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.