Drum / Bass Drum, Chester Road

Drum, Chester Road, Stretford. (c)Chris Gleave at Manchester Evening News [1].

The Drum on Chester Road in Stretford was a familiar site to Mancunians, and Old Trafford visitors alike, as they approached town from the south along the A56.  Originally the Bass Drum, the almost unique (for Manchester anyway) looking building was sadly lost last year to make way for something far more popular than a pub.

Bass Drum, Chester Road, 1975. (c) Trafford Council. Click here to view full image [2].

The Bass Drum, seen here in 1975, was built to replace the original Angel Hotel in the early 1970s and its sister pub over in Pendleton, Salford, was similarly designed and named the Kettle Drum.  Both pubs operated from the first floor while accommodation was found on the lower floor.

Bass Drum, Chester Road, 1975. (c) Trafford Council. Click here to view full image [3].

In its final years, the trade in the Drum fell away as local tastes changed, and even healthy match day trade couldn't stop its eventual closure in 2012.  Money-laundering by a conman hadn't helped its cause [1], so the Pub Company sold the Drum, and Trafford Council approved its demolition and replacement.

Drum, Chester Road, Stretford. (c) Manchester Evening News [1].

A McDonald's "restaurant" and drive-through opened on the site of the old Drum in late 2014, to much local fanfare - the McDonald's in the Precinct had notably failed, or at least been closed by choice, a decade or so ago.  This modern eyesore complements the new-build giant Tesco store up the road at the north end of Stretford.

Former Drum, Chester Road. (c) Manchester Evening News [2].

1. www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/iconic-pub-drum-goes-out.

2. http://legacy.trafford.gov.uk/content/tca/display_image.asp?ImageID=3342.

3. http://legacy.trafford.gov.uk/content/tca/display_image.asp?ImageID=3381.

4. www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/new-mcdonalds-restaurant-opens.

The Drum, Chester Road, Stretford. (c) Gene Hunt at flickr.