Lord Ashley, 29 Tyndall Street, Bolton

Follow @LostPubsBolton

The Lord Ashley was one of a myriad of pubs in Halliwell that sprang up as the area became industrialised but was then demolished as the old houses that were built as a result of that industrialisation were knocked down in the post-war era. 

It was named after Lord Anthony Ashley, whose Ten Hour Act of 1833 ensured no child over the age of nine years of age worked for more than nine hours. Less famously, he was also responsible for an overhaul of the Lunacy Laws a few years earlier.

The first mention of the Lord Ashley was in 1882 when licensee John Kay saw his application for a licence blocked at the annual Brewster Sessions due to previous convictions. [1] But the pub stayed open and it was run by the Holt family for over 20 years.

John Holt was at the pub in 1891 along with his wife Rachel and their two children. But by 1901 John was living two doors away at 25 Tyndall Street and working as a carter. He was succeeded by Baxter Holt, who may or may not have been a relative. Baxter had run a pub before in the Egerton area, the Church Inn at 120-122 Blackburn Road, but he was also a stockbroker and it was in this latter profession, rather than pub landlord, that he described himself when his son William married in 1897. [2]

Baxter Holt died in 1903 and the Lord Ashley was taken over by his wife Ellen. She remained at the pub until she died in May 1920 at the age of 76.

The Lord Ashley had been bought by Halliwell’s brewery on Mount Street around the turn of the 20^th century. It became a Magee’s house when Halliwell’s was taken over in 1910 and remained so until it closed.

In Bolton Pubs 1800-2000, Gordon Readyhough tells us that the Lord Ashley shut in the 1950s and shows on maps from around 1953-54. However, I am thankful to Tom Blears, a former resident of Tyndall Street who has commented below to suggest the pub was open until at least 1962. It was demolished around 1963 or 1964. Tom's aunt Irene Sharples worked at the pub along with her husband and in his comment Tom recounts the tragic story of the Neary family whose son was killed in a nearby lodge.

The rest of Tyndall Street was demolished at the same time and Kirkhope Drive built in its place. An August 2015 view of Kirkhope Drive is below (copyright Google Street View).

[1] Manchester Courier, 24 August 1882.

[2] Thanks to Rob Hildyard for identifying Baxter Holt's pub in Egerton.