Tempest Arms, 1110 Chorley Old Road, Bolton

 

The Tempest Arms pictured in July 2016. Copyright Google.

The Tempest Arms opened around 1850 and closed in 2022.

In 1841 Richard Pendlebury was a shopkeeper in Horrobin Fold, small hamlet off Chorley Old Road, but by 1851 he was also selling beer at a new building, the Tempest Arms. The name was a tribute to the Tempest family who owned land in the area.

In December 1853 Richard Pendlebury picked up a fine for allowing after-hours drinking at his house. In response he levelled a series of allegations against the police officer concerned, a PC Bradley. One of the claims was that PC Bradley demanded money from a number of licensees in the Heaton area so he could shut down illegal drinking dens; however, none of the named licensees would give evidence in court against the police officer and the action failed. 

Richard Pendlebury died in 1864 and the Tempest passed to his wife Hannah. In 1868 she successfully applied for a full licence for the pub enabling her to sell wine and spirits. Previously the pub had only been able to sell beer. A petition supporting the application was accepted by the magistrates and there was no opposition. Her timing was impeccable. A new licensing law was passed the following year that made full licences far more difficult to obtain.

When Hannah Pendlebury died in 1870 her eldest daughter, also named Hannah, took over as landlady. The younger Hannah Pendlebury married Henry Holt in 1872. In those days a woman's property passed to her husband on marriage so he became the licensee of the Tempest. But Henry and Hannah Holt left the pub trade in 1873 to become farmers in Blackrod. Henry's twin brother Charles took over as landlord until the pub was sold in 1875.

The Tempest had a bowling green to the rear and this became popular not only with locals but with bowling clubs in pubs further afield many of whom would have an annual day out at the Tempest involving a series of matches to determine their champion. The green was run for a while on a subscription basis. The green was still showing on maps in the sixties but was later built on.

Ad from 1900.

There was great excitement in 1881 when a cab driver coming down Chorley Old Road noticed some clothing next to a lodge at Shipton Mill. Fearing a suicide police were called and the lodge was 'dragged'. A library card was found inside one of the items of clothing containing the name of Robert Brown and an address at Howcroft Street, Daubhill. An officer was sent to the address where he found Mr Brown calmly sitting by the fire reading a newspaper. It transpired that he had been to a party at the Tempest the previous night. After leaving the pub he undressed at the side of the lodge believing that he was at home and getting into bed. While he admitted to drinking seven or eight pints he claimed he wasn't drunk and that his beer had been drugged! 

In 1892 the Tempest's landlord of 16 years, John Longworth, died at the pub. His wife Ellen took over and became notable for acts of charity in support local causes. The area around Delph Hill and Doffocker contained a number of coal mines and a strike in 1893 brought great strife. Ellen Longworth opened a soup kitchen at the Tempest to help striking miners and their families. She also put on a Rose Queen Festival the following year. Upward of a hundred children were given tea and group photographs were taken on the pub's bowling green. There was then a procession along Chorley Old Road which was lined with hundreds of spectators. The children then walked back to the pub where they sang songs and played games. Each child was given a small bag containing nuts, biscuits, fruit and sweets.

The Tempest brewed its own beer for many years, but by 1909 it was advertising beers from local brewer Halliwell's. It became a Sharman's pub in 1922 but by 1930 it was serving beers from Shaw's in Leigh following their takeover of Sharman's.

For many years a large depiction of the crest of the Tempest family was displayed on the side of the pub along with family's motto “Lowf as thou fyndes” - “Laugh as you find”. It was particularly visible to travellers on the local tram route after it was extended along Chorley Old Road. So well known was the motto that in 1923 a postcard addressed to “Mine Host, Lowf as though Fyndes” was successfully delivered to the pub.

On the morning of Wednesday 18 September 1935 the landlord of the Tempest Arms, Jack Hampson, left the pub along with his dog, telling his wife Hilda that he was going to the hairdresser and then to the bank. He was spotted in the bank some time between ten and eleven o'clock that morning, but Hilda never saw him again. The mystery was deepened by the fact that the dog returned to the pub alone. Two weeks later, on 2 October, the Bolton Evening News ran a follow-up story on the disappearance. But there was still no sign of Jack, a man well-known in the licensed trade having previously run the Grapes in Stoneclough. His parents had previously been licensees of the Blue Boar on Churchgate. A mysterious woman was said to have stopped Jack and Hilda's son in New Hall Lane, Heaton, and told him that his father had written to say that he would be home that afternoon. Efforts had failed to trace the woman. Six months later, BBC Radio broadcast an SOS message calling for Mr Hampson to contact Townley's Hospital (now the Royal Bolton Hospital) where his wife was dangerously ill. There was no response to the message and Hilda died a few days later on 28 April 1936. There are no definitive records as to what happened to Jack Hampson.

