The Fleece Inn, Mossley

 

The Fleece Inn

53 Stamford Street, Top Mossley, OL5 0LN

01457 835487

This got its first licence as a public house in 1808, which I think makes it Mossley's oldest continuous pub. 

Decor - 4

Tasteful pale walls, wooden floors, comfortable seating including the straight backed chairs.

Ambience - 2

Friendly regular's pub but the music from the TV was a bit too loud for comfortable conversation

Features - 1

TV screen

dog friendly

real ale - 4

They only had one in when I was there, but it's only been a week since pubs were allowed to reopen so they haven't had time to restock. So, I'm giving 4 points as its the usual number of real ales they have in.

Service - 5

Fast and friendly

(Taking account of there only being table service under coronavirus restrictions)

Toilets - 5

No disabled access

Score 21 out of 30

The Butcher's Arms, Mossley

 

The Butchers Arms

7 Stockport Road, Mossley OL5 0QX

01457 835324

Decor - 3

Tasteful cream and light brown theme, newish, nice fairy lights in the lounge area, but I've knocked a point off for the fact that about two-thirds of the seating is the high stool type, which is too uncomfortable to use if you're below average height or disabled.

Ambience - 3

Relaxing

Features - 3

According to their website, they had pool and their own pool team, darts and cribbage before the lockdowns. I didn't see a pool table or dart board when I was there, and I don't know about the cribbage. But -

They've reinstated the weekly live music and DJs..

They do raffles. Next one planned is for father's day on 20th June,  fathers and sons who arrive together get a free strip of raffle tickets.

TV screen for the sports

Real ale - 4

Specialises in real ales

Service - 4

(Allowing for table service only during coronavirus restrictions)

Toilets - 5

Score 22 out of 30

The Blazing Rag, Mossley

The Blazing Rag

15 George Street, Mossley OL5 0HW

01457 837184

It's an unusual name, though not the only such in the country, there are Blazing Rag pubs in Buxton and Nottingham as well. According to Wikipedia, the name is associated with hound trailing, which dates to the 18th century, where hounds were set to follow the scent of a rag soaked in paraffin and aniseed. The rag was customarily burned in the pub fire at the end of the trail. 

    I have no information whether hound trailing was ever carried out in the Mossley area. In the few areas in Britain, including Devon and the Lake District, where scent trailing by hounds is still carried out, there is much evidence that it is being used as a cover for illegal fox hunting. The CPS and the police seem strangely reluctant to prosecute this crime.

lancs.live/news/local-news/bid-end-feral-illegal-fox-19469153

independent.co.uk/news/long-reads/fox-hunting-uk-britain-mobs-driving-communities-apart-a7948516.html

somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/trail-hunting-licences-suspended-somerset-4740051

Decor - 2

Newish decoration, comfortable seating, but completely bare walls in an unattractive shade of pale grey. It's the first time I've seen a pub with no ornaments, pictures or posters whatsoever.

Ambience - 2

A friendly regular's pub, but the decor gives it a clinical feel.

Features - 3

It has a TV screen and shows the football.

In normal times it had live music. This may return.

dog friendly

Real Ale- 3

Service - 3

(Allowing for the fact that pubs are still under coronavirus restrictions, so it's table service only.)

Toilets - 5

Perfect

Score 18 out of 30

No disabled access. (This doesn't attract or subtract any points as a lot of pubs are in old buildings that aren't practical to adapt. But I'm going to start mentioning it from now on, with reference to how accessible the building is for people with mobility impairments.)

See what I mean about the bare walls

 

 

The Commercial, Mossley

The Commercial

58 Manchester Road, Mossley  OL5 0AA

Tel 01457 321287 

This three storey pub is said to be the first in Mossley (Bottom Mossley) and was originally a coaching inn, before the railways were built. It has a two-sided bar, with  a raised small stage on one side.

Ambience - 3

decor - 2

Shabby and grubby, needs redecorating.

Has benches aloing the wall but no chairs, only stools

Service - 1

surly

real ale - 0

None

Features - 3

pool 

darts

live music at weekends 

Toilet - 4

grubby floors, otherwise okay

Score 13 out of 30

The Best O' Brass

Best O' Brass
147 Manchester Road, Mossley OL5 9AB
Tel: 01457 832201

A friendly locals' pub on the main road through Mossley.

Ambience -5

Decor -  4

Cream, green and maroon theme with photos of the surrounding countryside on the walls. For a small pub, it has a lot of comfortable seating.

Service - 5

friendly and prompt

ales - 3

Three real ales. I had the Hobgoblin on my latest visit

Features - 3

allows dogs

child friendly

disco at the weekends

No space for traditional pub games like darts and pool. It's a small pub and narrows at one end, due to being on the end of a row. 

Toilets - 4

clean and fully supplied. Water not very hot, but I prefer that. The hot water in public lavs is often too hot to rinse your hands safely.

Score 24 out of 30

The New Bridge Inn

The New Bridge Inn, 
Micklehurst Road, Mossley OL5 9HT
Tel: 01457 832146 

A pleasant Pennine village pub, sits between the River Tame and Rochdale canal and the Pennine bridleway.

Ambience - 4

Piped music but not too loud and intrusive

Decor - 4

Red and cream, quite new, with plenty of comfortable seating.

