270.

Bridge Inn, Cross Street

Bridge Inn, Cross Street, Stretford. (c) old-days-better at flickr [1].

The Bridge Inn used to stand on the Sale side of the River Mersey on Cross Street.  It was set back a bit from the main road, as seen here in 1907, and was just on the Cheshire border.  This was important back in the day as it meant that drinkers from Stretford (i.e. Lancashire) could enjoy en extra half an hours' boozing, as last orders were 11pm in Cheshire rather than 10.30pm.  Confusingly though, the Bridge Inn used to listed as Stretford, and a 'County Palatine of Lancaster' stone used to be to the left of the pub.

Bridge Inn, Cross Street. (c) Trafford Council. Click here to view full image [2].

The Bridge was a grand looking Chesters house but was unfortunately prone to flooding, the landlord often being banished to the upper floors of the pub when the banks broke, as mentioned here [3].  The construction of Sale Water Park has alleviated flooding concerns around here nowadays.  When the Bridge Inn was knocked down in the late-1980s, the Crossfords, a Greenalls 'plastic' pub, was built to take its place, named after the bridge that still crosses the Mersey today.  This low-rise boozer didn't last long and was replaced by TGI Friday's which was built in 1997.

Former location of Bridge Inn, Cross Street. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. www.flickr.com/photos/89394157@N02/10391464804.

2. https://legacy.trafford.gov.uk/content/tca/display_image.asp?ImageID=5817.
3. https://legacy.trafford.gov.uk/content/tca/display_image.asp?ImageID=1395.

Farmers Arms, Stockport Road

Farmers Arms, Stockport Road, Levenshulme. (c) Graham Hogg at geograph under Creative Commons.

The old Farmers Arms still stands between Midway Street and Pennington Street on the west side of Stockport Road in Levenshulme.  The Farmers is seen in 1959 as a Threlfalls house when Pennington Street was known as Pimlot Street, and later in 1970 when it had passed to Whitbread.

Farmers Arms, Stockport Road, 2006. (c) Gary Taylor at ManMates [1].

The Farmers Arms is a rather colourful sight these days even thought it's been closed for at least 7 years.  Before closure it was briefly renamed the Farmers Kipper (thanks to Pub Curmudgeon for info).  As seen above, since 2006 it has gained a new neighbour to the right and stands opposite the also closed old Midway boozer.

Former Farmers Arms, Stockport Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alscot1/FarmersArms.htm.

Medlock, Brook Street

Medlock, Brook Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

At the point where the Mancunican Way crosses Brook Street used to stand the Medlock Hotel, a large Cornbrook Brewery house.  It's shown here in 1959 and by 1963 it had simply become the Medlock.  It straddled the lost streets, Crossley Street and Stafford Street, and was fully licensed, as evidenced by the signs for 'Cornbrook Ales & Stout, Wines & Spirits'.  The Medlock Hotel, named after the river that ran just to the north and gives Chorlton-on-Medlock its name, closed in 1963 [1], the same year that work on the Mancunian Way started [2].

Former location of Medlock, Brook Street. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. http://images.manchester.gov.uk.

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancunian_Way.

Brunswick Hotel, Upper Brook Street

Former location of Brunswick Hotel, Upper Brook Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

The Brunswick Hotel was a huge Hardy's Brewery house on the corner of Brunswick Street and Upper Brook Street in Chorlton-on-Medlock.  It stood at No.99 and lasted until 1970 [1] when it was knocked down, presumably as part of the creation of the Brunswick council estate here, although nothing has replaced it.  The Brunswick Hotel is shown here in 1959 advertising 'Hardy's Manchester Ales'.  A decade later in 1959 and the Hardy's sign has been rather crudely painted over with 'Cornbrook Ales' and 'Jubilee Stout' signs.

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

White Swan, Bolton Road

White Swan, Bolton Road, Irlams o'th' Height, Salford. (c) Neil Richardson [1].

A few yards further along Bolton Road from the Red Lion and lost Three Pigeons, the White Swan started out life as the Swan Inn beerhouse, first listed in 1838.  By the end of the century, the White Swan was bought by Boddingtons Brewery when it was still a beerhouse comprising two cottages.  The brewery built a new Tudor-effect black and white frontage with gable that included a relief sign of a swan.  The White Swan lasted until 1970 when it was pulled down to be replaced by shops [1].  In the distance past the spot where the White Swan once stood is the surviving Wellington and its neighbour, the closed Dog & Partridge.

Former location of White Swan, Bolton Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

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

Locomotive, Rochdale Road

Locomotive Inn, Rochdale Road, Collyhurst. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

The Locomotive stood on the corner of Zinc Street and Rochdale Road in Collyhurst.  Although the former street is long-gone (along with its neighbours, including Brass Street, Copper Street, Tin Street, Bronze Street), the former location of the Locomotive can be worked out.  It was on the west side of Rochdale Road, between Osborne Street and Whitley Street, placing it here where these functional maisonettes stood until recently.

Former location of Locomotive, Rochdale Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

The Locomotive Tavern opened as a beerhouse at No.383 Rochdale Road in 1853.  Stood was it was, backing onto the Manchester and Leeds Railway which had opened in 1839, the origin of its name is clear.  The 'Loco', as it was known, became a Groves & Whitnall house, as seen here in 1958 (note those advertisements) as the Locomotive Inn, closing in 1963 under a compulsory purchase order [2].

1. http://images.manchester.gov.uk.

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