Lord Hill, 46 - 48 Sidney Street

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The Lord Hill stood at number 48 Sidney Street, on the corner of Maxfield Street and in between Bridgeman Street and Lever Street.

The pub was founded in the middle of the 19^th century by John Winward. Originally from York Street, which was the next street along from Sidney Street, John was a weaver. In January 1840, he married Mary Partington from Nine Houses – later Ninehouse Lane – and by the time of the 1841 census the couple were living in Sidney Street.

As often happened at that time, the couple decided to pay the fee of 2 guineas (£2.10) to enable them to open their home as a beerhouse and they named the premises the Lord Hill.

John Winward remained at the Lord Hill until the early-1870s. Two events no doubt had a bearing on his decision to quit the pub. His wife, Mary, died in March 1869 at the age of 54. But in November of the following year, John Winward married again – this time to Betty Winward, his sister-in-law. Betty had married John’s brother William Winward in 1840, but she became a widow on William’s death in 1848 and hadn’t remarried in the intervening 22 years. Within a few years John, now in his sixties, had left the Lord Hill. He died in 1881.

The pub, which had by now expanded into the premises next door, was sold to Ellis Crompton of Crompton’s brewery on Derby Street. The Derby Street Brewery is perhaps Bolton’s forgotten brewery as information on it is so difficult to find. It was founded by George Pickering in the late-1820s and the front of the premises was just a few doors up from the Derby Arms. Initially a retail brewery it changed ownership on a number of occasions. William Maude was the owner by 1836, by 1853 it was in the hands of William Young and by 1876 it was owned by Ellis Crompton. But it was never a large brewery. Compare it to Magee’s, which was taking shape on a much larger scale further up Derby Street, and it gives you an idea of the battle Ellis Crompton faced. The Derby Street Brewery was tiny by comparison and when brewers began to build up their tied estates economies of scale ensured his operation was at a financial disadvantage. Magees, Atkinson’s, Sharman’s and Tong’s were large enough to snap up pubs all over Bolton. We have only ever come across the Lord Hill as a Derby Street Brewery pub (though that’s not to say there weren’t a few more). By the early-1890 the brewery had closed down and the premises were used for a number of years by Barlow Stores Ltd, an Atherton-based chain of grocery stores.

There were no fewer than four different owners of the Lord Hill in the 1890s. When Ellis Crompton wrapped up the Derby Street Brewery the pub was sold to Atkinson’s, a local concern not too far away from the Derby Street Brewery in Commission Street. But there were new owners again in 1895 when Atkinson’s sold out to Boardman United Breweries and just three years after that Boardman’s were taken over by another Manchester brewery, Cornbrook’s.

The Lord Hill lasted until 1951 and it was a Cornbrook pub when it closed. By then the writing was on the wall for much of the area between Bridgeman Street and Lever Street but the Lord Hill was one of the earliest closures. Pubs like the New Inn, the York Street Tavern and the Peel’s Arms lasted a few years longer. The General Havelock lasted until the eighties. 

The pub was demolished a few years after it closed. Sidney Street was cut in two as can be seen in the image below (copyright Google Street View 2015). Industrial premises now stand on the site of the Lord Hill which was about halfway up on the left-hand side as we look through the factory gates.

Duke Of Wellington, 26 John Street

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John Street ran from Derby Street down to Deane Road - or Blackburn Street as it was known until the 1890s.

The first recorded record of the Duke Of Wellington was in the 1871 census when Robert Holme, a 27-year-old carter, and his wife Caroline were running the pub. Robert Holme is described as a beerseller and cart owner on the census return. By 1881, the Holmes were still at the pub with Robert now a hay and coal dealer as well as a beerseller.

But it seems that Robert Holmes decided he had to choose between his two businesses: the beerhouse or the distribution of goods. He chose the latter and went to live Deane Road. By 1911, he and Caroline were  living in nearby Roundcroft Street where Robert is described as a master carer. He died in 1923.

The Duke Of Wellington was taken over by Wright Green. He was also a carter and lived further up John Street and was most likely known to Robert Holme. But while Wright Green ran the pub for over 15 years his time at the pub ended badly when its licence was refused in 1905.

Number 26 John Street was later combined with number 28 to make enlarged retail premises. A marine store dealer named William Hatton was there in 1924. It was subsequently converted back into two residential properties.

John Street no longer exists – at least not by that name. Many of the properties, including the former Duke Of Wellington pub, were demolished in the mid-sixties, but around a dozen remained for some years after. The thoroughfare was widened and became College Way, now University Way.

