Ay up
on Sunday I met Wee Fatha out Abbeydale Road way to be picked up and whisked off to Manchester to meet up with Dimpled Mug (DM) and to visit a rather impressive list of pubs, not least the Racecourse Hotel in Salford, and the Queens Arms in Patricroft that DM himself had recommended.
WF as always chose a crow flies (drunkenly though) route down minor roads all the way to the Snake before following a familiar if busy route onto the motorway heading for Eccles. We arrived just gone 14.00 but it was near half past by the time we got parked - albeit next to the pub we were heading for, The Lamb which is on the National Inventory of Unspoilt Pub Interiors (N.I).Once inside, I quickly remembered that I didn't actually know, with any certainty, what DM looked like. Cue much confusion when a bloke came up and said "Hello Iain" and started telling WF how to sort out the car parking problem.
WF piped up "have you found your mate then" and spooked by this I asked the guy if he was Dimpled Mug, then quickly made the situation worse by saying I was meeting a bloke in the pub but didn't know what he looked like. Luckily I added the caveat that he was interested in pubs, but the bloke had walked off by then.
DM found we finished our pint and a half of Holts Bitter and Mild and headed for Patricroft. En route we mentioned that I hadn't been in the N.I listed Stanley Arms nearby so we made an impromptu stop there, me and DM with pints of Holts Bitter, WF on tomato juice, poor lad. The Stanley Arms is a fantastic street corner local, and despite the large ostentatious excesses of the Lamb, the Grapes and the Royal Oak, I think this is perhaps my favourite Eccles pub. A small, busy vault at the front plus a lounge on the left, a small bar and corridor (with a 3rd room being all but domestic) this is a cracking little pub that I'll visit again.
Next we arrived at the Queens Arms Patricroft. What an astonishing boozer. Up a road cum track that goes back on itself as you head from Eccles, I can't imagine anyone would ever find this place by accident. Granted, being one of, if not the first purpose built railway pubs, passengers at Patricroft Station would have known all about it but I doubt even Wee Fatha remembers it being open.
Its relative isolation and non-existent passing trade have perhaps contributed to its unspoilt features - and there are many. A lounge, in the more literal sense is on the right, with a long front vault and the bar in the middle. An unusual standing lobby style area is separated by a wall - this was probably the off sales. The floor is covered in fantastic black and white tiling which leads to a room on the back right and another longish room on the left, with the entrance slightly enlarged (in fact the back room is just that now - it would have been two). A long corridor with half height paneling and another serving hatch and entrance to the vault runs the length of the pub beside the bar, at the end of which are toilets which even include a baffle.
Beer wise in here we had pints of Thwaites Best since the Blonde that they usually sell had run out. The combo of large fireplaces, old brewery mirrors, snob screens, original doors and windows made for an intoxicating mix. Many thanks to DM for this excellent recommendation.
Next off for a contrasting pub, the Racecourse Hotel in Salford. A ginormous dull grey warehouse of a building but of admirable mock Tudor inspiration, fantastic internal features and innumerable internal rooms. The huge gantry-less bar with the spirits housed on stands reminded me of a poorer version of that in the Central Bar Leith, and the large paneled rooms to the right and back left were austere (in their size versus furniture), but this was accentuated by the movement of tables and chairs in preparation for an upcoming 50th.
The Oakwell Mild was alas run out so it was pints of Bitter for me and DM, whilst we spent time exploring this |N.I giant, including the huge "vault", bigger than some pubs on their own, and with a separate entrance, that was hired out to clubs and groups. As I mentioned on Tuesday the pub will close on Sunday 26th May so I'd highly recommend you go and take a look. A real shame.
I had never been to Higher Broughton before. To be honest, except for the roads leading to the Racecourse, my only previous experience of Salford was Chapel Street and the area round the Crescent. So I didn't expect anything but derelict buildings, flats and wide dual carriage ways as we headed to the Star on Back Hope Street. WF and DM however were already assuring me of Higher Broughton's finer points and reputation. Even then I was surprised and impressed as we trundled up a cobbled tree lined lane and parked behind Back Hope Street.
Walking down there is in fact another pub bang opposite our destination with some fantastic tiling advertising Openshaw Brewery ales and stouts on the side. Alas the Horseshoe may have been closed for a while, though its in good nick. Luckily the excellent Star Inn has been brought by a community co-operative. It has a brewery, an unspoilt interior and is a focal point in Higher Broughton. It's brilliant, to be quite honest.
