Changing faces of town's pubs

4:30pm Tuesday 5th February 2008

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PUBS - and their landlords - have long been a major part of life in Cheshire. Northwich is no exception.

These days stories are swapped over the bar, but in the past the pubs and their bosses were the story.

"When the salt industry was at its height Northwich had a multitude of pubs that have disappeared through the ages."

David Morgan

For instance, chips were not rationed during the Second World War and so the landlord at the Bleeding Wolf on Market Street was dismayed when his regulars would leave early to buy chips.

To avoid the early rush he placed a chip pan, fat, potatoes and a knife by the open fire and invited customers to make their own.

"If they want chips, they can have them here," he said.

In 1892, it was recorded that the town had one pub for every 37 residents. Those were the days indeed.

When the salt industry was at its height Northwich had a multitude of pubs that have disappeared through the ages.

Nevertheless, one of the oldest, most interesting pubs in the town still remains.

The Old Crown on Crown Street opened in 1775 when Charles Maltus purchased the New Red Lion Inn and announced he was going to change the name to the Crown Inn.

Meanwhile, a new pub was built on the corner of High Street and Crown Street to replace the Red Lion.

However, this was closed in 1924 and has subsequently been used as a bank, a shoe shop and now a travel agent.

The Crown suffered many ordeals over the years.

In 1879, a fire engulfed several of the main rooms and living quarters but limited trade was still able to continue.

Plans for a new Crown with state rooms, bedrooms and a public hall were passed in the August of that year but hard times were still ahead.

By 1891, walls were cracked, window frames were warped and doors and window sills were out of line - subsidence had finally taken its toll.

Extensive repairs temporarily remedied the problem but eventually the building had to be replaced with the present day pub in 1924.

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Northwich Guardian used the corner portion of the Crown as premises for its offices.

In the 1860s, the building was also used for the Petty Sessions and County Court when the old courthouse was ravaged by subsidence public auctions for real estate were held there.

One of the most interesting rumours about the Crown is that it has a cellar 30ft below the floor level but this has been ruled out by Northwich historian Colin Lynch.

From 1978, the hostelry was briefly renamed the Swinging Witch and then the Brasserie Couronne before reverting back to the Crown.

Another pub in the town centre was the Beehive Inn on High Street.

This popular haunt opened in the early 19th century and served patrons all the way up until Christmas last year when the landlord called last orders for the final time.

The Beehive was formerly known as the Waterloo Inn due to Wellington's victory but the name was changed between 1829 and 1830.

Between 1890 and 1891, the pub also had a makeover when it was rebuilt with a red brick frontage.

The Angel Hotel in the Bull Ring was another Northwich tavern of high esteem.

Stage coaches regularly stopped there to use its facilities for receptions and important meetings.

The pub's most famous visitor was Princess Victoria during a brief sojourn when she was 16.

Its central location also made it the obvious choice for civic occasions and massive crowds were known to gather outside the inn for important announcements such as the accession of Edward VII.

Sadly, by the 20th century, flooding had deteriorated the woodwork and the brick walls were bent out of shape.

It was closed in 1921 to make way for a NatWest bank.

The Eagle and Child, High Street, was another hostelry that was replaced with a bank.

The original building reputably had its own brew house. This was replaced in 1895 and the new building incorporated stables that could house five horses.

Trading continued until the end of the Second World War in 1945. The site is now an HSBC bank but the crest of an eagle and child is still to be seen in the gable.

As indicated earlier, the main reason so many of Northwich's pubs had to close was because of the impact of subsidence.

But many taverns continued in the face of adversity like The White Lion on Witton Street.

This three-storey pub was one of the worst affected and actually had to abandon its ground floor.

Nevertheless, landlords at The White Lion soldiered on by modifying its second floor to be used as a new ground floor.

The rear of the pub was also home to the notorious slum dwellings, dubbed the White Lion Court, where a passageway ran between the ground floor and second floor rooms of the pub. The White Lion finally closed in 1990.

An exploration of pub history would not be the same without the colourful characters that go with it.

The Woodpecker on London Road has amusing origins because the building used to be the home of the notorious Mrs Braddon.

This magistrate made her views on 'the demon drink' and public houses very clear.

Meanwhile, the George and Dragon on Witton Street was renowned for being a men-only pub accessible via a second class urinal, until law prohibited it.

Pam Beddard of the Northwich Guardian was the first ever woman to be served in the bar. Closed in 1993, it is now the site of Dixons and Superdrug.