University Way looking towards Deane Road in September 2014 (copyright Google Street View). Whowell Street runs off to the left. The car park in the distance is the site of row that contained the Duke Of Wellington.

Poplar Inn, Vernon Street - Kent Street

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The Poplar Inn was situated at 74 Kent Street, but it was on the corner of Vernon Street and at times its address was given as 82 or 84 Vernon Street.

The first mention of the pub comes in the 1871 Bolton Directory when it was being run by Robert Lyne. But in the census return of that year Robert is said to be an iron turner so it is likely that the pub was being run by his wife, Mary Ann. Both Robert and Mary Ann came from families with connections with the licensed trade. Robert’s father was Peter Lyne, who ran the Rainforth Hotel on nearby School Hill. Mary Ann’s father, Thomas Suttle, had been a brewer. The couple later went on to run the Duke Of Connaught on Mill Street.

The Poplar Inn was taken over Winfield’s Silverwell brewery on Nelson Square in the 1890s. Brewery takeovers ensured the pub’s ownership changed at regular intervals over the years. Wingfield’s sold out to the Manchester Brewery Company in 1899. MBC were bought out by Salford-based Walker and Homfray’s in 1912 and finally Wilson’s took over Walker and Homfray’s in 1949.

The Poplar was a Wilson’s pub when it closed around 1970. The building remained empty for a few years before being demolished. New housing was built on the site in the early-eighties.

Vernon Street, pictured in September 2014 (copyright Google Street View). The Poplar was situated on the corner of Kent Street and Vernon Street. Part of Kent Street still exists, but at the opposite end to where the Poplar Inn was. Pleasant Gardens - seen here going off to the right - was built at the Vernon Street end. The Poplar was on the far corner as we look.

Elephant and Castle, 103 Kay Street

Kay Street pictured in September 2014 (copyright Google Street View). The Britannia Service Station in the distance was built in the late sixties on the site of what was once the Elephant and Castle.

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Not to be confused with the pub of the same name in town - about the fourth pub to hold the name - the Elephant and Castle on Kay Street was another example of retail premises that became a beerhouse. Philip Howarth appears on the 1836 directory as a shopkeeper on Kay Street. By the time of the 1841 census he was a joiner, but by 1843 he was a beer retailer at the Elephant and Castle. He left in 1861 having built the Nelson Hotel on Chorley Old Road. He died in 1862.

The Elephant and Castle was situated on the west side of Falcon Street with the Royal Oak just a few doors away, the Falcon on the other side of Kay Street and the Golden Cup around the corner on Haigh Street. It was a competitive environment.

The pub continued under numerous licensees after Philip Howarth left. William Sidlow succeeded him but in the late-1860s, but he lasted only a few years before leaving and there were no long-serving landlords at the pub after Philip Howarth.

The Elephant and Castle was eventually bought by local brewer Sharman’s and they threw in the towel in 1921. The pub closed down and the building was converted into a residential property. It was demolished in the sixties, along with a large number of other buildings in the area. The Britannia Service station was subsequently built on the site.

Waterloo Hotel, 306 Waterloo Street

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The Waterloo pictured in the late-fifties. It was the last building on Waterloo Street with Blackburn Road going up the centre of the picture and Halliwell Road off to the left. 

The Waterloo Hotel – not to be confused with the Waterloo Tavern at the Folds Road end of Waterloo Street – opened in 1820 with Robert Brooks as its first landlord. The pub was situated on the corner of Waterloo Street and Blackburn Road though directories up to about the middle of the nineteenth century tend to give the address as Waterloo Place.

The pub was owned by the Manchester wine and spirit merchant Henry Carswell towards the end of the 19^th century, but it was later sold to Magee, Marshall and Co. [1]

The Waterloo closed in the late-sixties. The Bolton Evening News printed this picture in 1965 when it was announced that the pub would be demolished as part of a slum clearance. 

[1] Bolton Pubs 1800-2000, by Gordon Readyhough. Published by Neil Richardson.

A similar view to the above picture but taken in September 2014 (copyright Google Street View).

Stanley Arms, 1 Egyptian Street

Pen Street runs down the side of the Stanley Arms in this late-twenties shot of the pub.

Egyptian Street takes its name from the Egyptian Mill which was built just off Blackburn Road in 1861. Numerous rows of terraced streets were in the process of springing up in the shadow of the new mill and at number 1 Egyptian Street, on the corner with Pen Street, stood the Stanley Arms.

