Old Swan Old photographs and Memories: Pubs

Pubs around the area
Click images for a larger view in 'Lightbox (Tm)

The original coaching Inn stood on the site of the Red House, which was built in 1892. The original building also served as a Post Office and had a cockpit at the rear. Credit Colin Gould

The Red House.

This was for a time in the 1980's known as "The First Avenue"

but has reverted back to the name, the Red House.

Am I right in thinking, during some renovation work in

the 80's they found an unexploded bomb !

The Red House, in the 1920's.

Blezard's was a Brewery from the
Scotland Rd area.

It seems like there's a woman on the
left who has stepped back in time !

The Old Swan, known locally as the White House, standing

at the junction with St. Oswald's St and Broadgreen Rd.

Built in 1775, it is one of Old Swan's oldest buildings and

once had a bowling green. It also served as a coach stop

during the 19th century. At the turn of the century

( 1900 ), St Oswald St had 6 pubs along it's short length.

The Old Swan ( White House No's 1-5 ), The Roper's Arms (no 37) The Queens Arms (No 95) The Royal Standard (No 22) The Old Omnibus (Nos 58 -60) The Mitre (No 78).

The Roper's Arms which stood on the corner of Percival St. Took it's name from the Garnock & Bibby Rope Works, which was on the opposite side of St Oswalds St. The pub was demolished in the early 1970's. On this site now is the new St Oswalds Junior School.

Percival Street, The Ropers Arms has a new lick of paint.

Far left, in the background is the back of the Technical College in Broadgreen Road.

The Old Omnibus stood on the corner of

Salisbury St until it was redeveloped along

with the rest of Hubert St in 1938.

The terrace it stood on was known as Dickenson's Cottages after Moses Dickenson who owned the adjoining Old Swan Assembly Rooms. later a picture house then a laundry,

the skittle alley, the nearby recreation ground and a bowling green.

Corporation Flats were built on this site. Another pub called "The Old Omnibus"

was built in 1939 on the opposite side of St Oswalds

St on the corner of Maddocks St. Another view

of the Old Omnibus from Ged Fagan.

At the junction of St Oswalds st and the former Salisbury Street.

The Mitre ( left ).

Listed as 78 St Oswald Streetthe managers John E Topper is displayed on the window

when photographed c1900. It was not listed in

1908, this "local" pub closed in 1907.

The site later being redeveloped for walk up flats.

The Manager, ( pictured ), later took over the

Masons pub in central Old Swan ( Prescot Rd ),

the "old" masons has been demolished and replaced with the one you see today.

"The Parrafin Oil Shop, 2008"

Originally on this site was the Queens Arms Pub, demolished in 1956 and rebuilt in 1957. Then renamed "The Parrafin Oil Shop.

A little way up St Oswalds St on the right hand side ( where Tesco's is now ) you would have come across the Royal Standard and just looking at it, I suppose it did set a Standard ! The Barclays Bank rooftop can just be seen in the bottom right hand corner.

Pic from Ged Fagan

No's 10-12 Hurst St - The Proprietor was a

Mr John Donovan - This Walkers Ales pub

was not the brightest of them all !

Hurst Street was demolished to make

way for Hurst Gardens

Another from Hurst Street, this "Time", The Clock Inn.

49 - 51 Hurst Street, this called it's last orders in 1912

Photographed in 1908, this pub was on

Hurst st but not listed in 1912. The premises

were sold by Walkers in 1913. In 1903 the

Licensee was Henry P. Speake, the registered

owner was Burton, Bell and Co. Brewers, Wavertree.

This old beer house photographed in the 1890s stood on Hurst st off St Oswalds st.

From Ged Fagan

A number of old cul de sacs stood off the part of edge lane now replaced by a huge shopping complex. One of these was Douro Place on whose corner this pub was listed. Photographed in 1908 when a lot of pubs seem to have been, the licensee was Thomas Middleton and it appears to have been run by the same family from the 1890s until the early 1950s, Thomas himself still being listed in 1931 and from then Miss Ada Elizabeth Middleton. From the early 50s the pub was named the Crown Vaults until the early 60s when the pub was rebuilt and named the Queen of Diamonds. In 1991 it was renamed the travellers rest. It has since been demolished and the site lays empty.

Ged Fagan

Located on the junction of Edge lane and Tapley place,

it was photographed in the 1890s when the licensee

was Rebecca Clarke. The pub ceased trading as long

ago as 1904. It was listed as refreshment rooms

thereafter until the 1930s when it became a grocers shop.

Two pics of what was, the Traveller's Rest, situated on the corner of Green Lane and Prescot Rd. Both pics are pre 1900.

Located at the junction of Green Lane and Prescot rd. An old ramshackled structure photographed c1870 ( above left ), this would have been the stopping off point on the old prescot road turnpike. The large chimney formerly belonged to the Borax works which ran parallel to the houses on Brookland rd. The factory premises were replaced by Littlewoods mail order which closed in 1983, the site now being a retirement home.

