Bay Horse, Cutler Hill

Bay Horse, Cutler Hill, Woodhouses, Failsworth. (c) Rob Magee [1].

The Bay Horse stood on Cutler Hill in Woodhouses near Failsworth, dating back to about 1804 when it was known as the Brick Hall.  It stood alongside the canal and the Brick Hall name was due to its proximity to the Hall on Failsworth Road nearby.  The beerhouse was renamed the Bay Horse in 1812 and a century later, was bought by John Taylor & Co of Ancoats.  Walker & Homfray's took over in 1929 before it passed to Wilsons in 1954 after their merger.  The Bay Horse closed in 1959 but its licence passed to the Willow Tavern which had been rebuilt that year [1], so the Bay Horse still lives on today in a way.

1. Failsworth Pubs 1731-1995 and their licensees, Rob Magee (1995).

Plough, Rainsough Brow

Plough, Rainsough Brow, Prestwich. (c) deltrems at flickr.

The Plough on the Prestwich-Salford border can be traced back to 1794 when three cottages were built on Rainsough Brow.  The Plough Inn beerhouse in two of the cottages, named after the farmland that surrounded the area, opened in 1883, and beer was first supplied by the Bentley Brewery of Prestwich [1].

Plough, Rainsough Brow. (c) David Rowlinson [1].

  

The Plough passed to the Manchester Brewery Company (as above) of the Britannia Brewery in Ardwick in 1909, then Walker & Homfrays of Salford and on to Wilsons of Newton Heath in 1949.

Plough, Rainsough Brow, 1952. (c) David Rowlinson [1].

In the '50s, Betty the big-handed bar maid was able to hold nine half pint glasses in one hand and pull beer into them with the other.  By 1965 the third cottage had been incorporated into the Plough, and the beer was kept in a room behind the bar rather than a cellar.

Plough, Rainsough Brow. (c) David Rowlinson [1].

The Plough closed in about 2011, and was placed up for auction, after the landlord was convicted of drug smuggling [2].  The pub had a dodgy reputation towards the end despite being a Holt's house.

Plough, Rainsough Brow. (c) I-Bidder.

1. A History of Prestwich Pubs, David Rowlinson.

2. www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/jailed-prestwich-pub-landlord-at-heart-859835.

Bull Inn / Woosters / Old Bull, Fog Lane

Old Bull, Fog Lane, Burnage. (c) Alan Winfield with permission.

The Bull Inn was a huge pub at the bottom end of Fog Lane in Burnage.  Today Fog Lane ends at Kingsway but before the A34 was built, it carried on a bit further and the pub was on the corner of Burnage Lane.  The Bull Inn is shown in 1905, 1959 and 1970 as a Hardy's Crown Ales house at the Manchester council's archives.

Bull Inn, Fog Lane, Burnage. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

In the mid-1970s the pub was ridiculously renamed Woosters under Toby Inns, as shown here in 1975.  The pub reverted back to the Bull, though as the Old Bull, as described by Alan Winfield in 1993 when it was a Bass house [2].

1. http://images.manchester.gov.uk.

2. www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/75179.

Seven Stars, Rake Lane

Seven Stars, , Clifton, 1920. (c) Neil Richardson & Roger Hall [1].

The Seven Stars on Rake Lane opened in 1786 as only Clifton's second pub, after the Robin Hood.  This was because the village of Clifton only had a population of about 600 but the industrial revolution meant that a new road through it was needed.  The Seven Stars was a Georgian building that stood where the old Chloride Electrical Storage Company Exide Works social club is today.  The club used the bowling green of the old Seven Stars, despite the fact the pub was demolished in 1955.  Pictured below in 1946 as a derelict mess; it had closed in 1938 [1].

Seven Stars, ,1946. (c) Neil Richardson & Roger Hall [1].

In happier times the Seven Stars was owned by the nearby Worsley Brewery Company, and used to host clog dnacing but eventually the pub suffered from damp and became unsanitary.  The brewery were told to demolish the the Seven Stars but were given permission to rebuild, however the option wasn't taken up as Worsely Brewery were taken over by Walkers of Warrington around the same time [1].

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

Blue Bell, Monton Green

Blue Bell, Monton Green, Monton, Eccles. (c) Tony Flynn [1].

The original Blue Bell on Monton Green, pictured above in 1895 as the white building on the left, may have been known as just the Bell initially.  It can be traced back to the middle of the eighteenth century, belonging to the Greenhalgh and then Lansdale local families.  The Blue Bell was a huge whitewashed pub set alongside several cottages and in 1897 it was bought by Hulme's Wagstaffe Lion Brewery for £10,000.  When Wagstaffe's merged with Watson & Woodhead of Salford, the new brewery knocked down the Blue Bell and rebuilt a new pub in 1906 [1].  JW Lees still run the 'new' Blue Bell on Monton Road today.

