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Sea Lion, Globe, Pig Pen and New Inn: The lost pubs of Hanley

Mervyn Edwards explores Hanley pubs of yesteryear

[Burton Stores in Hanley ]

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Burton Stores in Hanley

Over the years, many readers have reminisced about bygone boozers in the city centre. Among those weve lost in living memory have been the Golden Lion, the Sea Lion, the Trumpet, the Hawkesmore, the Antelope, the Globe, the New Inn, the Three Tuns, the Burton Stores (Pig Pen) and... a pub with no name.

The derelict Jovial Foresters, in Marsh Street, lost its relief signage and rendered facade on safety grounds as reported on StokeonTrentLive in March. There was some talk at the time about the pub being one of the oldest in the city. However, it was not even one of the oldest in Hanley, though it certainly appears by 1876 as a beerhouse.

Many folk will remember the Black Horse, whose address was also Marsh Street. When I think back, I am reminded of just how many pubs earn a reputation that persuades some punters to give them a wide berth. The Burton Stores was among them though I never saw any trouble in there. Perhaps I was lucky.

David Vickers, the renowned poet of Penkhull, offered recollections of the Black Horse in The Sentinel in 2019. David and his friend with a degree of trepidation once ventured into the hostelry.

He scribed: Have you ever entered a place and had the feeling that youd better choose every word carefully, avoid eye contact and act generally as though you are privileged to be let in at all? That was my first impression of the Black Horse.

His friend rather bravely suggested that they proceeded to the back room.

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The Black Horse, in Marsh Street, Hanley, in 1991

David continues: The back room was almost as notorious in folklore as the pub itself. There were seats all around the room and a large jukebox, exclusively dedicated to heavy metal titles, to the left as you entered. The room was packed, hot and sweaty, with many dancing to the music, all in the dress code of denim, leather and loads of studs and buckles; and above all, the music of Black Sabbath was obviously king that night.

David added that this rockers pub proved to be quite friendly on the night, but that maybe another night would have told a different story.

The Black Horse closed in 1991 after Ansells brewery had refused to bring it up to health standards and was demolished in 1994.

Youre about to read that one mans den of iniquity is another mans cherished sanctuary according to his age and the time that he remembers a hostelry from.

Heres a wistful recollection from Victor Evans, who wrote to The Sentinel in 2004. He mentioned the Mostyn Arms in Hanley, where he lived for 13 years.

He scribed: I moved into the Mostyn, with my parents in 1970, at the age of five. It was a traditional pub, with a darts, dominoes and cribbage team. There was no Potteries Way bypass in those days. The area was full of houses, shops and factories. We enjoyed the dinner time trade from Dudsons pot bank, Century Oils and Howells Stanway. Then at night all the regulars would gather for a pint, to swap stories and generally enjoy each others company. The Mostyn was a real community pub, where you were always welcome.

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John Abberley at the Burton Stores Pub in Hanley

Fast-forward to 1989 when a friend and I entered the pub for the one and only time. It was a pub that made the Pig Pen look like the Ritz London. From the moment I pushed back the front door, I felt as welcome as a crispbread on Billy Bunters dinner plate. As I made my jittery way to the bar, a cursory glance at the surroundings revealed torn bags of sand and cement dumped on to the spavined fixed seating.

I wondered for a moment whether I would be exiting the pub in concrete galoshes, especially upon observing that the scruffs at the bar all appeared to be staring at me like a bobcat thats seen a lame rabbit. I bought two halves for ourselves and was short-changed.

Believe it or not, I had the cojones to challenge this, which evidently annoyed the barman, and it was only the intervention of his more civilised spouse that soothed the situation. I was relieved to exit from the pub shortly after.

Never mind giving the upholstery an occasional wash-down, there was a time when publicans knew that they had to keep their noses clean, too and were more than willing to stay on the right side of the authorities. Take the Waggon and Horses at the end of Tontine Street. It can certainly be traced back to the 19th century, but was rebuilt by Parkers (Burslem) Brewery in 1956.

Times have changed, and youd never believe it nowadays, but its opening was attended by the chairman of the Stoke-on-Trent Licensing Magistrates as well as 50 guests representing the legal profession and business fraternity in Hanley. This underlined the public houses value as a service provider that was expected to take its place among the valuable amenities within the city centre.

The fact that the pub evidently targeted the theatre and cinema-going crowd meant that it needed to be a cut above the average town centre boozer. It suffered many name-changes over the years and some may remember it as Harpers, or the later Harveys.

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The Sea Lion, in Hanley, in 1982

I enjoyed many happy times in Hanley pubs. Remember the Globe in Bucknall New Road? Barry Cartlidge, who was born in the back bedroom when the pub was owned by his grandparents in the 1920s, recalled that in those days, women were not allowed in the bar, as was the norm. He added that there was a proper pub floor with sawdust on it for when people dropped their fag ends.

Arnold Bennett Society members may not know that in the mid-1980s, the pub sold Five Towns Mild, Bursley Bitter and Bennett Ale. I recall the heady atmosphere of Saturday nights in the Globe, when it was run by ex-miner Dave Nullis in the 1990s. On one occasion, in 1998, I entered the pub to be reminded by Dave that I hadnt yet kept my promise of drumming up some publicity for the pub.

He joked that if he were to put a few rips in the upholstery, then I might take the pub to heart a little more.

I feel that the demands of his new profession burnt him out a great loss to the hospitality trade, as he usually dressed smartly and was a fine landlord.

His successors at the Globe werent a patch on Dave and the pub was ultimately demolished in 2011.

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The Globe, in Hanley, in 2008

Well end, as we started, with a recollection from David Vickers. This ones quite a shocker and proof, if it were needed, that all pubs have stories to tell. In his autobiographical, Easily Distracted: A Potteries Odyssey, David remembered the Sea Lion with its tiled frontage later demolished and now part of the Potteries Shopping Centre site.

Upon nipping in for a swift half, David heard the sound of a piano playing, and so he followed the pleasing melodies up to the upstairs function room where a 20-something cove with a Bohemian appearance was playing an old upright.

Switching tempos from song to song, his digits fairly flew over the keyboard, evidently, a classically-trained ivory-tickler of some prowess.

It was a surreal moment, wrote David, as though I had suddenly walked in on Franz Liszt playing piano in a Hanley city centre pub.

The virtuoso stopped, asked for requests and David suggested a few himself, before the pair began to chat about their musical interests. He suggested they kept in touch and wrote his name on a serviette that David pocketed.

Now heres the storys kicker - in Davids own words: A few days later, listening to the news on the radio, I heard that three young French tourists had been shot dead in Cheshire, and a murder hunt was underway. Shortly after that, the police gave the name of their prime suspect. Yes, as you will have guessed, it was indeed the pianist in the pub. The next day, if I remember it correctly, came the news that he had been found dead in his car, having taken his own life.

What exactly happened was never satisfactorily established. He left a note, in which he indicated that he had been taunted, either for his appearance, or for some other reason.

We will probably never know, but whatever was the catalyst for his devastating actions, it resulted in the tragic waste of four young lives. A sobering experience, indeed, for a meeting in a pub! I still have that serviette.

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