This was one of three pubs in Bolton by that name (the others were on Derby Street and on Chorley Old Road).

For many years the pub was in the hands of Samuel Leach and his family. Samuel was originally a weaver from Tottington, but he moved to Bolton in the 1840s. Together with his second wife Hannah, whom he married in 1850, he took over the Stanley Arms in the 1860s and it was the start of a family association lasting some 30 years.

By 1881, Samuel had retired. Hannah had passed away and the Stanley Arms was being run by his daughter, Mary Spencer, and her husband Richard, whose family were also publicans. His father had run the Dog and Partridge on Moor Lane.

Samuel died at home on 26 October 1887, but it was a time of tragedy  that must have left the pub's very future in doubt.  Mary had died a few months before Samuel and Richard Spencer died in early 1888. Samuel left an estate worth £3602 to his son, Miles, who was described as his only next of kin. Miles was living in Hull at the time, but he returned to Bolton to continue the running of the pub. However, when he died in 1897 and the link with the Leach family was broken.

The Stanley Arms had its own brewery for many years but it was later sold to Joseph Sharman’s brewery at Mere Hall, less than half a mile away from Egyptian Street. Sharman’s were taken over by George Shaw of Leigh in 1927 and Shaw’s were in turn taken over by Walker Cain Ltd in 1931.

The Stanley Arms closed in the early sixties [1]. The area was cleared later that decade and new housing built in place of the old rows of terraces.

Egyptian Mill remains. It ceased to be used as a textile mill around 1960 – around the time the Stanley Arms closed so perhaps the two events were related. But the mill has been used for storage since 2010.

[1] Bolton Pubs, 1800 – 2000, by Gordon Readyhough. Published by Neil Richardson (2000).

Prince Of Wales, 102 Mount Street

The Prince Of Wales pictured in 1961. Belgravia Street runs by the side of the pub. St Matthew’s school was a little further down with St Matthews church behind the photographer.

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The Prince Of Wales, situated at 102 Mount Street, on the corner of Belgrave Street, was a few years behind the slightly longer established Mount Street Inn. But it did have one advantage over its neighbour in that whereas the Mount Street Inn was only licensed to sell beer – at least until 1961 – the Prince Of Wales was fully licensed and as such could also sell wines and spirits, though whether that made any difference in the Halliwell of the 1860s is open to question.

At first, the Prince Of Wales was in the hands of the Bogle family who originated from the Tonge Moor area. The 1841 Census shows a number of the Bogles working in the printing industry, but at least two of them got into the pub trade with both John Bogle and George Bogle running the Prince Of Wales in the late -1860s and early-1870s.

By 1876, the pub was owned by Thomas Iddon, who remained there for almost 15 years. But Iddon decided to get out of the pub trade. He was in his sixties and he sold the Prince Of Wales to Wingfield’s brewery, based in Nelson Square.

However, Thomas Iddon’s successor at the Prince Of Wales was someone already known to him. Alfred Edward Cox was born in Northleigh, Oxfordshire in 1855. He was a tram driver in Bolton and he lived with his wife and daughter at 259 Derby Street, which was the Black Horse, another of Thomas Iddon’s pubs. On hearing of the tenancy at the Prince Of Wales he successfully applied for the position and so, in 1888, Albert Cox began an association with the Prince Of Wales that was to last for 25 years.  He and his family remained at the pub until 1913 when he retired to Ivy Road. He died at the beginning of 1918, aged 63.

Wingfield’s sold out to the Manchester Brewery Company Ltd in 1899. They were in turn taken over by the Salford firm of Walker and Homfray’s in 1912. Wilsons Brewery of Newton Heath took over Walker and Homray’s in 1949 and it was a Wilson’s pub that the Prince Of Wales ended its days in 1965.

The area was later redeveloped and the Spinners Arms was built close to the spot where the Prince Of Wales once stood. 

Mount Street Inn, 136 - 138 Mount Street

The Mount Street Inn pictured in the 1920s - probably the late-twenties or even the early-thirties given that the signs proclaims it to be a Shaw's pub. There were only three  more properties after the pub before Mount Street ended at Darley Street and two of them can be seen here. Next to the pub, at number 140 lived Ellis Scholes, a tripe salesman, in 1924. The shop, which can be seen above, was run by William  Fletcher. Just out of shot was the home of Ruth Cunningham, a stocking knitter. The pub's landlord in 1924 was John Whowell who had been there since before the first world war.

The Mount Street Inn was situated on Mount Street at the corner of Portland Street.

