Two in Chorley, the Flat Iron and Pearsons

 

Pearsons

72 Market Street, Chorley, PR7 2SE

TEL: 01257 273467

This pub has been through some name changes. It has been called the George, Yates's Wine Lodge, ID The Place To Be, The Blob. Then it closed for a while and reopened in 2013 under its current name. There's no information why it's been called Pearsons.

Decor - 3

muted colours, bit worn-looking

ambience - 4

lively, crowded

service -2

distracted, clumsy

The place was busy and the barman tried to serve three people at the same time, which

didn't quite work

real ales - 2

They had Lancaster IPA when I was there

features - 3

TV screens

live music and karaoke

dart board

large beer garden though completely plant and flower free, so I'm not giving it a point

toilets - 3

Score 17 out of 30

Two in Chorley, the Flat Iron and Pearsons

 

The Flat Iron

21 Cleveland Street, Chorley, PR7 1BH

TEL: none given

This nineteenth century pub was originally called the Market Tavern. It was closed for a while in the past two years and was renamed when it reopened. The Flat Iron is what locals used to call Chorley market. It featured in the first ever good beer guide in 1974. It is a relatively small pub, though not cramped, with one open room with the bar on the left as you go in.

decor - 4

tasteful charcoal greys, medium browns and gold detailing on the wooden panels.

ambience - 5

friendly

service - 5

friendly

real ale -3

sometimes they have four. On my visit they had Stone Edge and Monumental. They give a discount to CAMRA members.  

features - 1

TV screens

toilet - 3

Score 21 out of 30

The Ring O Bells, Middleton

 

The Ring O Bells

St Leonards Square, Middleton, Manchester M24 6DJ

TEL: 0161 654 9245

This building has been a pub since 1831 but according to local legend there has been a pub on the site since Anglo Saxon times and it was originally built over a druid's temple. In the English civ/li wart a group of Roundheads who used the place for secret meetings were captured and killed They are said tro have been buried in the pub cellar butr nobody ahs yet found any human remains..It is up the hill from the centre of Middleton in the conservation area, next to the park and opposite the church. 

decor - 4

light browns and greys, natural wood with carvings round the bar

ambience - 5

lively, friendly and no canned music so you can hear yourself talk 

service - 4

real ales - 1

A J.W. Lees pub

features - 6

child friendly

dog friendly

TV

serves food

rather nice beer garden

darts

toilets - 3

Score 23 out of 30

Disabled access: there is access for wheelchairs at the back.

The New Inn, Middleton

 

The New Inn

34 Long Street, Middleton, Manchester M24 6QU

No phone number listed

An unpretentious, friendly high street pub.

decor - 3

Blue, grey and white with wooden beams

ambience - 4 

very welcoming

real ales - 0

service - 4

welcoming

features - 4

pool table

darts

TV screens

live music at weekends

toilets - 3

Score 18 out of 30

The Harbord Harbord, the New Inn and the Ring O Bells

 

I made entries in 2022 for three of the six pubs in Middleton that host the Pace Egg players and said then I would review the remaining three at some time. I only got round to it this year. Here they are, with some photos of the Pace Egg players in between. 

    (For those who don't know, a Pace Egg play was a custom that first developed 700 years ago and was performed around local pubs at Easter, with the performers asking the landlord for beer and food. It has been revived in a few places in Lancashire, probably the most well known one now is performed in Heptonstall in West Yorkshire on Good Friday. The Middleton version is performed on Easter Monday and features St George and his supporters fighting the King of Turkey, with a doctor who revives St George when he is wounded in the battle. This year there were two doctors. And a horse, who belongs to the senior doctor and doesn't say anything. I'm relating this history because some of the people watching the players had no idea about it. The players don't demand free ale for their performance these days but collect money for charity. Look up Middleton Pace Egg Players on facebook and you might still be able to donate to this year's.)

The Harbord Harbord

17-21 Long Street, MIddleton, Manchester M24 6TE

TEL: 0161 654 6226

This is a Wetherspoons pub and delivers what you would expect form a Wetherspoons pub. It's a free house, has a good value pub menu and the company respects and emphasises the building's history. This was never built as a pub but was a shop, then became a branch of Burtons in the 1950s, then became a Woolworths, then was a series of independent supermarkets until it was turned into a pub in the 1980s. It is named after Harbord Harbord, who later became Lord Suffield. He became the local lord of the manor by marriage in the late 18th century, after marrying the daughter of the previous Lord, and was the first to consistently develop Middleton so that it changed from a village to a town. 

    Middleton has a lot of history. If you want to know more about it read

www.jdwetherspoon.com/pub-histories/the-harbord-harbord-middleton 

decor -2

Mostly drab browns

ambience - 4

lively

service - 2

Bit lackadaisical

Features - 1

Serves food

real ale - 5

Serves a wide range, like all Wetherspoons pubs

toilets - 4

Score 19 out of 30

Extra point for having good disabled access. the entrance is level with the street and the bar is all on one level and there is a disabled toilet.

