Horse & Jockey stories and a painting

I doubt that any of the twelve men who assembled in the Horse & Jockey in early May of 1847 had any doubt about who was guilty of the murder of Francis Deakin just two days earlier. It had been a silly quarrel fuelled by a day of drinking at the beer shop of Mrs Leach. At the end of which George Leach had stabbed Francis and immediately mumbled “ I hope he is not dead. I would give anything if I could restore him.” You can read the outcome in my forthcoming book, Chorlton-cum-Hardy A Society Transformed http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Chorlton%20the%20Book

Pubs were often used for inquests and the Horse and Jockey was no exception. I guess it was one of the only public places after the school and the church.

The pub has changed a lot since that grim day in May 1847. But most of those changes have occurred in the last half century when the pub slowly expanded to take over the whole row of cottages. But even as late as 1949 the space to the left of the entrance was still not part of the pub. Its picket fence can be clearly seen in the short film Bella's Birthday which was made up of out-takes from School for Randle and featured the pub as a location.

It was made by the Mancunian Film Company who had it studios on Dickenson Road and had been making films since the late 1920s. A comprehensive history of the company can be found at http://www.itsahotun.com/history.html

I was reminded of the clip from the film when Peter and I talked about his painting of the pub. Peter paints bits of Chorlton and I have started adding stories. I like this picture which perfectly captures the new Horse & Jockey on a warm summers evening. His paintings are currently on exhibition at a number of local venues and can be seen at www.facebook.com/paintingsfrompictures
Picture; © Peter Topping 2011 www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk