Four classic, Mancunian pubs

You left me at the end of the last post, on the platform of Salford Crescent station waiting for a train back to Manchester Victoria. I'd recently received a message from Retired Martin, saying that he was in Sinclair’s Oyster Bar, in the Cathedral Gates area of the city. Awaiting my presence. Unfortunately, I had just missed a train, and the next one was showing as cancelled. It was then that the legendary friendliness of the Mancunian people came into play, something which took me back to my days as a student living in the city.

This was because I got chatting to a chap on the platform, who had missed the same train as me, but had a much longer journey. York was his final destination, And he was trying to work out the easiest and quickest route. He was also the perfect gentleman, helping two elderly ladies, by lifting their cases up onto the luggage rack. He also retrieved them, as the train pulled into Victoria station.

I wished him luck with his journey, and then hot footed it along towards Sinclair’s. The equally legendary Mancunian rain had started, but it was only a short walk and time is of the essence, I didn't stop to retrieve my lightweight, foldable raincoat from my backpack. I'd already passed Sinclair’s, along with the adjoining Old Wellington Inn earlier that morning, on my way down to the station. Fortunately, I'd stopped to take some photos, which is just as well consider the damp conditions that greeted my return.

Sinclair’s and the Old Wellington were two of the top pubs on my list of must visit establishments, not only because of that undoubted age, but more importantly because they were survivors, pubs that somehow managed to avoid the wrecking ball and the all-pervasive mantra of the 60s and 70s, which was to knock it all down and start again. I think it was the writer Richard Boston who famously said that Manchester's city fathers had decreed, no brick or stone should be allowed to lie on top of another for more than 30 years.

I mentioned in the post before last, when I was enthusing about my forthcoming visit, that these two ancient watering holes were under wraps for most of the time I lived in the city. This was when the Arndale shopping centre was being constructed around them. Half a century is a long period of time, and the memory sometimes plays tricks, but I have a feeling I did manage to visit the Old Wellington shortly after it reopened, This would have been shortly before I left Manchester. Twenty years afterwards, following the massive IRA bomb, that devastated a large section of the city centre, the Wellington and Sinclair’s were once again moved to their current, and more appropriate positions, in the vicinity of Manchester Cathedral.

According to Martin’s earlier message, he was upstairs. More importantly he had confirmed that this Samuel Smiths pub was stocking hand-pulled Old Brewery Bitter, and that it was on good form. I saw the pumps for myself as I entered the pub, but thinking, as in Sam’s legendary London watering hole - the Chandos, near Trafalgar Square, that Sinclair’s would have a bar upstairs as well. It did, but it was closed, so after greeting Martin I headed back down the steep wooden staircase and ordered myself a pint of Tadcaster’s finest.  

Rich, creamy and topped with that famous Yorkshire head, the OBB was indeed on top form, and priced at just £3 a pint, it was a real bargain as well. It was also the first pint of the day too and was an excellent beer to begin a day’s drinking. The upstairs rooms at Sinclair’s remind me of those at the Chandos, although the notices reminding customers of Sam Smith’s quiet pub policy with its strict ban on the use of mobile devices, are normally in evidence at the company’s London pubs.

Martin and I cracked the odd joke about it, and it didn't actually stop me from sneaking a couple of photos of a secluded part of the upstairs area, but these were the only ones I was brave enough to take. I told Martin it was good of him to take time out from his busy schedule, and pop across the Pennines from his home in Sheffield, to meet up and act as my semi-official tour guide. I had produced a list of a dozen city centre pubs that I thought worthy of visiting and had posted it earlier on the Beer & Pubs Forum. We were obviously not going to get round all of them, and in the end, I visited six, whilst Martin did four. The reason for the discrepancy was RM had combined his Manchester visit with an obligatory haircut, as his youngest son is a qualified barber, who lives and works in the city.

Martin claimed we were lucky to get a seat at Sinclair’s, because had it been a match day for either of Manchester’s two main football clubs, the place would have been absolutely rammed. As it was, we were able to enjoy an excellent pint of OBB, whilst catching up on the latest pub and beer news. The subject of lunch came up, as did that of “must visit” pubs. One of these was the Marble Arch, in Rochdale Road on the edge of the city’s northern quarter. The award-winning Marble beers were at one time brewed at the pub, but the company now has its own stand-alone brewery, in Salford.

Martin recommended the food offering at the Marble Arch, but on the way suggested we call in at the Hare & Hounds, one of two pubs quite close to one another in Shudehill. The other pub is the Lower Turks Head, and this one looked the most traditional of the pair, certainly on the outside. The Hare & Hounds is on CAMRA’s National Inventory of historic pubs, due to its interior of exceptional national, and historical importance.

The Hare & Hounds it was then, which suited me as I've been ticking pubs listed on this inventory, for many years. Both Robinson’s and Holt's Bitter was available, and to our minds seemed a better alternative to Robinson’s Dizzy Blonde. We watched as our pints were pulled with a nice, thick, creamy head, and as the beer settled in the glass, we made our way to the front room of the pub where there were some spare seats. We continued catching up on events, holiday plans, etc, before heading up hill towards the Rochdale Road, and the Marble Arch pub.

Unfortunately, the rain that had eased off earlier, returned with a vengeance, and we were quite wet by the time we reached the sanctuary of the pub. This was my first visit to the Marble Arch, and I have to say what a smashing unspoilt boozer it was, with a wide range of Marble beers on offer. Beer, food, and conversation appeared to be the order of the day, with no noisy distractions such a jukebox or a TV. There were six cask ales on sale at the bar, plus a number of keg beers, all brewed by Marble. I opted for Manchester Bitter, even though I was tempted to go for the beer called “Pint”, just so I could have the perverse pleasure of requesting “a pint of pint!”

I've had the latter beer several times, but I don't think I've ever tried the Manchester Bitter, and can report that this hoppy, dry tasting, and very bitter beer really did hit the spot. Martin took the opportunity to order himself a burger and chips, so I followed suit. Being conscious of my figure, and also wanting to leave room for some beer, I went for the mini burger option instead. It was very good when it arrived, so much so that I was left thinking I should have gone for the full-size version!

As I said earlier, the Marble Arch was a real drinkers pub and it's probably just as well, we got there when we did, because it was starting to fill up with a good mix of customers. It was the sort of pub I could have spent the rest of the afternoon in. There were other places to visit, and Martin also needed that promised haircut. We headed back into the city down towards the Arndale Centre and then cut through towards the town hall, and the Central Library. Shortly afterwards we parted company for a while, with Martin heading off to the barbers, and me making my way towards another classic pub.

You will need to wait for the next post, to find out what it was, but rest assured, it was another classic and unspoiled Manchester pub, and one worth making a bit of a detour, to find.