Architecture wise there is a tiny bar as you enter to the right with seating for all of about 10 people, then a small joining corridor to a long lounge with a fireplace at the end. Through the door on the right is the loos and a back room on the left which used to have a pool table but is now more empty and better suited to revealing interesting period furniture and features. Fully deserving of its place on part 2 of the N.I, there are up to 3 real ales served, but we were all on the Star Inn brewery Starry Night, a very palatable pint.
Sadly DM had to meet some mates elsewhere so left us at this point, whilst we trekked on towards Bury to become discombobulated trying to find the Irwell Works, a building advertised by only a banner across the top floor, it seems. Once inside however we found a range of about 8 beers on, WF having some of my pint of Irwell Works Tin Plate Mild, after which I moved onto a pint of their excellent Eldorado pale ale. Great views of the area through the windows and a friendly atmosphere wiped away some of our frustration at not being able to locate it.
Back into Manchester next we had food on the mind and headed to Pi at Chorlton. My first visit to the area was a pleasant one, with the bar reminding me very much of the Treacle Tap in Macclesfield, to the point where I have to assume they are owned by the same company?
We had inexpensive pie and mash in here (my beef and chorizo with beer gravy was incredibly satisfying) and drinks wise WF had his sought after Tatton Blonde, and me a pint of their Penny-less pale ale. Afterwards, I also tried a half of Millstone Vale Mild and a very enjoyable Red Willow Witless, which even I concede is better on Keykeg. The end is nigh....
Our penultimate stop was for Wee Fatha as he wanted to visit the Cheshire Line. Its something of a large Marstons eatery more than a pub now and was painfully quiet, but the halves of Ringwood 49er and Marstons Empire were decent enough, though the Marstons was in fact by far the better.
We rolled up finally at our last stop in Woodford and visited traditional Robbies house the Thief's Neck, AKA the Davenport Arms. I think this pub suffered in my estimation from having seemed by description a really unspoilt pub, which via a combination of tiredness, being busy, and light free loos made me slightly less able than expected to appreciate the place.
That said, in terms of traditional features, outside loos is a sure sign of a good pub. And the friendly staff laughed off my rather mardy complaints (they hadn't turned the lights on see, but I thought there was a sensor or light switch which...ah well...) and the beer was enjoyable - WF had a single atom of his Unicorn best and I had the rest plus a pint of Robinsons Seasonal Uncle Sam.
Before long we'd got back in the car to set off home and I awoke about two minutes later, nearly home. I never realised Woodford was so near...
Thanks to WF for driving me to the corners of Greater Manchester, and to DM for his company and knowledge. A fantastic trip that was the perfect end to my two weeks of sottish excess.
Wee Beefy.
Showing posts with label Racecourse Hotel Salford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Racecourse Hotel Salford. Show all posts
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Going, gone, definitely gone.
Evenin
yesterday's post focused mainly on the closure of the Hadfield in Sheffield. Not only because it was entirely topical, but also because I had quite a few other examples of closed and threatened pubs which were different from the Hadfield in that they have or had certain classic, unspoilt characteristics.
I'm not suggesting that the Hadfield was in anyway the opposite - but I only went in when it was still really a pub when I was 17, and don't remember very much about it, apart from feeling simultaneously daring and conspicuous. In contrast, tonight's post is about pubs that I either knew, know, or you need to know about. All either closed for good, or under threat.
On Sunday I was in Salford visiting an unfathomably giant edifice of a pub. Monstrously dramatic in scale, built for an almost unimaginable heyday of buoyant patronage, with hoards of visitors thirsty for refreshment and entertainment of every kind, high on the drama of race days and gambling, and where all their identified leisure needs were met (I've rewritten this 3 times and it still sounds like I'm describing a brothel. That is absolutely not my intention!)
The Racecourse Hotel in Salford will close on Sunday 26th May. Admittedly its not guaranteed to be forever, but even putting on my most optimistic face, I just can't see anyone with the cash, the time, the dedication and sheer stubbornness to turn such a place round. It would be quite an undertaking to attempt to steer the pub away from the rocks - but if it goes, as seems inevitable since the pub is not listed, we will lose another great architectural accomplishment, and another National Inventory classic .
As an aside, the situation of its closing is complicated by the obfuscate business behavior of current owners Oakwell Brewery. All sorts of rumours have have surfaced re what is happening, but am not going to share them - because the only key factor here is their decision to close the Racecourse Hotel.
