Paul Pry, West Street, Blackley. (c) Manchester Local Image Collection. Click here to view full image [1].
The Paul Pry beerhouse was tucked away on West Street off Crab Lane in Blackley, opening in 1830 after the Beer Act was passed. Although beer was brewed on the premises, there were no beer pumps, so beer was brought in jugs from the cellar. Walker & Homfrays took the Paul Pry in 1888, as seen in 1905, and just before the First World War, the licensee of the Old House at Home was also in charge at here. The Paul Pry closed in 1923 and these days Blackley Cemetery covers the site [2].
The name 'Paul Pry', of which there were several in the area including the one in Salford, comes from an 1825 play of the same name, and Mr Liston (of Liston's Bar and music hall fame), was depicted on several pub signs as Paul Pry - in this case, on a swinging sign in the pub's front garden. This fact, and many many more, are from Roger Hall's excellent and readily available book, The Pubs of Blackley, published by the late Neil Richardson [2].
2. The Pubs of Blackley, Roger Hall (1980).
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