Now it is so easy to get things wrong when it comes to identifying a local pub.
You start with a picture that looks vaguely familiar, discover that it is in the collection either side of images of the same location, and hey presto the mistake is about to be made.
Of course, it doesn’t help that you want it to be a pub you know, which would fit into the story you are writing.
So, there we have it, the story of the Didsbury pub that never was.
It started with a trawl through the collection of Manchester images from 1967, and amongst a group of pictures which were clearly of Didsbury, I came across three pub interiors.
You don’t often come across photographs of the insides of pubs, partly I guess because people were too busy drinking, or because most of the clientele took the inside for granted seeing no reason to bother wasting film on what everyone knew.
All of which made these three a bit special, and knowing the interior of Didsbury pubs I quickly fastened on the Royal Oak.
Like our pub it once had tiny rooms and given its age, would have looked very similar to the one in the three pictures.
That said, something was not quite right, with the geography of the room in relation to the streets outside.
At which point I called in my co author of the Manchester pubs books for a second opinion. Peter quickly pointed out that the name on the glass was the Queens Arms, and on closer inspection the partial street name visible through the window was not Old Oak Street.
Added to which for those who like these things the Royal Oak is a Marston’s pub, while the hand pumps on my mystery pub advertise Robinson’s brewery.
So it would seem that this is the end of the story, but not quite, because I rather think we can still learn something from our three images of what one of the smaller Didsbury pubs might have looked like.
And I know that this is historically a little questionable, but I have over the years sat in pubs across Manchester including Didsbury that come close to these interiors.
Back in 1967, you could still find pubs, with tired looking furniture, well worn lino, which offered just a darts board for entertainment and more than a few faded pictures of faraway scenes, along with a list of last seasons fixtures for the local football team, and an invitation to sign up for the next pub jolly to Blackpool.
Of course Didsbury pubs have long left this landscape well behind, and for those who want to know just how different they are I recommend our Didsbury pubs book ……….. Manchester Pubs - The Stories Behind the Doors - Didsbury, 2019, which is a companion to our other two in the series, on City Centre pubs, and the pubs and bars of Chorlton-cum-Hardy.
You can buy all three books from us at www.pubbooks.co.uk
Location; Manchester,
Pictures; The Queens Arms, 1967, "Courtesy of Manchester Archives+ Town Hall Photographers' Collection",
https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterarchiveplus/albums/72157684413651581?fbclid=IwAR35NR9v6lzJfkiSsHgHdQyL2CCuQUHuCuVr8xnd403q534MNgY5g1nAZfY
Of course, it doesn’t help that you want it to be a pub you know, which would fit into the story you are writing.
So, there we have it, the story of the Didsbury pub that never was.
It started with a trawl through the collection of Manchester images from 1967, and amongst a group of pictures which were clearly of Didsbury, I came across three pub interiors.
All of which made these three a bit special, and knowing the interior of Didsbury pubs I quickly fastened on the Royal Oak.
Like our pub it once had tiny rooms and given its age, would have looked very similar to the one in the three pictures.
That said, something was not quite right, with the geography of the room in relation to the streets outside.
Added to which for those who like these things the Royal Oak is a Marston’s pub, while the hand pumps on my mystery pub advertise Robinson’s brewery.
So it would seem that this is the end of the story, but not quite, because I rather think we can still learn something from our three images of what one of the smaller Didsbury pubs might have looked like.
And I know that this is historically a little questionable, but I have over the years sat in pubs across Manchester including Didsbury that come close to these interiors.
Of course Didsbury pubs have long left this landscape well behind, and for those who want to know just how different they are I recommend our Didsbury pubs book ……….. Manchester Pubs - The Stories Behind the Doors - Didsbury, 2019, which is a companion to our other two in the series, on City Centre pubs, and the pubs and bars of Chorlton-cum-Hardy.
You can buy all three books from us at www.pubbooks.co.uk
Location; Manchester,
Pictures; The Queens Arms, 1967, "Courtesy of Manchester Archives+ Town Hall Photographers' Collection",
https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterarchiveplus/albums/72157684413651581?fbclid=IwAR35NR9v6lzJfkiSsHgHdQyL2CCuQUHuCuVr8xnd403q534MNgY5g1nAZfY
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