For your puzzlement, here's a link to their website "our pubs" section. You have to admire their unfussy process of removing the photo's of pubs they've given up on. Whilst simultaneously being baffled by the sheer grimness of so many of their acquisitions . (with thanks to Curmudgeon and Tyson and Dimpled Mug for links and info).
Next up is the Drovers Inn at Dallowgill near Ripon. Up on the moors and undoubtedly a welcome sight for winter walkers, I have been a couple of times only, but found its cosy traditional layout and friendly atmosphere highly enjoyable. It did occur to me that its isolated location on a quiet road meant it would struggle but it regularly appeared in the GBG so I figured it must have been getting by OK. And besides, even though only twice, it was rammed each time I visited, and Wee Fatha said he same on his visits. When I read in Whats Brewing that it had been deleted from the beer guide, closed I immediately raced to the conclusion it had been converted to a house or closed awaiting change of use consent.
In fact, a change of use had indeed taken place. It was now a burnt down pub. Luckily no-one was injured in the blaze, but its a tragedy nonetheless to see a great pub like the "little drovers"wiped off the map. Its quite a blow for local pub-goers as well, since the other Drovers at nearby Bishop Thornton is also all but destroyed itself.
Moving into West Yorkshire and you may have heard about the unfortunate state, and ongoing campaign to save, the Cock and Bottle in Bradford. Its fair to say this Grade 2 listed National Inventory pub has had a chequered and at times inglorious history, but the fact that its currently closed and appears to be having unapproved work done on its interior is a real cause for concern.
As fans of Tommy Ducks in Manchester will know, the punishment meted out for knocking down pubs when you haven't the authority to do so is a pittance, so God only knows what type of mild slap on the wrist the desecration of the rare interior of the Cock and Bottle will entail. The lack of any website for the campaign (so far) is a shame but for the twits among you there are updates, albeit in a slightly odd pub as human perspective, from the following account @ajheyes50.
Other recent examples have included the formerly village owned Drewe Arms in Drewesteington, Devon. I visited in 2004 and it was probably about 10 years too late to appreciate at as a truly unspoilt country boozer but it was still interesting and aesthetically pleasing, and importantly, busy. The fact that Enterprise are looking for new tenants after the previous ones left after a rent price hike does not bode well - I don't have much faith in their selling it to an interested party at a reasonable price, but we'll see.
Closer to home and Sheffield encapsulates many different pub styles and designs in its now much reduced stock, and quite a few sad closures have happened in the last few years. Yet in contrast to blazing country pubs and unloved inner city boozers , almost all of Sheffield's pub losses of late have been squarely down to conversion into dwellings.
The Robin Hood in Little Matlock, Stannington, closed at the end of August 2011, after the owners tried to market it as a pub with high quality food and accommodation. Such a scheme would have been beautifully romantic had it come off, with the pub hiding at the end of a long tree lined lane, but it was alas, a bad judgement call. Once the owners realised their dream of making the huge building pay its way it was closed as a pub, and the plan was to convert it to apartments.
Interestingly, on my later visits I still considered it to be a traditional pub, with its huge central beam in the top bar and the downstairs bar linked by stairs, gloriously cool with its high ceilings. However, I recently discovered that as well as having changed its name at some point (clearly to capitalise on the nearby Loxley legend) having been called the Rock, it also previously had two rooms in the small top floor area with the back bar for darts above the fireplace. It seems likely the bottom bar would therefore have been domestic rooms, with the cellar beneath (given that he drop was on a steep slope running down into the valley, a very long way from the bar at the top).
Its lucky that I started walking in the Loxley valley area again or I might have never rediscovered the pub - I used to go there throughout the summer holidays with my parents for an al fresco coke (for me) and a clamber on the rocks on the bank which the path to the pub descends.
Another childhood pub that my Mum and Dad would take me and my brother to, usually whenever there was a promising sunset, was the Bell Hagg Inn, on Manchester Road. Although a fair walk from nearby housing it should really have been a success, based on its location alone (even if it did change its name to the John Thomas when it was acquired by Banks'....)
The other day I discovered this explanation for its closure on the rather excellent Lost pubs website. Its puzzling that Banks' Brewery seem to have no interest in securing the now perilously derelict building, even if they don't intend to reopen it as a pub. A sorry tale all round. Admittedly this is slightly off the theme having not been converted into flats, but its still a woeful fate to befall a good pub.
The final crop concerns both of the Freedoms in Walkley - most lately the House, converted into, um, flats with the View having been cruelly sacrificed for crap student flats early in the century. Add to that the Albion, not exactly an unspoilt gem, but noted as selling more Stones than any other pub in Sheffield, if not the UK, which was "offloaded" by the pub-co and became, well, yet more student flats, likewise the Springfield on Broomspring lane, the Crown on Walkley Bank, and of course, the dear old Heavygate.