Ale - 0

No real ale, only John Smith bitter, Carling lager, Strongbow cider - the usual mass produced stuff plus wine and spirits

Features - 5

bar snacks (pizza, baguette, nachos)

dominoes

pool

darts

allows dogs

Service - 5

very helpful and friendly

toilets - 5

beautifully clean and fully supplied

Score 23 out of 30

 This section of the Pennine bridleway used to be a railway line

 A nearby view

 

The Church, Mossley

The Church, Stockport Road, Mossley OL5 0RF

Retains fewer of its original features than the Rising Sun, half a mile along the same road, but the building is probably about the same age. It has the same fine views over the Pennines.

decor - 3

well maintained, comfortable seating

ambience - 3

service - 4

prompt and polite

ales - 2

plus one farmhouse cider

features - 2

pool room

dogs allowed, but only on leads as there is a resident Manx Cat who sometimes hangs out in the main bar
children allowed

toilets - 4

nicely maintained and fully supplied

Score 19 out of 30

 

view across Saddleworth from the back of the pub

The Rising Sun, Mossley

The Rising Sun, Stockport Road, Mossley, OL5 0RJ

Originally licensed as a beerhouse in 1850, then as a public house in 1870; the landlord had to improve the facilities and build stables to get his new licence. Now a Freehouse with eight real ales and two farmhouse ciders. It's on the 353 bus route and has parking next to it (on the right of this picture).

decor - 4

white walls and dark beams, in keeping with the pubs age and style. Snug at the back retains period features. Some might think the stone floor and plain décor looks bare, but the seats are comfortable. It has wood burning stoves, very cosy on winter evenings.

ambience - 3

Bit rowdy when the football is on, otherwise okay

service -4

fast and friendly

ales - 5

It usually has eight ales and two ciders. This is a dedicated real ale pub with its own website (www.risingsunmossley.co.uk ) . There is a new ale every week, but always something from local brewery Millstone Mossley.

features - 4

Two screens in two rooms [I haven't previously mentioned the availability of TV and sports programmes in pubs, but some people like this sort of thing, so...]

dogs on leads permitted

quiz night on Tuesdays
DJ and live Bluegrass music once a week (different days)

toilets - 3

Score 22 out of 30

The Roaches Lock

The Roaches Lock Inn, Manchester Road, Mossley, OL5 9BB

01457 837151

This is another canalside pub, just a little way along the canal in the Ashton direction from the Tollemache Arms. However, it is a restaurant rather than a pub.  It caters only for people who have come for a meal, the only place you can really sit down just for a drink is at one of the outside tables. It would be stretching the definition to call this a beer garden. The tables are in a paved space under a canopy, probably devised since the smoking ban to accommodate customers who smoke. But there's a good view of the canal.

I don't do reviews of pub food, but on the Sunday I was there, (in miserable weather) it was packed out with diners. If it's usually that popular, it suggests the food isn't bad. 

ambience - 4

decor - 3

pleasant atmosphere, lively without being noisy

ale - 4

four guest ales when I visited: Thwaites Original, Wainwrights, Lancaster Bomber, XXXB

Also does a big range of wines

service - 0

Sorry, but it does deserve 'nil points' for the service. Distinctly frosty, and for a second or two I wondered if I would be allowed to approach the bar closely enough to actually order a pint. I don't know the reason. It could be they don't like people in walking gear, but I saw no Dress Code notices. 

features - 1

serves food

One of the customers told me the place used to do live entertainment, but he isn't sure if it still does. If somebody who knows whether they do wants to post a comment, I'll add a point.

Toilets - 4

Pristine, but had run out of loo paper

Score 16 out of 30



The Tollemache Arms

The Tollemache Arms, 415 Manchester Road, Mossley OL5 9BG

01457 834555

Cosy canalside pub, on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. It is one of four pubs in the country named after Baron Tollemache, whose claim to fame is that he was a long-standing Conservative MP for Cheshire, and the largest landowner in the county in the 1800s. He also built Peckforton Castle, (Peckforton Hills, Cheshire).
     
     The pub can be entered from the road, as in the photos, or from the canal towpath. Very much a regulars pub (I got stared at when I walked in; a sure sign they don't get many non-regulars dropping in). It's not unfriendly to walkers, though when it's crowded the small rooms mean you'll have a job finding somewhere to put your rucksack down.

Ambience - 3
decor - 2
Dark decor with wooden floors, makes it a bit gloomy, though it might look less so in sunshine (I've only managed to find this pub in the rain so far.)

ale - 0
service - 3
Friendly enough

features - 3
quiz at weekends
canalside beer garden
welcomes dogs and walkers

toilets - 4

Score 15 out of 30

The Dysarts Arms

The Dysarts Arms, Huddersfield Road, Mossley, Tameside OL5 9BT

01457 832103

Out on its own, near the top of the hills above Mossley village, this is an originally 17th century pub, with a partly modernised interior that has still retained most of the original features. Worth a special trip for the food and the view. Bus 350 Ashton-Manchester passes the front door. 

ambience - 3

decor - 4

Divided into four small rooms, which have low, beamed ceilings, cosy but not cramped. Comfortable seating, new, pale cream decor. Lively.

service - 3

ale - 3

July 2012: Unicorn, Jubilee ale, and one other

features - 3

children permitted

serves food

beer garden

toilets - 4

Score 20 out of 30

The Britannia Inn, Mossley

The Britannia Inn, 217 Manchester Road, Mossley

Ambience - 3
Decor - 4
Very much a regulars' pub, most customers are local. This gives the place a very relaxed feel. The decor is clean and well maintained

Ale - 5
This is a real ale pub, always has at least five ales

Features - 3
Serves food
Has live music at weekends
Holds regular events, like a summer barbecue and a Rocky Horror Night at Halloween

Service - 3 Friendly

Toilets - 3
Clean and fresh, but tends to be a shortage of loo rolls

Score 21 out of 30