Ad from March 1937

The Hampsons were succeeded as licensees of the Tempest Arms by John Rothwell Murray. Mr Murray spent 18 years in charge before handing over to his son-in-law, Roy Wood, and retiring to Blackpool. In April 1954 Mr Murray's wife Ann travelled to Bolton to help out Mr Wood at the Tempest and also to visit her daughter, Mr Wood's wife, who was ill in hospital. When she returned to Blackpool she found the body of her husband hanging in the hall. His aunt, Miss Clara Murray, was dead in a bath upstairs. The inquest heard that Mr Murray and his wife had retired to Blackpool to look after his aunt, a woman who had brought him up from the age of 8. But later in life Miss Murray had suffered from problems with her mental health. She had tried to drown herself the previous year and been placed in a mental institution, but Mr Murray visited her regularly and would often bring her home to spend the weekend with him and his wife. Even then, she spoke about wanting to drown herself and he had joked with her about it to try and talk her out of it. He had never shown any signs of mental health problems and did not drink much. A police detective told the inquest that officers had found a sheaf of notes at the house. One, from Miss Murray to Ann Murray said: “It's my fault. Poor Jack, I made him do it. I've been a rotter all my life. Forgive me, Annie. I have robbed you of your husband.” One note from Mr Murray said: “Well, she did it after all. What could I do? The end of it all. Goodbye.” Another note from Mr Murray said: “You are not to blame for anything. You are a true wife. Marry a good man next time – JRM”.

In 1960 it became easier for pubs to put on musical acts without a special licence. Music had been banned in most pubs since 1912 and the decision by Bolton Council to relax the rule came in the face of competition from pubs in neighbouring towns where the rule did not apply. Many pubs put on small acts such as an organist and a drummer, but in 1964 the Tempest was advertising local band The Cotton Pickers on Friday and Sunday nights as well as Fabulous Ernie on Sunday lunchtimes. Entertainment was to become a staple at the Tempest Arms for many years to come.

June 1972

From 1931 the Tempest was a Peter Walker pub. This Warrington-based brewery became part of Allied Breweries in 1960 but as Allied retreated from owning pubs in the nineties the Tempest was bought by Anchor Inns (Northern) Ltd. By 2010 it was part of the Heineken-owned Star Pubs and Bars group but was later sold again, this time to Admiral Taverns. Certainly it wasn't one for the real ale purists. A 1981 listing of Bolton's real ale pubs showed that it was a keg-only outlet and it failed to make the 1989 Camra publication Beer In Bolton for the same reason. Real ale made brief returns in 2013 and 2019 but was withdrawn due to poor sales.

Ad from June 1983.

Covid eventually killed the Tempest Arms. The pub closed in 2022 and the building was put up for sale. Plans were lodged with Bolton Council in 2023 to convert the premises into a nursery. A fire broke out inside the building in 2024 and fresh plans were lodged to convert it into nursery premises. 

More on the Tempest Arms can be found on the pub's page on the website of the Bolton branch of the Campaign for Real ale.

Irish Labour Club, 13/15 Lorne Street, Bolton

 

Lorne Street pictured in 2024. The club is believed to have been reached via the door behind the blue dumpster in the foreground.

Lorne Street in Bolton town centre – not to be confused with Lorne Street at Moses Gate in Farnworth – is a narrow thoroughfare that runs between Bridge Street and Market Street. There are no properties on Lorne Street itself today, although access can be gained to properties on Corporation Street and Deansgate. But in years gone by the upper storeys of properties on Corporation Street were considered to be separate and had addresses on Lorne Street.

Number 13 Lorne Street was, for a few years from the late-1880s until around 1892, the headquarters of the Bolton Home Rule Club. The club was in existence by 1877 when it held a St Patrick's Day dance at its then club room at the Palatine Buildings on Knowsley Street. Its aim was to campaign for home rule for Ireland and in 1879 it was addressed by the Irish nationalist politician Charles Stewart Parnell. A limited company, the Bolton Home Rule Club Company, was formed in 1882 and premises were purchased at 89 Town Hall Square. But by 1888 the club was at 13 Lorne Street before moving a few doors down to number 3 in 1892. Bolton Socialist Party were based at number 13 from 1899 before moving in 1904 to Wood Street, still the home of what is known as Bolton Socialist Club.

