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 Bull's Head, Castleton, Derbyshire

 

The Bull's Head

Cross Street, Castleton, Derbyshire S33 8WH

TEL: 01433 620256

This is the first pub in the village you come to if you approach from the direction of the railway station at Hope. I haven't been able to find a date for it, so no idea how old it is. It was refurbished in March 2024.

ambience - 4

relaxing

decor - 4

comfortable seating

warm, light brown wood interior

service - 3

real ales - 1

features - 5

serves food

also serves savoury bar snacks and scones

accommodation

dog friendly

*location - I don't often give a point for a pub's location but this one is in the lovely Hope Valley, and in a village with Peveril castle (called Peak castle until the 19th century when Sir Walter Scott wrote Peveril of the Peak) on the hill above it.

toilets - 4

Score 21 out of 30

If you can get to Castleton on 29th May it holds the Garland Festival, which is believed to date back to at least the 17th century.

The Saracens Head, Warburton, Cheshire

The Saracens Head

Paddock Lane, Warburton, Cheshire WA13 9TH

TEL: 01925 753761

A rural pub out in the Cheshire countryside, which was a 17th century coaching inn.. I came across it because it is just 50 yards off the GM Ringway route. It is mainly a restaurant but has a bar area for drinkers. 

ambience - 3

Don't know what it's like when it's busy. I arrived just as it opened on a day early in the week, so it was quiet. I'm guessing it's lively at times. There's a huge, well designed dining room that takes up a lot of space but it's well separated from the bar area if you're only in for a drink.

No canned music and no tellies. (I like that)

decor - 4

Pale walls and lots of huge old wooden beams. A very traditional feel.

service - 4

Fast and attentive

real ale - 2

It's a Greene King pub but has two guest ales.

features - 5

Serves food, classic pub menu

Play barn and play area for children.

big pub garden

dog-friendly

The fifth feature is one you will only see in early November. This is when the Warburton Soulers perform a traditional folk play about death and revival. Their first performance of the year is at the Saracens Head on 1st November, unless that is a Sunday, in which case the first performance is on 2nd November.

Find out more about the Soulers and soul-caking on 

www.larchfieldhouse.co.uk/Souling/WarburtonSoulingPlay.htm

 

toilets- 3

Good, newly decorated and very clean. But no loo roll.

Score 20 out of 30