The End of an Era?

The Coachmakers Inn, Hanley

The Coachmakers of course is under threat from a proposed new shopping centre on the East/West Precinct, which has been on the cards for the best part of fifteen years. It is a development that Hanley desperately needs if Stoke-on-Trent is to up the ante and begin to punch its weight as a city. However, Hanley still needs small places like the Coachmakers, places which give the city its unique character. It is going to be an interesting battle: thousands of people have signed a petition to save the Coachmakers, and have high profile supporters such as Gordon Banks, while I have no doubt that should the developer behind the redevelopment insist that this small part of the Potteries’ heritage is vital to its plans, the City Council will use its compulsory purchase powers and ably demonstrate locally what Andrew Marr has described as “the defeat of politics by shopping”.

The Kings Arms, Meir

While it is sad, we should not be surprised; the disappearance of the traditional pub is not a new phenomenon, and it continues apace in the Potteries. The battle to save the Coachmakers is the second in a couple of high profile cases in the city, the other being the Kings Arms in Meir, a major local landmark on the A50, and a very attractive building. The site has been acquired by the local Primary Care Trust who propose to develop a state-of-the-art health centre. While the facility will no doubt be welcomed, the loss of the pub will not be. An attempt to persuade English Heritage to list the pub recently failed, and will probably sound the death knell for the Kings Arms. A similar battle has been fought for the Oxford Arms over in May Bank.

If you are a regular viewer of Television Trash such as Coronation Street or Eastenders, the producers of these shows will have you convinced that community life revolves around the local; while there are some examples where this is the case, travel around the Potteries and you will find many examples of the pub’s decline.

I have previously spoken of the disappearance of the Duke of Wellington in Norton Green, now a private dwelling. The Ford in Ford Green has changed hands so many times over the last decade it may as well have a revolving door. The grand looking Duke William in the Mother Town has been closed for more than three years, while just down the road in Longport, the Grade II Listed Duke of Bridgewater stands boarded up and forlorn, and as with the Duke William, has done for over three years.

The Duke of Bridgewater, Longport in better days

There is no single reason for this decline, and there are many contributory factors: loss and erosion of the communities that underpin the trade of the local; decline of industry and the spread of unemployment; greedy breweries and pub company landlords screwing their tenants to the point where they cannot make a living and move on; the rise of the ‘pub chain’ (J. D. Weatherspoon is fast becoming as ubiquitous as McDonalds and KFC).

One of the biggest reasons though is probably the gradual disappearance of the Landlord; when I say the Landlord, I mean the loss of characters that often make the pub landlord a legendary figure. I often recall my father talking about the people that used to run his favourite haunts in glowing terms, telling warm, often hilarious stories about happy hours spent in the pub in their company. Could you name the ‘manager’ of your local Weatherspoons?

There is hope though, and this sad trend is being bucked in places. Thanks to the vision and drive of the Bott Brothers Dave and Keith, the independent Titanic Brewery goes from strength to strength, as does their first pub, the Bulls Head on St Johns Square in Burslem. Titanic have recently opened their second pub, the Greyhound in Newcastle.

the Bulls Head on St Johns Square in Burslem

It may be that Burslem can capitalise on the recent opening of a ‘beer emporium’ on Market Place and find itself a new role in city life as a centre of excellence for real ale. Who knows, this may yet see the revival of the Duke William, while the historic Leopard still hums with activity most nights.

beer emporium, Burslem
Grade II Listed shop premises, Market Place, Burslem:
now refurbished and reopened as a ‘beer emporium’

The Golden Cup on Old Town Road in Hanley, though cut off from the centre of town by the ring road continues to go from strength to strength, as does the Unicorn on Piccadilly in the heart of the Cultural Quarter.

A survivor of past redevelopment schemes in Hanley and a personal favourite is the Albion Hotel, now dwarfed by Blackburn House, but still at the heart of life in the city centre.

The Albion, Hanley

The Golden Cup, Hanley

The Unicorn Inn, Hanley

There is more good news. The Jovial Foresters on Marsh Street, with its distinctive and unusual façade, and had sat empty for eight months, has been reopened by Australian Andrew MacLeod, who aims to cater for both the traditional pub crowd, and local office workers.

Good luck to them all.

The Jovial Foresters

David Proudlove 7 June 2008