The pub was founded in the late-1850s by Edward Harwood. Edward was born in 1819 and for much of his life he was a finisher in the area around Lower Pools. But by the time his daughter Marina was born in 1860 he is described as a publican and on the 1861 census return he is a brewer and beerseller at an address given simply as ‘4 Brownlow Fold’. This is likely to have been the beerhouse that later became the Mount Street Inn.

Edward Harwood may have been an opportunist – and so he might, for just yards away from his beerhouse the Brownlow Fold Mills were taking shape in 1860 and were destined to become major employers in the area. The mill was built by Richard Harwood, who wasn’t an immediate relative of Edward.

In time, Mount Street developed, but Edward’s time at the pub was to be tempered with sadness. His first wife, Mary Ann, died in 1863 at the age of 40. Later that year, he married Mary Frances Paton – a woman aged 31 compared to his 44 - but she died in 1872 at the age of just 39.

This second death appears to have been the catalyst for Edward Harwood to leave the Mount Street Inn. He married again, this time to Jane Ashworth and they went to live in Bury where he died in 1895. A later landlord, James Haydock, saw his ten-year stint at the pub ended by his death in 1904 at the age of just 43.

The pub suffered an objection to its licence in 1869. Local justices were given the power to oppose licences and the police reported at a hearing in September of that year that Mr Harwood had been fined on two occasions for serving beer at prohibited times. While pubs at that time were able to open from 4am to 1am on Monday to Friday, they had to close at midnight on Saturday night and were unable to open again until 12.30 Sunday lunchtimes. In other words, after Sunday morning service at church. Edward Harwood was fined twice – once in 1867 and once in 1868 – and the police claimed he had ‘watchers’ situated about the pub to warn him of police in the area. The licence was refused but was then granted at an appeal at the end of October. 

The Mount Street Inn was bought by local brewer Joseph Sharman whose brewery was situated just a quarter of a mile away on the other side of Mere Hall. [1] By this stage the pub was in two properties: numbers 136 and 138 Mount Street.

Sharman’s were taken over by the Leigh brewery of George Shaw and Sons Ltd in 1927, but the deal stretched Shaw’s financially and they were taken over by Walker Cain Ltd of Liverpool in 1931.

The Mount Street Inn was a beerhouse for much of its existence, but it gained a full licence in 1961. It closed towards the end of the 1960s and the area was cleared away.

A small part of Mount Street still exists. All the old buildings have been demolished and replaced with new housing in the past 40 or 50 years, but while the likes of Pen Street, Prosperous Street and Nith Street have all been wiped off the map, that stretch of Mount Street that included the Mount Street Inn still survives.

[1] Bolton Pubs, 1800-2000, by Gordon Readyhough. Published by Neil  Richardson (2000).

Nailmakers Arms, 65 - 67 Folds Road

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The Nailmakers Arms was situated at 65– 67 Folds Road and the pub was, indeed, named after a nailmaker.

The nailmaker in question was Thomas Hatton who described himself as a ‘master nailmaker’ despite his income then mainly coming from the sale of beer. 

Hatton was born in 1810 in Atherton, a town renowned for the manufacture of nails for some 600 years from the 14^th century onwards. (The Jolly Nailor pub in the town is perhaps the only reminder of part of its industrial industry).

Hatton began the Nailmakers Arms around 1870, and it is listed as a beerhouse in directories for 1871 and 1876, but he had left by the time of the 1881 census. By then the pub had expanded into the adjoining property and was being run by the 29-year-old William Ashworth.

The Nailmakers was a rare Bolton outlet for Seeds brewery of Radcliffe, but they sold it to William Tong’s in the early years of the 20^th century.

The pub maintained a regular turnover of licensees and that suggests it struggled in what was a very competitive market. There were numerous pubs on Folds Road itself as well as on the maze of streets behind, streets like Charles Street, Hulme Street and Lark Street.

The Nailmakers Arms closed down in 1912 and the premises were later converted back into two private residences. 

Houses in the area were demolished in the late sixties. An industrial building was built on the site of the pub. For a number of years it houses a branch of WH Smith’s wholesale newspaper division but it is now the headquarters of electronics repair company Maggi and Maggi. 

A view of the area from September 2014 is below (copyright  Google Street View).

Mount Pleasant Inn, 44 - 46 Mill Street

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The Mount Pleasant Inn was situated on Mill Street. The pub, Mill Street and Mill Hill all took their name from the Mount Pleasant mill which was erected by the industrialist John Lum at the top of a hill leading out of Little Bolton in the early nineteenth century.