However, against this backdrop its nice to hear some good news! And its my public duty to share it with you pub lovers so you don't end up psychologically damaged by this post.
Firstly, the Commercial at Wheelock, according to Dimpled Mug, has reopened. Possibly one of the least prepossessing pubs from the outside, it didn't look exactly in rude health trade wise when I visited a few years ago, but it has an outstanding unspoilt interior. Make sure you go visit it and maybe it will stay open.
And finally though this may be unsubstantiated, but I hear the Lower Turks Head on Shudehill in Manchester really really is going to open! A quick Google search leads to numerous similar claims and worries about its conversion over the years, but aside from all of that, if nothing else, this fantastic picture shows that the building appears to be in good nick (though am not sure about its neighbour...).
Having walked past its glorious frontage many times en route to the Hare and Hounds, I've always thought what a brilliant sight it would be to see the pub reopen. Lets hope the sun actually rises on this project, finally, and the pub is once more open to the public.
Cheers
Wee Beefy
A quick addition - have a butchers at this post on a similar theme from Alan Burnett. He's a big fan of traditional Yorkshire pubs, and now he's back blogging after a significant break you might like to give his site a look. WB
yesterday's post focused mainly on the closure of the Hadfield in Sheffield. Not only because it was entirely topical, but also because I had quite a few other examples of closed and threatened pubs which were different from the Hadfield in that they have or had certain classic, unspoilt characteristics.
I'm not suggesting that the Hadfield was in anyway the opposite - but I only went in when it was still really a pub when I was 17, and don't remember very much about it, apart from feeling simultaneously daring and conspicuous. In contrast, tonight's post is about pubs that I either knew, know, or you need to know about. All either closed for good, or under threat.
On Sunday I was in Salford visiting an unfathomably giant edifice of a pub. Monstrously dramatic in scale, built for an almost unimaginable heyday of buoyant patronage, with hoards of visitors thirsty for refreshment and entertainment of every kind, high on the drama of race days and gambling, and where all their identified leisure needs were met (I've rewritten this 3 times and it still sounds like I'm describing a brothel. That is absolutely not my intention!)
The Racecourse Hotel in Salford will close on Sunday 26th May. Admittedly its not guaranteed to be forever, but even putting on my most optimistic face, I just can't see anyone with the cash, the time, the dedication and sheer stubbornness to turn such a place round. It would be quite an undertaking to attempt to steer the pub away from the rocks - but if it goes, as seems inevitable since the pub is not listed, we will lose another great architectural accomplishment, and another National Inventory classic .
As an aside, the situation of its closing is complicated by the obfuscate business behavior of current owners Oakwell Brewery. All sorts of rumours have have surfaced re what is happening, but am not going to share them - because the only key factor here is their decision to close the Racecourse Hotel.
For your puzzlement, here's a link to their website "our pubs" section. You have to admire their unfussy process of removing the photo's of pubs they've given up on. Whilst simultaneously being baffled by the sheer grimness of so many of their acquisitions . (with thanks to Curmudgeon and Tyson and Dimpled Mug for links and info).
Next up is the Drovers Inn at Dallowgill near Ripon. Up on the moors and undoubtedly a welcome sight for winter walkers, I have been a couple of times only, but found its cosy traditional layout and friendly atmosphere highly enjoyable. It did occur to me that its isolated location on a quiet road meant it would struggle but it regularly appeared in the GBG so I figured it must have been getting by OK. And besides, even though only twice, it was rammed each time I visited, and Wee Fatha said he same on his visits. When I read in Whats Brewing that it had been deleted from the beer guide, closed I immediately raced to the conclusion it had been converted to a house or closed awaiting change of use consent.
In fact, a change of use had indeed taken place. It was now a burnt down pub. Luckily no-one was injured in the blaze, but its a tragedy nonetheless to see a great pub like the "little drovers"wiped off the map. Its quite a blow for local pub-goers as well, since the other Drovers at nearby Bishop Thornton is also all but destroyed itself.
Moving into West Yorkshire and you may have heard about the unfortunate state, and ongoing campaign to save, the Cock and Bottle in Bradford. Its fair to say this Grade 2 listed National Inventory pub has had a chequered and at times inglorious history, but the fact that its currently closed and appears to be having unapproved work done on its interior is a real cause for concern.
