White Swan, Bengal Street

White Swan, Bengal Street, Ancoats. (c) Mick Burke / Frank Heaton [1].

The White Swan is featured in the excellent The Gangs of Manchester book by Andrew Davies, described as "The deadliest spot in Manchester: Bengal Street, Ancoats, at its junction with Hood Street.  The death-rate in this hotbed of tuberculosis appalled investigators during the 1880s.  Eleven pubs and fourteen beerhouses stood within 300 yards of the White Swan [2]."  (That sounds like a challenge).


A scuttler, Gangs of Manchester. (c) Andrew Davies [2].

The Rochdale Manor Breweries house is shown here in 1899 with a couple of chaps peering out of the window, and the Bengal Street side and alley behind the pubs are seen here and here also in 1899.  The White Swan opened in the 1850s and closed in 1906 due to police objections based on the unsuitability of the beerhouse premises and the 25 boozers nearby [3].

1. Ancoats Lad, Mick Burke / Frank Heaton (1996). 
2. The Gangs of Manchester, Andrew Davies (2008).
3. The Old Pubs of Ancoats, Neil Richardson (1987).