A dance academy was based at 13 Lorne Street from 1919 until 1921. Around this time the Bolton Home Rule Club faded away as the goal of Irish self-determination was realised, albeit in bloody circumstances. But by 1921 a new left-wing organisation, the Irish Labour Club, had taken up residence at 13 Lorne Street and they were to remain there for over 30 years.

In 1927 the club made the brave move of applying for a licence extension until 1.45 am to celebrate St Patrick's Day. In those days the national day of Ireland was celebrated almost exclusively by the Irish diaspora and by people with Irish roots. As far back as 1907 the Bolton Evening News bemoaned the fact that celebrations had become much more muted, and in 1925 a columnist complained that “St Patrick's Day in England, these times, is a dull affair, completely lacking the old times.” The writer went on to comment that perhaps there might be “a little extra treating” both at the Irish Labour Club and the Brown Cow pub on Bradshawgate (knocked down in 1966 to become part of The Trotters). But in 1927 the club made its audacious attempt to secure almost four hours of extra drinking time on 17 March. Such extensions were usually very difficult to come by. The club's representative, Mr T McCormick, told magistrates that it had 350 members but that only around 100 would be present. Ticket sales would be restricted to members only; none would be sold after midday on the day itself and there would be no admittance after 10pm. While around 25 to 30 non-members would be present they would not be allowed to buy drinks. “It is a jollification for the Irish people of Bolton,” Mr McCormick said. The Chief Constable remarked that while it might be an unusual application he had no objections and the extension was granted.

Ad from Christmas 1926

In 1932 one of the club's founders, Mark Tierney, died aged 77. Well-known in local Labour, trade union and Roman Catholic circles he was a past member and honorary life president of Bolton Trades Council.

In 1943, a customer at the club, Elizabeth Johnson, was found guilty of stealing a wallet, an Army pay book, a fountain pen and a pack of cigarettes from the tunics of two Canadian soldiers who had gone to drink at the club. A detective who visited her at her home in Bury the following day noticed that she was smoking the same brand of cigarettes that had been stolen from the soldiers. “I had had plenty of drink,” she said. She was sentenced to three months' hard labour.

In 1954 he club acted as host for the Lancashire Federation of Irish Democratic League Clubs at a social evening to be held at the Fleece Hotel on Bradshawgate.

In 1955 the Bolton Evening News wrote an article on the Irish Labour Club as part of a series on clubs in the town. Steward Joe Foye said there was never any trouble in the place and if there was “I just stop his tap – that's punishment enough”. He added: “We like to have things quiet here... despite having among our members some really fit fellows we get along very well.” He also got out a copy of the club's membership card and its one stipulation. 'I, the understand, being of Irish birth or proved Irish descent,” - that was it. Club secretary Pat Ferguson claimed that the club had been one of the first in Bolton to install a TV set (television arrived in Bolton the week before Christmas 1949). “I think the members appreciate it,” he said. There was also a billiard table as well as dominoes. The club had operated a soldiers' fund during the second world war. “For the lads who were away it was one of the best funds in the town. I think we can say that with certainty,” Mr Ferguson said. “Like most clubs in the town we keep plodding alone. We've no financial worries and the membership – around 400 – is flourishing.”

Ad from 1958

But it wasn't to last. An advertisement in the Bolton Evening News of 16 June 1958 announced a general meeting for the Irish Labour Club. However, the club's address was given as “late 13/15 Lorne Street” and the meeting was to be held at the Blue Boar on Deansgate, a pub that, in the fifties, had strong Irish connections. It sounds as though, for whatever reason, the club had lost its premises.

In February 1995 the Evening News' Looking Back column featured a query about the club. This led to two local Labour councillors with Irish connections, Councillor Martin Donaghy - originally from County Armagh - and Councillor Noel Spencer, whose family were originally from Ireland, to try and hunt down the former club. They went to offices on Corporation Street that were formerly occupied by the Bolton Journal (and, we believe, the Bolton Chronicle after it was revived in the late-seventies). At first the two men could find no trace of the premises, but when they looked through a hole in the ceiling they realised that the ceiling was false and that a wood-panelled room was behind it. Councillor Spencer remembered the panelling when he visited the club in the 1940s.

If Corporation Chambers is the site of the former Irish Labour Club that puts it in premises currently (2026) occupied by Neoartist Studios.