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

White Lion, Oldham Road

White Lion, Oldham Road, Newton Heath. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

The White Lion stood on the corner of Benville Street and Oldham Road in Newton Heath.  Unsurprisingly, it was a Wilsons house - Wilsons Brewery was on Monsall Street in Newton Heath.  The White Lion appears to have been lost to the creation of the Troydale estate, and Benville Walk in the estate marks the rough location of where Benville Street met Oldham Road and the pub once stood.

Wilsons Brewery, Newton Heath. (c) The Beerworkers Forum [2].

1. http://images.manchester.gov.uk.

2. www.beerworkers.com/viewtopic.php?f=133&t=1176.

Birmingham Tavern, Oldham Road

Birmingham Tavern, Oldham Road, Newton Heath. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].

The Birmingham Tavern was a terraced Wilsons house on Oldham Road in Newton Heath, as seen in 1961 and 1970 at the archives.  Watney's takeover of Wilsons was met with a decline in beer quality (as happened in many Wilsons boozers taken over by the London giant), and in particular, the Birmingham Tavern suffered in this respect.  To quote one local who remembers the pub, "the beer was crap" - probably referring to Watney's Red, a tasteless, fizzy keg beer.  Chris Byrne, who lived in the pub when his father ran it from 1968 to 1970, agreed that Watney's ruined the Wilsons beer too.  The Birmingham Tavern was on the right hand side of Oldham Road going away from town before the Shears Hotel and Royal Oak.  As for its name, the Birmingham Tavern may have been a reference to the old Newton Heath Railway Station which was nearby.

1. http://images.manchester.gov.uk.

Fountain Head, Wheathill Street

Fountain Head, Wheathill Street, Salford, 1972. (c) Helen L Thickett at Memories of Pubs of Manchester Facebook [1].

The Fountain Head at No.11 Wheathill Street off Broughton Road can be traced back to at least 1848 as a beerhouse.  By the 1890s, Groves & Whitnall owned it and the house next door, and although the front gardens were lost in the early 1900s as the Wheathill dyeworks expanded, the boozer lasted until 1972.  Under Frederick and Joyce Thickett (the latter pictured above with her daughters [1]), the Fountain Head was included in the 1971 Trinity clearance area [2].
 

Fountain Head, Wheathill Street ('30'). (c) Neil Richardson [2].

A petition to the council to save the pub described how the Fountain Head was the social centre of the new Trinity estate, and that the older and infirm residents would have nowhere to go.  While the neighbouring Broughton Tavern ('12' on the map above and highlighted on the map below [3]) was saved, the Salford City Engineer decided that the Fountain Head would have to go.  The reason given was that it would "materially diminish the effectiveness of the proposed open space" [2], and the Fountain Head was sadly demolished in 1972.


(c) Fountain Head, Wheathill Street. (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr [3].

1. www.facebook.com/groups/260111990702604.

2. Salford Pubs Part One: The Old Town, including Chapel Street, Greengate and the Adelphi. Neil Richardson (2003).
3. www.flickr.com/photos/61756486@N05.

Golden Lion, Barton Lane

Golden Lion, Barton Lane, Eccles. (c) deltrems at flickr [1].

The Golden Lion was an estate-style Boddingtons pub next door to the grand Royal Oak Holt's house in Eccles.  It replaced an original Golden Lion which dated back to the mid-1800s and suffered a direct hit from the Luftwafffe in WWII [2].

Golden Lion, Barton Lane. (c) Tony Flynn [2].

The new Golden Lion on Barton Lane didn't reopen until 26 years after the original pub had been destroyed.  It was also a Boddingtons house and opened on 15th September 1967, and the first person to be served was the landlady of the original Golden Lion [2].

Golden Lion, Barton Lane. (c) Kev Dol at panoramio under Creative Commons.

The Golden Lion was renowned for its top class Boddingtons, which is a decent feat here in Eccles, the heart of Holt's county.

Golden Lion, Barton Lane. (c) Brewery History Society [3].

The pub closed in about 2006 and laid derelict for many years.  Recently it's been converted to Barton Fireplace Centre.

Former Golden Lion, Barton Lane. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

Sadly, the Royal Oak is also now up for sale by Holt's [4], despite being on CAMRA's national inventory of Historic Pub Interiors [5].

1. www.flickr.com/photos/deltrems/2786511253.

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

3. www.breweryhistory.com/Defunct/Pics/GMEcclesGoldenLion.htm.

