Today I was a guest of the Horse and Jockey. Now this is my favourite pub in Chorlton. Partly this is because it features so much in my forthcoming book but also because of the way it has been tastefully remade. The core is still the old familiar place but with its open fires, split level restaurant, wonderful food and homemade beers it has got to be unique.
I must confess that when I am in there my mind wanders back to the inquest into the murder of young Francis Deakin while on a lighter note it was just outside the front door that the prize fighter Samuel Warburton was arrested at 7 am on Sunday morning with a pint in his hand and the signs across his face of the illegal fight he had participated in just a few hours earlier.
And today I was being shown around some of the bits most of us don’t get to see. This included the old malt house with the remains of the furnace and wooden tubs. Even more exciting was the ladder to the top floor which was nothing more than foot holds cut into the wooden side.
Emily Fisher who is events manager, capped the day with a guided tour of the old living quarters up stairs. Now it is thought that the building dates back to the early 1500s when most domestic buildings were made with wattle and daub walls. And just such a wall was uncovered when they were constructing part of the new restaurant.The pub can be reached at http://www.horseandjockeychorlton.com/
Picture, the Horse and Jockey circa 1900, when the pub still consisted of just two rooms either side of the present front door, from the collection of Tony Walker.
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