Lum was a strict Sabbatarian and moralist who required his employees to join in hymn-singing while at work. [1] However, after his death in 1836 his wife erected six almshouses in his honour on Goodwin Meadow. The row was later renamed Lum Street and while the almshouses have long gone Lum Street remains.

The Mount Pleasant Inn was right outside the mill. The pub was a corner shop that branched out into the sale of beer and the 1871 Census shows that it was occupied by the 46-year-old William Ridings and his 43-year-old wife, Ann. Mr Ridings is described as a ‘provision dealer and beer seller.’

The pub was situated on a row of three buildings close to the junction of Mill Street and Green Street and were right outside Mount Pleasant mill itself. So it must have been a blow the Ridings when the mill burnt down in 1870 causing £20,000 worth of damage.

The mill was rebuilt and by 1884 it was occupied by Bamber and Co Ltd. By then the Rdings had left the Mount Pleasant beerhouse. The couple had worked in the cotton industry prior to their move to the pub and by 1881, they were crofters at  Eagley Bank.  William Riding died in 1891, aged 67. Ann Ridings died in 1897, aged 71.

The Mount Pleasant Inn became a Sharman’s pub. Indeed, it would have been one of the earliest Sharman’s houses given that until he moved to the Mere Hall Brewery in 1872, Joseph Sharman was brewing at the Crompton’s Monument pub just across the road from the Mount Pleasant.

In 1913, the Mount Pleasant saw its license refused though that in itself may have been no huge blow to its customers who still had another four beerhouses to choose from on Mill Street itself.

By 1924, Albert R Parry was a grocer at the former Mount Pleasant with part of the premises given over to his motor repair business.

The whole of the Mill Hill area was redeveloped in the sixties and seventies. The site of the Mount Pleasant pub and Mount Pleasant Mill and is now a motor dealership. (See image below, copyright Google Street View).

[1] Classic Soil: Community, Aspiration, and Debate in the Bolton Region of Lancashire, 1819-1845, by Malcolm Hardman.

[2] Bolton Pubs, 1800 – 2000, by Gordon Readyhough. Published by Neil Richardson (2000).

Middleton Arms, 27 Charles Street

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The Middleton Arms was situated at 27-29 Charles Street, on the row between Hulme Street and Lark Street.

The pub dated back to around 1860 and is believed to have taken its name from a family of shopkeepers who branched out into the sale of beer.

The licensee in 1869 was one Sophia Nicholson, a woman who had run a number of pubs in this part of Bolton. She was in charge of an un-named beerhouse in  Lark Street in 1861 and later ran the British Oak on Union Street.

By the 1890s, the Middleton Arms was in the hands of the Bedford Brewing and Malting Company Ltd, a Leigh brewery which was the predecessor of George Shaw and Sons Ltd. [1] At that time, the pub was run by John Summerton and his wife, Mary. But John died in 1897 and although Mary Summerton continued to run the pub for a few years longer before packing it in soon after 1901. By that time she would have been around 70 years old.

The Middleton’s final landlord was Charles McLoughlin. In 1906, the pub was refused its licence and closed down [2]. The premises became a lodging house.

[1] Shaw's gained a considerable presence in Bolton with their takeover of Joseph Sharman & Sons in 1927, a deal that almost bankrupted the company and which forced them into a takeover by Walker Cain Ltd of Liverpool in 1931.

[2]  Bolton Pubs, 1800 – 2000, by Gordon Readyhough. Published by Neil Richardson (2000).

Charles Street looks very different now to how it did even in the 1970s. The street deviates from its original route and continues down what used to be Hulme Street, as seen on this view from September 2014 (copyright Google Street View). That part of Charles Street which contained the Middleton  Arms was where the footpath now is in the centre of the image. 

Masons Arms, 125 - 127 Turton Street

The Masons Arms was situated at 125-127 Turton Street close to the Folds Road end of the street on the corner of Arthur Street.

The pub was founded around 1870 by John Nightingale, who had run a number of the pubs in the town, including the Millstone, which still exists on  Crown Street, and the Tippings Arms at Astley Bridge.

But the Masons was very much John Nightingale’s swansong as a pub landlord. He died a few years after opening the pub and was succeeded by Charles Whitehead.

The Masons’ last landlord as a pub was William Adamson. He was a former weaver who took over around 1893. By that time, the pub was owned by John Halliwell and Son and supplied from their Alexandra Brewery on Mount Street about a mile away from Turton Street. But Halliwell’s got into financial difficulties in 1910 and had to sell out to Magee, Marshall and Co.