4. http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/oak-to-be-felled.html.

5. www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/historic-pub-interior-entry.asp?pubid=222.

Golden Cross, Liverpool Road

Golden Cross, Liverpool Road, Patricroft, Eccles. (c) deltrems at flickr [1].

The Golden Cross on Liverpool Road in Patricroft was one of Eccles' oldest pubs until it was knocked down in about 2008.  It can be traced back to 1772 and was used as a coaching station in the 1800s when Liverpool Road was called Catch Inn Lane. 

Golden Cross, Liverpool Road. (c) Tony Flynn [2].

The Golden Cross - with its Golden X Hotel sign above - had an upstairs club room with a billiards table, and in the 1800s, the Ancient Order of Foresters used to meet in the pub.  A plaque commemorating the first meeting in 1840 was used as the dartboard cover in the vault.

Golden Cross, Liverpool Road. (c) Tony Flynn [2].

The Golden Cross was nicknamed 'Cloudy's', after the landlord, Dougie "Cloudy" Brown, who would kick the barrels if the beer was serving too clear.  In later years the pub was nicknamed 'Cleary's' due to the top quality Joseph Holt's on offer.

Golden Cross, Liverpool Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

The Golden Cross closed as a Holt's house at some point in the 2000s and the council agreed to its demolition, leaving the Black Boy, next-door-but-one, standing alone, and of course this has now closed too.

1. www.flickr.com/photos/deltrems/2891339754.

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

Black Boy, Liverpool Road

 
Black Boy, Liverpool Road, Eccles. (c) Pugh Auctions.

The Black Boy on the corner of Renshaw Street and Liverpool Road was once the smallest pub in Eccles, just a small lounge and vault.  It was first licensed in about 1856, and was a Walker & Homfrays house until 1949 when it passed to Wilsons of Newton Heath who'd merged with the Salford Brewery [1]. 

Black Boy, Liverpool Road, 1976. (c) Tony Flynn [1].

The rather politically-incorrect name, Black Boy, comes from the nickname of Charles I, who had links with the local De Trafford family before his beheading in 1649 in the Civil War [1].

Black Boy, Liverpool Road. (c) Salford Online.

The Black Boy at No.213 Liverpool Road closed as a Marstons house in about 2011.

Black Boy, Liverpool Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

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

Barleycorn / Didsbury Lodge / Hotel El Morocco / Chimes Hotel, Barlow Moor Road

Barleycorn, Barlow Moor Road, Didsbury. (c) novaloca.

The Barleycorn on Barlow Moor Road in Didsbury closed its doors in ealy 2009 but reopened as Albert's restaurant after a significant facelift about about 18 months later.  Frequented in its later years by local celebrities such as Kevin 'Curly Watts' Kennedy and pool-playing Pablo Zabaleta [1], the Barleycorn had a reputation for being rough towards the end - "comfortably the area's worst pub."

Albert's, Barlow Moor Road. (c) findthepostcode.

The Barleycorn was previously known the Didsbury Lodge (here in 1974) as Hotel El Morocco with a casino [1] in the 1950s and '60s (here in 1961), and before that, it was the Chimes Hotel [2].  The Barleycorn had a cellar bar as well, the entrance to which has been blocked off by the owners of Albert's (who also have Albert's Shed in Castlefield).

Barleycorn, Barlow Moor Road. (c) novaloca.

1. www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2427391/PABLO-ZABALETA-EXCLUSIVE-The-Manchester-City-cult-hero-speaks-love-affair-club.html. 

2. https://didsburydad.wordpress.com/tag/the-barleycorn.

3. www.manchester-forum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7654.0.

White Lion, Great Jackson Street

White Lion, Great Jackson Street, Hulme. (c) Joan Hawkins at Hulme, C.on.M, All Saints, Ardwick Facebook [1].

The White Lion at No.80 Great Jackson Street opened in 1845 [2] on the corner of George Street and also the corner of Howard Street.  This evocative photo of a group of women drinking half pints (of mild?) is a rare glimpse of the inside of pubs in the years around and during WWII.  The White Lion closed in 1966 as a Charrington house [3] to make way for the Mancunian Way.  The old location of the White Lion is pretty much where Jackson Crescent bends into the Mancunian Way, where Great Jackson Street used to run down to the south east.

Former location of White Lion, Great Jackson Street. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. https://www.facebook.com/groups/104526155529.

2. The Old Pubs of Hulme Manchester (1) 1770-1930, Bob Potts (1983).

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

Lion & Lamb / Old White Lion, Lion Street

Lion & Lamb, Lion Street, Blackley. (c) Roger Hall [1].