The Snap Tin, Poynton

 

The Snap Tin

83 Park Lane, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1RD

TEL: 01625 630009

Not a traditional pub, it's a bar that looks like it's in former shop premises, and it's a restaurant bar. But it has a good range of drinks. (For those who don't know, a snap tin was what miners used to put their lunch in to take to work. Poynton was historically a coal mining area.)

decor - 3

light brown, tables a but close together

ambience - 3

friendly and relaxed

It wasn't busy when I was there, but I hear it gets lively on weekends.

real ale - 1

It does a lot of foreign ales with fancy foreign names but there's at least one recognisable cask ale

service - 3

Good but a bit distracted

features - 4

serves food

dog friendly

child friendly

music night on the last Saturday of the month

toilets- 4

Score 18 out of 30

The Farmers Arms, Poynton

 

The Farmers Arms

90 Park Lane, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1RE

TEL: 01625 875858

I can't find out anything about the history of this pub so far, and it seems to have been refurbed fairly recently so it's not possible to tell the building's age from its appearance.

decor - 4

ambience - 3

cheerful

real ale - none

It is a Robinsons pub

service - 3

features - 3

serves food

child friendly

location

toilets - 4

Score 17 out of 30

I've given it an extra point for location because it is near some fine countryside with a good network of footpaths and not far from Lyme Hall and Park.

 

The Boar's Head, Poynton

 

The Boar's Head

2 Shrigley Road North, near Poynton, Stockport SK12 1TE

TEL: 01625 409853

There has been a pub on this site for centuries but the current building, which replaced an older one, was built in 1906. In the mid-nineteenth century the local coal mine owner disapproved of the amount of drinking his employees did and had a Temperance Inn built right next door to it. The Temperance Inn is still there though it got a licence to serve alcohol in 1996. I may get a photo of it on a return visit. (I do intend to make a return visit as this area has nice walking routes and is also on the Middlewood Way, which goes from Marple to Macclesfield. I'll get a picture of the Boar's Head too. I didn't have my camera with me on this visit.)

decor - 5

posh, browns and greens, comfortable seating and little vases of flowers on the tables.

ambience - 4

friendly, relaxed

real ale - 1

Though it has up to three guest ales. Two of them were not available on my visit.

service - 3

A bit inattentive, even though the pub wasn't busy at the time.

features - 5

serves food

Welcomes 'walkers, muddy boots and dogs'

dog friendly

darts

quiz night once a week

toilets - 4

Score 22 out of 30

The Alehouse, Clitheroe

 

The Alehouse

12-14 Market Place, Clitheroe BB7 2DA

TEL: 07547359853

Didn't get a picture, I may get one on a return visit to Clitheroe.

This place opened in 2015 and is not a traditional pub but is converted from a double shop premises. I'm all for new bars being opened since so many traditional pubs have closed down (and are still closing down) but the premises have to be suitable. This place is too narrow and cramped to make a good pub. What redeems it is that it serves nothing but cask ales. 

decor - 1

very few pictures or ornaments, wooden interior upstairs and down.

ambience - 2

Lively but both the upstairs and downstairs rooms are narrow and cramped, making it difficult to move around safely between the bar and your seat, and avoid being walked into  by male customers who have already imbibed a bit.  The small space  means there are few seats anyway. 

Service - 1

slow

Real ales - 5

Five taps on the downstairs bar that serve nothing but cask ales

features - 2

Does gift cards to give to family and friends

TV in downstairs bar

toilets - 3

Disabled access is almost non existent. Narrow entrance. The toilets are up a steep flight of stairs and there are none on the ground floor.

Score 14 out of 30

The Swan and Royal hotel, Clitheroe

 

The Swan and Royal hotel, 26 Castle Street, Clitheroe BB7 2BX

TEL:01200 423130

This was a 19th century coaching inn and is now a grade II listed building. Its famous visited include Mathatma Ghandi in 1933 when he was inspecting a nearby cotton mill, and Winston Churchill and the jet engine pioneer Frank Whittle in 1940 and 1941 when they were discussing agreements for the development of the jet engine. The Riot Act was read from the steps of the building during the Cotton Riots of 1861 to 1865. This was the period of the Cotton Famine during the American Civil War, when cotton exports from the Confederate states were blockaded by the Union navy. The shortage of raw cotton for the textile mills in Lancashire caused them to close or go to short time working, which caused loss of income and hardship to the mill workers.

decor - 3

drab teal and brown

ambience - 3

lively

service - 4

real ales - 1

Timothy Taylor

features - 2

dog friendly

accommodation

toilets - 3

Score 16 out of 30