This notorious boozer was closed this month following shooting of a drinker during a Saturday night-late 3am lock-in. Due to its prior bad reputation for attracting criminals, the Wellington had been closed for a while before reopening in 2011 under strict conditions, such as CCTV inside the pub and a buzzer system for entry [1].
Wellington, Regent Road, Salford. (c) Google 2011 - View Larger Map.
These measures didn't stop another murder in one of Salford's estate pubs. The Wellington has only been standing on this corner of Regent Road and Oldfield Road since September 1986 having been built by Boddingtons Brewery to replace the original Wellington which had stood here since 1829. It was slightly set back from the main road to the left and had a single-storey extension built to the pavement in the 1870s [2].
By the early 1900s the Wellington was a Boddingtons house. In the late 1970s, then licensee, Len McMullen, discovered a load of interesting memorabilia in the attic of the pub such as beer bills from Joules Brewery and the Regent Road Brewery from the 1840s, wines and spirits receipts from Manchester merchants, and malt and hops bills, proving that beer was once brewed on the premises. These have been deposited in the Salford City Council archives [2].
In the early '80s, road widening meant the original Wellington had to be pulled down, and the new pub was built set back and slightly to the right, nearer Oldfield Road. The old pub closed in June 1986 and by September the new Wellington was open [2]. As well as the murder, there have been reports of open drug taking in the pub, so it's a sure fire bet that the Wellington will never reopen.
2. Salford Pubs - Part Two: Including Islington, Ordsall Lane and Ordsall, Oldfield Road, Regent Road and Broughton, Neil Richardson (2003).
This is amazing find. I was told one of my ancestors Herbert William Woodhead once managed this Public House in the early 20th century. Thanks for sharing!
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