Wednesday, 4 March 2015

On discovering the pubs of Urmston .......... the Lord Nelson

The Lord Nelson is one of those grand old public houses which you know has a history.

That said I have yet to discover its full story.

I know it was home to both the local Friendly Men’s Society who met there in the 1870s and to the Urmston Social Cycle Club who held their meetings in one of its fine rooms in 1911 and boasted a membership of 62 of who 20 were “ladies.”*

The exact date of its construction eludes me but Peter’s painting is very similar to photographs of the building in 1880 and I am guessing it will date from sometime in the previous decade, although sources point to an early pub.

That excellent site Trafford Lives adds that Urmston was “once one of the local notorious centres for the  cruel sport of bull - baiting and baits were held on the cobbled forecourt.

In the days of the stage coach the inn was a frequent stopping place for travellers who used what was the only road from Stretford from the west. Hot Cross Buns were sold outside the Lord Nelson at Easter.**

And of course the moment the story is posted there will be someone with detailed knowledge of the place and so I wait in hope that they will come forward.

Painting; the Lord Nelson, Urmston  © 2013 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures,
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
Facebook:  Paintings from Pictures

*The Urmston Urban District, http://www.urmston.net/urmston_a-z.pdf

**Trafford Lifetimes, http://legacy.trafford.gov.uk/content/tca/search_results.asp?fTown=30&fDecade=*&fKeyword=Lord+Nelson

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