The Hunting Lodge opened in 1971 at corner of Oxford Road and Hulme Street. It was something of an informal club as it wasn't open during the day but Margaret Emmot at the Manchester District Music Archive remembers "frequenting the Hunting Lodge many times in the '70s and early '80s. Stairs led you up to a large room with a bar, pool table, dart board and football table. Don't recall seeing any live bands there just a jukebox in the corner" [2]. This great shot of Oxford Road from the 1960s doesn't quite show the place. The Hunting Lodge closed at some point in the late '80s, and is now Cotswold outdoor clothing shop, as shown below.
Former location of Hunting Lodge, Oxford Road. (c) googlemaps.
The 1975 guide mentions the gaudy neon Watney's Red sign that used to light up the street outside. Inside were jukeboxes, TV table tennis, a colour TV and a piano. The ground floor bar served Watney's and Wilson's beers, while there was a restaurant on the first floor with a night club / disco above that [3].
1. The Old Pubs of Hulme and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Bob Potts (1997).
2. www.mdmarchive.co.uk.3. The Manchester Pub Guide, Manchester & Salford City Centres (1975).
