Disclosure: I don’t want readers to start thinking that I’m
doing this for a living, but a few weeks ago I was contacted by
Amberley
Publishing, the people responsible for
“The Story of Bass,” the book I reviewed a couple of months ago. The publishers had
a new title coming out and were looking for people to review it. I was reluctant
at first, until I discovered the book was titled -
“Central
Manchester Pubs,” and it was the subject matter, as well as the author’s
credentials, that prompted me into saying,
“Yes.”
Now you might be thinking this is just other pub guide, but it
isn’t anything of the sort, because Deborah Woodman, who wrote the book, is Research
Development Officer at the University of Salford, the seat of learning where I
obtained my degree, back in the mid 1970’s. She has also taught history at the
same university, as well as the University of Huddersfield and Manchester
Metropolitan University.
The latter establishment was formerly known as Manchester
Polytechnic, which was where I did a one-year, post-grad course. This was after
spending three years at Salford University, studying for my BSc Honours Degree
in Biology. If this shared commonality was not enough, I am familiar with many
of the pubs listed in Deborah’s book, having spent four and a half years living
in the Greater Manchester area.
So, what of the book itself? Well, its
96 pages describe
59
pubs, and if my memory is correct, I have been in around
20 of them, and can
recognise a similar number of the other entries. Each pub is illustrated by at
least one photo, and as one would expect from a historian,
Ms Woodman has
meticulously researched the history of each pubs featured. Many have colourful
stories behind them, especially those run by equally colourful licensees – both
male and female, and for those of us interested in brewery history there is
often information regarding the former owning breweries.
Upon receiving my review copy of the book, my intention was
to just dip in and out of the various entries, but after turning I few pages, I
realised I had to read it from cover to cover. And for those wondering which
parts of the city constitutes Central Manchester, the book encompasses the
Northern Quarter, the Cathedral Gates to Albert Square, Piccadilly to St Peters
Square, Castlefield to All Saints, with a chapter devoted to each area.
For review purposes, I have concentrated on those pubs I am familiar
with, even though it might be over
40 years since I last set foot in most of
them, so let’s start with a few examples.
First, the three pubs in Portland Street, two
of which qualify as the smallest pubs in the city. The
Circus Tavern, a former
Tetley’s pub, takes first prize in that contest, whilst the
Grey Horse Inn,
just a few doors away, takes second place. The latter is a
Hyde’s pub and is
one of the few pubs in the city centre belonging to the smallest of
Manchester’s
surviving family brewers. Completing the trio, is the
Old Monkey, a relatively
recent new-build pub, owned by
Holt’s Brewery, on the corner of
Portland Street
and
Princess Street.
Fairly close by, in
Kennedy Street, are another trio of
pubs, this time all next door to each other. The
City Arms and the
Vine Inn are
survivors from the
19th Century, and both are now free houses. The
pub at the end of the row, is a
Wetherspoon’s outlet – called the
Waterhouse,
and is a conversion of three
18th Century townhouses. The main
entrance to the
Waterhouse is in
Princess Street, but the pub extends right
through the block to neighbouring
Kennedy Street. Being a relatively new
business, I haven’t set foot inside this pub, but I have good memories of the
other two.
We then move on to a couple of pubs with attractive and
rather striking, tiled exteriors. The Peveril of the Peak, in Great Bridgewater
Street, has an unusual triangular shape, alongside its green-tiled frontage,
which has managed to survive despite the redevelopment work going on all
around. It has been run by the same family for the past 50 years and is well
worth a visit.
The other pub, with an equally striking tiled exterior, is
the
Lass O’ Gowrie, situated just off
Oxford Road in the middle of
Manchester’s
university district. When I lived in the city, the
BBC had their offices and
studios nearby, but these have since moved out to
Salford’s Media City. For a while, the pub had its own micro-brewery
in the cellar, but I understand this is no longer there. It may have been
removed when the pub was refurbished in 2014, or possibly before, but the Lass
is still well worth a visit.
Whilst on the subject of tiled exteriors, when I first went
up to
Manchester, the city centre was a gigantic building site, with the
construction of the
Arndale Shopping Centre. Clad in hideous yellow tiles
which, as many
Mancunians claimed, gave the centre the appearance of a giant
public toilet, construction of the
Arndale only came to an end towards the end
of my residence in the area. The
Arndale was substantially rebuilt, following
the devastating
IRA bomb in
1996, and now has an appearance that is much more
pleasing to the eye.