The Green Lane Tavern, since renamed the Corner Tavern replaced the travellers rest was built c1880, the photograph being from 1996. The former tram, then bus shed to its right are now a supermarket.

Another 3 views of the Green Lane Tavern

Left, you can see the Tram / Bus Depot on the right

and the rest of it to the left of the Pub.

Below, the pub incorporated a Post Office,

to the left of the building.

And another shot showing the imposing

"Premier" Cinema.

Swan Street, where my Mother's family were from,

is just on the left of this picture, just out of shot !

Above: The Cattle Market Hotel & The Cattle Market

Named after the former adjacent cattle market that opened in 1830, when it was removed from Kirkdale. The first pic was taken c1908 when the licensee was Arthur W. Nelson, the premesis were replaced by the one in the second pic in 1931.

From Ged Fagan.

333 Prescot Road - The Stanley Hotel.

This pub opened in the late 1850s as the new stanley arms. From 1881 it was named the Stanley Hotel and possibly rebuilt. Prior to 1856, an older inn stood on the same site, The White Hart, which is one of the oldest names in the country for a pub. In 1393 Richard II made in compulsory for publicans to exhibit a sign. The white hart was adopted as a badge by him and it became a popular pub sign throughout the kingdom. An old sandstone wall still exists outside the premises which might have been part of the old inn, seperating the pub from the grounds of St. Anne's church which was built in 1831. Old tombstones still remain adjacent to the wall. The former stable in now a garage.

The Derby Hotel at 363 Prescot Road, on the corner of what was once, Derby Street.

The original St.George Hotel on Green Lane

Admiring a car parked outside the original St George on Green Lane, which was destroyed by bombing in WWII and replaced with the more modern building that stands there now.
Photograph Ged Fagan

Another pic of the second "St. George"

pub on Green Lane. Hit by a bomb in

1942, much to the consternation of the

American Troops billeted in Tynwald Hill

who used to court local girls in the pub

doorway.

The modern St. George was built in 1957.

The modern day St George

The Wellington when it was numbered

93 Green Lane ( circa 1930 ).

It was renumbered 217 in about 1936.

The Melbourne, Green Lane, on the Corner

of Sandstone Road still looks much the same today.

The Albany - Albany Road, as it is today and how it looked originally.

Converted from 2 terraced houses

Two views of the original Gardeners Arms.

This was situated on Broadgreen rd on the old coaching route between Liverpool and Warrington. The photo dates from the 20s when the licensee was Annie Chester. Fair View cottages adjoined the pub, so named because they faced a huge nursery founded by George Cunningham in the late 18th century but now covered by roads and houses, one of them in his name. The present pub of this name was built in the early 30s. In 1903 the licensee of this gardeners arms was James Kidd, the registered owner was Joseph Jones and Co. Brewers.

Photo Ged Fagan.

A major industry in old swan used to be glass making. A large glass works was built in 1825 at the summit of Edge Lane employing French craftsmen. The established trade however came to an abrupt and after a fraud trial in London resulted in the works closing down. The pub is the only reminder of a local industry. The photograph from 1926 shows the current glass house under construction with the old pub yet to be demolished. The present pub is listed at 45 Mill lane at its junction with Cunningham Rd.

The Rose, 342 Binns Road on the corner

of Hankinson St. This pub was once the

favourite haunt of the nearby Infectious

Diseases Hospital and one unconfirmed

report tells of the time when a customer

was barred out by the pub manager and

started a rumour that some of the patients

were slipping out of the hospital for a pint in

The Rose. Business was quiet for a good

few weeks. The Hospital was later r

enamed "Rathbone Hospital"

The Rathbone, in Rathbone Road, near

Pighue Lane. It's hard to believe that

once upon a time, Rathbone Road was

just a dusty track leading through

Swan Hill Farm. The Farm belonged

to John Clifford Etches, a farmer and

cattle dealer who at one time was a major

shareholder in the Stanley Cattle Market

( which was opened in 1830 ).

George Roddick, a govenor of the

Old Swan Charity School, later took

over the farm, which stood near

Oceanic Road.

The Original "Black Horse" pub, when they used to have a "Smithy" opposite.

The Original Masons Pub on Prescot Road.

The "new" Masons can just be seen on the left.

"Coady's", to the right was an electrical appliance shop.

The Turks Head Hotel / Pub / Cafe

Located actually in Knotty Ash, L14 - not the old swan postcode of L13, on Prescot Rd which is now renamed east prescot rd from 1934 when the road was widened. Situated in the original knotty ash village which is now the edge of springfield park, the turks head was destination for the towns first omnibus service (c1833) initially operated by a Mr Bell and from about 1840 by James Hoult. The horse drawn buses ran from the pub to the Liverpool town hall, the journey taking about an hour and a half due to the number of picking up points including pubs and private roads of houses. Photographed in 1908, the pub closed in the 1920s.

(From Ged Fagan).