House That Jack Built / Sports, Bury New Road

Sports / House That Jack Built, Bury New Road, Higher Broughton, 1989. By Stanley Horrocks, with kind permission and (c) Rose Horrocks. 

The House That Jack Built was a very distinctive 1970s estate pub, opening in 1975 at the newly-built Newbury Place shopping centre off Bury New Road in Higher Broughton.  

House That Jack Built, Bury New Road, 2003. By Stanley Horrocks, with kind permission and (c) Rose Horrocks. 

It was described in the Manchester Evening News at the time as "something entirely different" - a maze of bars, passages and alcoves with an indoor tree house [1]!

House That Jack Built, Bury New Road, 1990. (c) deltrems at flickr.

'Deltrems' who photographed the House That Jack Built in 1990, top, remembers the stumpy pool cues that were required due to the tiny pool room [2].


House That Jack Built, Bury New Road. (c) Paul Wilson with posthumous permission.

The pub was renamed 'Sports' for a time, then Jacks bar.


House That Jack Built, Bury New Road, 1992. By Stanley Horrocks, with kind permission and (c) Rose Horrocks. 

The pub's first licensee was, appropriately, Jack Moon, although the final landlord had his licence revoked in 2004 due to unlicensed gambling and illegal drink [3].


House That Jack Built, Bury New Road, 1990. By Stanley Horrocks, with kind permission and (c) Rose Horrocks. 

Demolition followed in 2005 (the flats behind had gone too).


House That Jack Built, Bury New Road, 1992. By Stanley Horrocks, with kind permission and (c) Rose Horrocks. 

1. Salford Pubs - Part Two: Including Islington, Ordsall Lane and Ordsall, Oldfield Road, Regent Road and Broughton, Neil Richardson (2003).

2. www.flickr.com/photos/deltrems/2678824769/. 

3. http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/125/125178_doomed_pub_closes.html.

Old Priory, Laurel Grove

Old Priory, Laurel Grove, Higher Broughton, 1994. (c) By Stanley Horrocks, with kind permission and (c) Rose Horrocks.

The Old Priory was demolished in 1998 and now, in between the top end of Great Clowes Street and Lower Broughton Road, the site is an old folks home. This will have been sad news for the stalwarts of the old Man United drinking club as their old training ground, The Cliff, was yards away and they were known to frequent the pub.

Old Priory, Laurel Grove, Higher Broughton. (c) deltrems at flickr [1].

The pub had an interesting history, as here in the 1800s a Gothic residence, Broughton Priory was built, complete with gardens, orchards, pond and fountain.

Old Priory, Laurel Grove (c) Salford Pubs of the 70s at flickr. [3].

James Harrop, newspaper owner, lived here until 1823 but by 1840 the house was empty and the gardens overgrown [2]. Broughton Priory's outbuildings were eventually demolished and the main house was linked to Great Clowes Street along a new lane, Laurel Grove. At the end of the lane, a new building was built and by 1860 it had been licensed as the Old Priory.

Old Priory, Laurel Grove, 1989. (c) By Stanley Horrocks, with kind permission and (c) Rose Horrocks.

Wilsons Brewery bought the Old Priory and its gardens in 1920 and although they'd planned to make improvements, a 1941 air raid damaged the pub before they had chance to. The pub passed to Watney's who sadly decided to strip out all the small rooms and cosy nooks and crannies, making a more modern two-roomed pub.  

Old Priory, Laurel Grove. (c) Neil Richardson [2].

In 1984, the Grand Metropolitan Pub Company reverted back to 'Ye Olde Worlde' style decor although they got rid of the bowling green for a car park and added a dining room to the pub. The Old Priory lasted for fourteen more years before being knocked down in 1998 [1].

1. www.flickr.com/photos/deltrems/2802733812.

2. Salford Pubs - Part Two: Including Islington, Ordsall Lane and Ordsall, Oldfield Road, Regent Road and Broughton, Neil Richardson (2003).
3. www.flickr.com/photos/61756486@N05/6319233642.

Tanners, Fairy Lane

Tanners, Fairy Lane, Cheetham Hill, 1989. (c) By Stanley Horrocks, with kind permission and (c) Rose Horrocks.

The Tanners was a grim-looking Holt's estate house built to serve the small inner city estate at Fairy Lane in Cheetham Hill, just north of Strangeways, off Bury New Road.

Tanners, Fairy Lane, 1990. (c) deltrems at flickr.

The Tanners has been demolished along with some of the streets and houses of this estate, with new-builds appearing, although the pub still appears some older internet listings.


Tanners, Fairy Lane, 1999. (c) Mike Paul at Closed Pubs [1].

The Tanners was put up for sale in 1999, and according to the auction catalogue, may have been built in 1975 [1]. It also sounds like it had a ground floor 'cellar', which is a little unusual for a pub.

Former location of Tanners, Fairy Lane. (c) Google 2015.

The Tanners used to stand on the corner of Fairy Lane and Broomfield Drive, which is very different toady since the Fairy Lane estate has been flattened.

Tanners, Fairy Lane, 1989. (c) By Stanley Horrocks, with kind permission and (c) Rose Horrocks.

1. www.closedpubs.co.uk/lancashire/manchester_m8_tanners.html.