Magee’s undertook the inevitable review of their newly-expanded tied estate following their takeover of Halliwell’s.  A few years earlier, in 1906, they decided to downgrade the Grey Mare, further up Turton Street, from a beerhouse to an off-licence. They came to the conclusion that the Mason’s Arms would benefit from the same course of action. In 1913, the Mason’s closed its doors as a pub and was open for off-sales only.

Later, numbers 125 and 127 Turton Street would be converted back into two separate properties as they were before the Mason’s opened.

The area was demolished in the early seventies.  Waterloo Street was later diverted onto Arthur Street to end at its junction with Turton Street. The Masons stood at the corner of that junction (see below, copyright  Google Street View).

Turton Street in September 2014. The junction with Folds Road can be seen at the traffic lights in the distance. In the foreground is the junction with Waterloo Street which was re-directed to run via the former Arthur Street in the 1980s. The Masons was situated on the right-hand corner. 

Black Horse, 259-261 Derby Street

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Many of the pubs that have closed in recent years were businesses for over 100 years – 150 years in some cases. The Black Horse was a beerhouse for only a relatively short period of time – around 50 years or so.  It was situated on Derby Street at its junction with Philip Street and  was founded in the 1860s by Roger Wallwork, a former coal miner who initially ran the pub with his wife, Mary.

The 1871 Census shows Roger Wallwork at the Black Horse along with his sons, John, 19, James, 18, and William, 14 and his 26-year-old wife, Mary. This was  Roger's second wife. The first Mary Wallwork had died in 1869, aged 38 and Roger didn't wait long before marrying Mary Burgess that same year.

But marrying a woman 18 years younger than him was as good as it got for Roger Wallwork. He left the Black Horse a few years later and by 1881 he was in the workhouse in Farnworth. He died in 1900.

According to Gordon Readyhough, the Black Horse was owned by Thomas Iddon in the late-1870s [1]. Mr Iddon already owned one fully-licensed public house, the Prince Of Wales on Mount Street in Halliwell. But he got out of the pub business in the early-1890s and the Black Horse was sold to Wingfield’s, a local firm who brewed on Nelson Square. The Pack Horse was later extended into the former brewery premises.

Wingfield’s sold out to the Manchester Brewery Company in 1899 and MBC were taken over by the Salford firm of Walker and Homfray’s in 1912. There was an objection to the licence in May 1914, but while the pub got over that hurdle, Walker and Homfray’s pulled the plug in 1917 and the Black Horse closed for good.

By 1924, the former pub premises were being used by a local plumber named James Pearson and he was still at 261 Derby Street in 1932.

The building still exists and in recent years it has become a fast food outlet, first as Sultan’s, then as Mahmood’s and more recently as a branch of Mash’s Wing Ranch.

[1] Bolton Pubs, 1800 – 2000, by Gordon Readyhough. Published by Neil Richardson (2000).

Derby Street pictured in September 2014 (copyright  Google Street View) showing 259-261, formerly the Black Horse, now Mash's Wing Ranch.

Haydock Arms, 28-30 Haydock Street

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The Haydock Arms was situated at 28-30 Haydock Street, just off  Higher Bridge Street.

The pub dated back to the 1860s when shopkeeper Peter Lyne took the familiar route of opening up his grocery store to the sale and consumption of beer.

Lyne was a former cotton spinner who moved his family from the town centre into the Little Bolton area on the other side of the River Croal. As Bolton expanded northwards in the middle of the eighteenth century streets such as Haydock Street, Bangor Street and Prince Street were developed to provide homes for workers in the numerous mills that had sprung up on that side of town.

Peter Lyne was at the Haydock Arms until 1871 when he went off to run a beerhouse in nearby Bangor Street, probably the Rainforth Hotel. He was succeeded by two fifty-year-old women, sisters-in-law Alice and Ellen Grundy who ran the premises for a few years before moving off to Halliwell Road.

By 1891 the Haydock had expanded into the property next door and was now 28 and 30 Haydock Street. It was taken over by John Halliwell and Son whose Alexandra Brewery was situated on Mount Street about half a mile away from Haydock Street. Halliwells had been around since the early 1870s and had completed their new brewery in 1885. A subsequent expansion by the company saw the purchase of a number of pubs, but Halliwell’s got into financial difficulty in 1910 and the brewery and its tied houses – including the Haydock Arms – were bought by Magee, Marshall and Co.