As fans of Tommy Ducks in Manchester will know, the punishment meted out for knocking down pubs when you haven't the authority to do so is a pittance, so God only knows what type of mild slap on the wrist the desecration of the rare interior of the Cock and Bottle will entail. The lack of any website for the campaign (so far) is a shame but for the twits among you there are updates, albeit in a slightly odd pub as human perspective, from the following account @ajheyes50.
Other recent examples have included the formerly village owned Drewe Arms in Drewesteington, Devon. I visited in 2004 and it was probably about 10 years too late to appreciate at as a truly unspoilt country boozer but it was still interesting and aesthetically pleasing, and importantly, busy. The fact that Enterprise are looking for new tenants after the previous ones left after a rent price hike does not bode well - I don't have much faith in their selling it to an interested party at a reasonable price, but we'll see.
Closer to home and Sheffield encapsulates many different pub styles and designs in its now much reduced stock, and quite a few sad closures have happened in the last few years. Yet in contrast to blazing country pubs and unloved inner city boozers , almost all of Sheffield's pub losses of late have been squarely down to conversion into dwellings.
The Robin Hood in Little Matlock, Stannington, closed at the end of August 2011, after the owners tried to market it as a pub with high quality food and accommodation. Such a scheme would have been beautifully romantic had it come off, with the pub hiding at the end of a long tree lined lane, but it was alas, a bad judgement call. Once the owners realised their dream of making the huge building pay its way it was closed as a pub, and the plan was to convert it to apartments.
Interestingly, on my later visits I still considered it to be a traditional pub, with its huge central beam in the top bar and the downstairs bar linked by stairs, gloriously cool with its high ceilings. However, I recently discovered that as well as having changed its name at some point (clearly to capitalise on the nearby Loxley legend) having been called the Rock, it also previously had two rooms in the small top floor area with the back bar for darts above the fireplace. It seems likely the bottom bar would therefore have been domestic rooms, with the cellar beneath (given that he drop was on a steep slope running down into the valley, a very long way from the bar at the top).
Its lucky that I started walking in the Loxley valley area again or I might have never rediscovered the pub - I used to go there throughout the summer holidays with my parents for an al fresco coke (for me) and a clamber on the rocks on the bank which the path to the pub descends.
Another childhood pub that my Mum and Dad would take me and my brother to, usually whenever there was a promising sunset, was the Bell Hagg Inn, on Manchester Road. Although a fair walk from nearby housing it should really have been a success, based on its location alone (even if it did change its name to the John Thomas when it was acquired by Banks'....)
The other day I discovered this explanation for its closure on the rather excellent Lost pubs website. Its puzzling that Banks' Brewery seem to have no interest in securing the now perilously derelict building, even if they don't intend to reopen it as a pub. A sorry tale all round. Admittedly this is slightly off the theme having not been converted into flats, but its still a woeful fate to befall a good pub.
The final crop concerns both of the Freedoms in Walkley - most lately the House, converted into, um, flats with the View having been cruelly sacrificed for crap student flats early in the century. Add to that the Albion, not exactly an unspoilt gem, but noted as selling more Stones than any other pub in Sheffield, if not the UK, which was "offloaded" by the pub-co and became, well, yet more student flats, likewise the Springfield on Broomspring lane, the Crown on Walkley Bank, and of course, the dear old Heavygate.
However, against this backdrop its nice to hear some good news! And its my public duty to share it with you pub lovers so you don't end up psychologically damaged by this post.
Firstly, the Commercial at Wheelock, according to Dimpled Mug, has reopened. Possibly one of the least prepossessing pubs from the outside, it didn't look exactly in rude health trade wise when I visited a few years ago, but it has an outstanding unspoilt interior. Make sure you go visit it and maybe it will stay open.
And finally though this may be unsubstantiated, but I hear the Lower Turks Head on Shudehill in Manchester really really is going to open! A quick Google search leads to numerous similar claims and worries about its conversion over the years, but aside from all of that, if nothing else, this fantastic picture shows that the building appears to be in good nick (though am not sure about its neighbour...).
Having walked past its glorious frontage many times en route to the Hare and Hounds, I've always thought what a brilliant sight it would be to see the pub reopen. Lets hope the sun actually rises on this project, finally, and the pub is once more open to the public.
Cheers
Wee Beefy
A quick addition - have a butchers at this post on a similar theme from Alan Burnett. He's a big fan of traditional Yorkshire pubs, and now he's back blogging after a significant break you might like to give his site a look. WB
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)