The first Lion & Lamb in Blackley was situated some distance from the last Lion & Lamb, which was known in more recent times as the Wrecker (and Mariner). The original pub was on the corner of Market Street and Lion Street in Blackley village centre, facing the still-serving Holt's boozer, the Golden Lion. Originally known as the Old White Lion, it was built in 1746 on the site of an even older White Lion. This means the Lion & Lamb dates back to the at least the early seventeenth century -  mentioned in the recognizances of 1629 - and probably the village itself. 

The Old White Lion, which was rebuilt 12 years after its neighbour, the Golden Lion opened, gave name to the New White Lion on Middleton Old Road, as the landlord moved from old to new in 1809. The pub appears to have been renamed the Lion & Lamb in the late 1850s and it closed in 1927, the new Lion & Lamb over on Victoria Avenue opening the following day [1].  The Golden Lion outlasted its neighbouring Lion and the replacement pub!

Former location of Lion & Lamb / Old White Lion, Lion Street. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

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

Airport Hotel, Liverpool Road

Airport Hotel, Liverpool Road, Barton, Eccles. (c) Tony Flynn [1].

The Airport Hotel opened in 1931 to cater for passengers using Barton Aerodrome, then a busy airport which had opened in 1930 as the country's first municipal airport. 

Airport Hotel, Liverpool Road. (c) Bryan Burton [2].

This converted farmhouse, previously known as Fox Hill Farm, almost didn't get off the ground when a local objection to the license claimed that pilots would use the pub before flying [1]. 

Airport Hotel, Liverpool Road. (c) City Airport & Heliport [3].

The Airport Hotel was owned by the directors of the Grand Hotel, Manchester, and it passed to Whitbread and Chesters before becoming more of a restaurant, although still offering residential accommodation [1].

Airport Hotel, Liverpool Road. (c) City Airport & Heliport [3].

The Airport Hotel was closed and knocked down at some point in the early 2000s.

Airport Hotel, Liverpool Road. (c) Wikipedia under Creative Commons.

Nothing much has been done with the site of the old Airport Hotel.

Former location of the Airport Hotel, Liverpool Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

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

2. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bryan.burtonbj/Barton%201930%20plan.htm.

3. http://cityairportandheliport.com/about-us/airport-history.

New Cross Inn / Halligans, Swinton Hall Road

New Cross Inn, Swinton Hall Road, Pendlebury. (c) Neil Richardson & Roger Hall [1].

The New Cross Inn on Swinton Hall Road Pendlebury was known locally as 'Halligans', named after Robert Halligan, the landlord back in 1933 and for many years after.  The beerhouse was in a row of cottages called Mount Pleasant which were built in 1849, and the boozer opened a few years later in 1856 [1].

New Cross, Swinton Hall Road. (c) Lizziesl Local History [2].

Earlier its life the New Cross was also nicknamed 'Crompton's Beerhouse' after owner Thomas Crompton, and it didn't fall into a brewer's hands until the Worsley Brewing Company took it over.  The New Cross Inn expanded into the next door house and in the 1970s the multi-roomed layout was knocked through.

Halligans, Swinton Hall Road. (c) deltrems at flickr.

Sadly, Halligans was knocked down in the early 2000s for the building of new (and inferior) flats.  The Jehovah's Witness church next door to Halligans, seen above on the left, indicates where the old New Cross Inn and Halligans stood until recently.

Former location of Halligans, Swinton Hall Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

The New Cross Inn is shown here in black and white courtesy of Lizzle Leak and the Salford Local History Library - http://lizzieslocalhistory.weebly.com/halligans---new-cross-inn.html.

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

2. http://lizzieslocalhistory.weebly.com/halligans---new-cross-inn.html.

Staff of Life, Ashton Old Road

Staff of Life, Ashton Old Road, Openshaw. (c) Brian George at Memories of pubs from Manchester and Salford Facebook [1].

The Staff of Life in Openshaw was the next pub along Ashton Old Road after the Vulcan.  Like its neighbour over the road, the Malcolm, the Staff of Life has long been turned into a private house, but at least it was spared the wrecking ball unlike so many of the other 50-odd pubs that the Old Road once boasted.

Former Staff of Life, Ashton Old Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

Before it closed the Staff of Life was a Belhaven house but for most of its time had been owned by Wilsons.  These two photos from the archive show it as a Wilsons boozer.  It would have been a busy market pub, facing the New Smithfield Market, which replaced the old one in town in the Northern Quarter.

Former Staff of Life, Ashton Old Road. (c) Google 2014. View Larger Map.

1. www.facebook.com/groups/260111990702604.