Magees shut the Haydock Arms in 1950. Having started in trading as a pub some years before its neighbour on Haydock Street, the Hearts Of Oak, it closed down earlier.

The property was demolished along with the rest of Haydock Street in the 1960s. Rainford House was built on the side of the street containing the Haydock Arms.

Haydock Street pictured in September 2014 (copyright Google Street View). Rainforth House – itself named after an eminent doctor and chemist John Rainforth who founded the chemical works in nearby School Hill in the nineteenth century – stands on the site of the Haydock Arms.

Hearts Of Oak, 63 Haydock Street

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The Hearts Of Oak was one of many beerhouses that began as a grocery store and branched out into the sale of beer to drink on the premises.

The pub was situated on Haydock Street, a street that still exists in part, but which in those days ran from Higher Bridge Street, opposite the Globe Inn, across to Gray Street. The Hearts Of Oak stood on the corner of Knight Street.

The beerhouse was started around 1870 by John Peake and his wife Elizabeth. However, John had his eye on a different career path and by 1881 he was a draper living in Bullock Street where he employed seven men.

The Hearts Of Oak remained in the Peake family for another 40 years. Robert Peake – believed to be John’s brother – took over and he remained there until his death at the age of 49 in 1883. He had previously been a manager at a bleachworks so this was another change of career for a member of the Peake family.

Robert was succeeded by Edmund Peak and by 1905 it was being run by Robert’s daughter, Emma Peake.

The Hearts Of Oak was later sold to the Manchester brewer Hydes. It was a strange commercial decision given that Hydes had a very small presence in Bolton. That situation continued until the 1990s. Hydes later sold the pub to Burtonwoods and it was a Burtonwood pub that the Hearts Of Oak closed in 1959.

All the properties on Haydock Street were demolished in the sixties and new housing was built in the street. New homes were built on Knight Street, directly behind where the Hearts Of Oak once stood, but they too were demolished in the 1990s. More new housing has been built in its place.

The Haydock Street - Knight Street junction in October 2009 (copyright Google Street View). Haydock Street goes off to the left, Knight Street goes off towards Prince Street where the Aldi store can be seen in the distance. The Hearts Of Oak was situated in the foreground on the right-hand side where the car parking area is situated.

Greengate Inn, 19-21 Hammond Street

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Hammond Street ran between Derby Street and Parrot Street. In 1851 the Staffordshire-born James Mullett lived in Parrot Street with his wife Alice and his mother Hannah and he worked as a boilermaker. Later in that decade the family moved to number 21 Hammond Street and opened the Greengate Inn. The census records for 1861 describe Mullett as a boilermaker and beerseller, so the pub was obviously a sideline most likely being run by his wife.

Alice Mullett died in July 1864 at the age of 50. James married again in March 1868, this time to Elizabeth Edgeler (nee Hough), a widow from Nelson Square. James and Elizabeth had a daughter, Alice, who was born in 1869, but the family left the Greengate a few years later.  James died in June 1875 and Elizabeth and Alice went to live with Elizabeth’s mother in Lever Street. They were at Leach Street, off Bridgeman Street, when Elizabeth died in 1898.

Levi Leach succeeded James Mullett at the Greengate around 1872. He was the son of James Leach who owned the Albert Inn and Leach’s Brewery on Derby Street and it is likely that Leach’s supplied the Greengate. Levi Leach died an early death. He passed away in 1895 at the age of 47, but by then he had moved on to the Tanners Arms on Lever Street.

The Greengate was bought by Robert Wood of the Prince Arthur brewery and was owned by that company until 1916 when it ceased trading. Wood's pubs were bought by William Tong’s of Deane Road and became the Greengate became a Walker’s pub when they took over Tong’s in 1923.

In 1933, Walker’s closed the Greengate as part of a complex deal with the local licensing magistrates. The brewery wanted the beerhouse licences of the Nightingale on Lever Street, the Vulcan on Junction Road, and the King William The Fourth on Manchester Road to be upgraded to full public licences enabling them to sell wines and spirits as well as beer. But the authorities would only countenance such a move if licences of beerhouses were given  up at a rate of two to one.

The Nightingale, the Vulcan and the King Bill all got their full licenses, but the Greengate was one of seven beerhouses that closed to facilitate the transfer. Also shutting their doors as part of the deal were the Masons Arms on Emblem Street, the Merehall Inn on Lyon Street, the Black Horse at Chew Moor, the Old Robin Hood on Lever Street, the Three Tuns on Chapel Street and the Arrowsmiths Arms on Mill Street.