Fortunately, no one was killed by the bomb’s massive blast,
but 200 people were injured, many by flying glass. The reconstruction that
followed, allowed for two historic pubs that had previously been incorporated
into the Arndale development, to be move to a more appropriate location. The
Wellington Inn and Sinclair’s Oyster Bar now overlook Shambles Square, in the
shadow of Manchester Cathedral, with the Wellington dating back to the late 16th
Century and Sinclair’s to the early 1700’s.
I visited the
Wellington in its previous location, shortly
after the
Arndale Centre opened, but from the photos I have seen of
Shambles
Square, its new home, along with that of the adjacent
Sinclair’s, looks much
more appropriate. I am looking forward to visiting both establishments, when I
make a long overdue visit to
Manchester, as I haven’t been back to the city
since the
early 90’s, and in anticipation of a return visit, I have been
logging onto
Google Street View to see just how much the city centre has changed
in the past
40 plus years.
Despite all the re-development Central Manchester had
managed to retain a surprising number of historic pubs, and these have been
joined in recent years by the conversion of former retail or office buildings
into licensed premises. During the early 19th Century, Manchester
was known as "Cottonopolis," due to its position as the epicentre of the UK’s
cotton industry. The city was also a noted centre of radicalism, and many pubs
acted as venues for trades unions, friendly societies plus some of the emerging
building societies.
This zeal for reform, against the intransigence of the
government of the time, came to a head with the infamous
Peterloo Massacre of
16th August 1819. The
Britons Protection pub, in
Great Bridgewater
Street, was the unfortunate witness to this horrific event, which took place
just yards from the pub, in
St Peter’s Field. Fifteen people
were killed, and hundreds more were injured, some seriously, when cavalry,
armed with swords, charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people.
The crowd had gathered for a peaceful
demonstration, in support of parliamentary reform, and occurred at a time when
less than 2% of the population had the right to vote. The term
“Peterloo,” was intended to mock the soldiers who attacked unarmed civilians by
echoing the battle of “Waterloo,” where their action had been viewed as heroic.
A series of murals, inside the pub, depicts the horrific scenes that occurred
that day. It is somewhat ironic then that the Britons Protection should have stated
life as a recruiting centre for locals wanting to sign up and fight Napoleon a
couple of decades previously.
On a much more cheerful note,
Manchester has plenty of other
pubs to enjoy, and a few more from the list that I’ve visited, include the
Sawyers Arms, on the corner of
Deansgate and
Bridge Street, the
Rising Sun on
Queen Street, and the
Hare & Hounds, on
Shudehill. When I lived in the area, the
Sawyers was a
Schooner Inn (remember them?), but under its current owners -
Nicholson’s, has
been tastefully restored. The
Rising Sun remains a charming little back-street
pub, with front and rear entrances on two different streets. The
Wilson’s beers
may have gone, but the
Rising Sun continues to serve a fine pint from a number of different
breweries.
The Hare & Hounds has an interior that features on
CAMRA’s National Heritage List, and now has the Shudehill transport interchange
nearby. It was a little more tucked away, when I knew it, and also served a
fine pint of Tetley’s. Today, it is thriving free house. Other former
favourites listed, include the Castle on Oldham Street, which remains a
Robinson’s house, plus the Unicorn, on Church Street, which always served the
best pint of Draught Bass in the city!
As mentioned earlier, I have only been back to Manchester a
few times, since my departure in the spring of 1978, but Deborah Woodman’s book
is sufficient to entice me back. For those who don’t know Manchester that well,
“Central Manchester Pubs” is the perfect introduction to the city’s pubs,
whilst for a returning former inhabitant, such as me, it will act as the
perfect guide.
Background and disclosure:
Central Manchester Pubs, by Deborah
Woodman, is available from Amberley Publishing, priced at £15.99.
The book consists of 96 pages and contains 100 colour and black
& white illustrations. The publishers have kindly allowed me to use a
selection of the photos, to illustrate this review. https://www.amberley-books.com/central-manchester-pubs.html
I received a complimentary copy of the book, in
respect of providing a review, and the thoughts and observations contained
therein, are my own, and to the best of my knowledge remain unbiased and
uninfluenced by my receipt of the review copy.