I would like to have sat and had a pint in the old Bowling Green Hotel. It was built sometime around the 1780s and replaced an old wattle and daub house. It was at first a farmhouse and pub combined and belonged to the Egerton family, but more about this tomorrow.
The present Bowling Green or “Bowler” was built at the beginning of the 20th century, just a little to the east of the old one.
I began drinking there in the early 1980’s when and like the Trevor it would be a busy place at weekends. During the week it was quieter and despite its open plan the lounge was a comfortable and relaxed place to while away an evening.
The vault to the side was often a livelier place, and it was here that I would find my old friend Mike, who I had known from the late 1960s. He would spend every evening having an evening meal with us in the house we had once shared but prompt at 9, having done the washing up said good night to the children he would disappear into a taxi for the vault of the Bowling Green where he would consume four pints of lager, no more, no less and leave with his “carry out.” Only years later in the aftermath of his sudden death did we learn that his name was not Mike but Stanley and that the and his birthday had been borrowed from his brother.
Still he was fun to be with and the nights he reluctantly crossed over to join us in the big room of the pub were bound to be hilarious. So when I look at Peter’s painting of the Bowling Green I am reminded of those good nights.
Peter has been painting pictures of Chorlton and recently I joined him by adding stories. This particular painting is on show behind the bar, while others can be seen in various locations. To follow Peter’s work the link is http://www.facebook.com/paintingsfrompictures
These were the years when the place was run by Tommy who took great pride in his pub and its history. I well remember him showing any one that had the time to spare the brass plate commemorating the murder of a policeman who was buried in the churchyard beside the pub. Tommy was also keen to promote local charities and sponsored special events and collaborated on a day of fun one summer on the Rec and the green.
Picture; The Bowling Green Hotel © Peter Topping
The present Bowling Green or “Bowler” was built at the beginning of the 20th century, just a little to the east of the old one.
I began drinking there in the early 1980’s when and like the Trevor it would be a busy place at weekends. During the week it was quieter and despite its open plan the lounge was a comfortable and relaxed place to while away an evening.
The vault to the side was often a livelier place, and it was here that I would find my old friend Mike, who I had known from the late 1960s. He would spend every evening having an evening meal with us in the house we had once shared but prompt at 9, having done the washing up said good night to the children he would disappear into a taxi for the vault of the Bowling Green where he would consume four pints of lager, no more, no less and leave with his “carry out.” Only years later in the aftermath of his sudden death did we learn that his name was not Mike but Stanley and that the and his birthday had been borrowed from his brother.
Still he was fun to be with and the nights he reluctantly crossed over to join us in the big room of the pub were bound to be hilarious. So when I look at Peter’s painting of the Bowling Green I am reminded of those good nights.
Peter has been painting pictures of Chorlton and recently I joined him by adding stories. This particular painting is on show behind the bar, while others can be seen in various locations. To follow Peter’s work the link is http://www.facebook.com/paintingsfrompictures
These were the years when the place was run by Tommy who took great pride in his pub and its history. I well remember him showing any one that had the time to spare the brass plate commemorating the murder of a policeman who was buried in the churchyard beside the pub. Tommy was also keen to promote local charities and sponsored special events and collaborated on a day of fun one summer on the Rec and the green.
Picture; The Bowling Green Hotel © Peter Topping
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