The Greengate had started out at 21 Hammond Street, but by the 1890s it had expanded into the property next door, number 19. Following its closure the pub was converted back into two residential properties.

Hammond Street was demolished in the late-sixties. Burford Drive stands roughly on the same spot.

Burford Drive, off Parrot Street, pictured in September 2014 (copyright Google Street View). The houses on the left of the row - seen here - corresponded to the row on the right-hand side of Hammond Street. The Greengate was roughly halfway along this row.

New Inn, 45 Coe Street

The New Inn pictured shortly before its closure in 1960.

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The New Inn was situated at 45 Coe Street on the corner of the junction with Maxfield Street. It was known as the New Inn presumably to differentiate it from the Coe Street Tavern  just over the road. The Tavern was the senior of the two pubs with the New Inn opening in the 1860s.

William Hamer was an early landlord at this pub-brewery but he left in the mid-1870s and Joseph Mangnall took over. Joseph was a Chorley man and a joiner by trade, but his father had run a pub in Chorley so he was no stranger to the licensed trade. Joseph had married his wife Ann in Belmont and the couple’s son was born in the village, but by 1868 the family were living in Bolton and residing at Bamber Street, off Derby Street, by 1871.

The 1876 Directory shows Joseph Mangnall as the owner of the New Inn, but Ann died in 1882 at the age of just 50 and that may have been the catalyst for Joseph’s exit from the pub.  He re-married in 1886, to Hannah Walker, a widow from Great Lever, but his trade at the time of marriage is described as a joiner. By 1891 the couple were living on St Helens Road with Joseph described as an ‘out of work joiner’. He died in 1900.

As an aside, Joseph’s son James Ernest Mangnall achieved some fame in the world of football. Ernest – he dropped the first name - was educated at Bolton School and was a notable amateur goalkeeper in his youth playing for the Lancashire FA side. He was appointed a director of Bolton Wanderers in the 1890s, but he was approached to become manager of Burnley in 1899. He moved to Manchester United in 1903 where he was responsible for the building of the club’s Old Trafford ground. He led United to their first major honours with two league titles and an FA Cup before leaving in 1912 for a 12-year stint as manager of Manchester City. He wasn’t as successful at City, failing to win any trophies, but he oversaw the club’s move to Maine Road. He was also instrumental in setting up the Central League competition for reserve sides, and the Football Managers Association. [1] [2] [3]

 Joseph Mangnall was succeeded at the New Inn by Thomas Aspden. Thomas was another Chorley man who had spent a number of years living in Breightmet where he had worked as a brewer. There were no commercial breweries in Breightmet at that time so it is likely that he brewed for a number of individual pubs in the area that had their own small breweries.

The 45-year-old Thomas Apsden was listed at the New Inn on Coe Street in the 1891 Census. His wife Sarah was 47 and their daughter 21-year-old Mary helped out at the pub until her marriage to Frederick Beech in 1895. But Thomas wasn’t at the New Inn for long and was described as a ‘retired beer seller’ living on Chorley Old Road in 1901. He lived there until he died in 1922. His estate of £6020 wasn’t bad for a jobbing brewer and pub landlord – the equivalent of over £260,000 today.

The New Inn was sold to Wingfield’s of Nelson Square in the 1890s – perhaps by Thomas Aspden. The Nelson family took over from Thomas Aspden, first William Nelson and then, from 1912, his son Walter.

A series of takeovers saw the New Inn change hands. Wingfield’s were taken over by the Manchester Brewery Company in 1899. They were in turn taken over by the Salford firm of Walker and Homfray’s in 1912. Wilson’s bought out Walker and Homfray’s in 1949 and it was as a Wilson’s house that the New Inn closed. Gordon Readyhough puts this at around 1960. [4]

The properties on Coe Street and its neighbouring streets were all demolished during the late-fifties and early-sixties. The 1954 street map shows that the row of houses opposite the New Inn had already been demolished. Unlike Maxfield Street, Coe St wasn’t entirely wiped off the map, but instead of rows of terraced houses it has hosted an industrial estate for the past 50 years.

[1] Mangnall family. Accessed 16 February 2015  

[2] Wikipedia. Accessed 16 February 2015 

[3] Clarets Mad. Accessed 16 February 2015 

[4] Bolton Pubs 1800 – 2000, by Gordon Readyhough. Published by Neil Richardson (2000).

Coe Street pictured in September 2014 (copyright Google Street View).  The spare land next to the Folsana works has never been built on, but the gates were once on the corner of Maxfield Street. The New Inn was on the far side of that corner.