I am the first to admit that as a title it might not pass muster under the heading of true stories about Didsbury pubs, but there is an element of truth.
This is the Royal Oak, famed for its cheese and pate lunches, mentioned in the Guardian Food Guide back in 1988, and regularly in newspaper articles and blogs ever since.
But once upon a time it received its beer from the Taylor’s Eagle Brewery, which was based behind the University on Lloyd Street.
The brewery was founded by Joseph Taylor in 1849, registered in February 1888 and was sold in 1924 to a company which retained 60 pubs and was acquired by Marston, Thompson and Evershed Ltd in 1958.*
Now, if you are at all romantic or imaginative, you might well speculate on the origin of the name Eagle in the title, and I wish there were something bizarre about how it came to be included.
But alas it is nothing more exciting than that the brewery was situated on Eagle Street, although later it was listed on Burlington Street which almost adjoins it.
It was here by 1863, and was advertised as “Taylor, Joseph, ale & porter brewer Eagle Brewery, Lloyd Street, Burlington Street, Oxford Street, Chorlton on Medlock”.
Mr. Taylor does appear to have prospered, because thirteen years earlier, he didn’t qualify to be listed in the trades section as a brewer and only appears in the alphabetical listings of the directory as “brewer 12 Calder Street”, and “beer retailer 25 Brownhill Street”, both in Salford.
It is a measure of just how modest his two enterprises were back in 1850, that neither Calder Street or Brownhill Street were significant enough to be included in the directory.
Nor does he show up in the historic records.
In 1851, a Joseph Taylor is recorded as a pauper in the Salford Workhouse, while a second was living in Prestwich, was 73, and on “private means”, neither of which is he.
So, the search will go on, but in the meantime, I do have a map showing the brewery in 1893, a couple of beer bottles bearing the company name, and of course the ongoing mystery of where to find Mr. Taylor.
But, for all those who like lists, I do have a full list of the pubs owned by Taylor’s Eagle Brewery. Most are in Manchester, with a few in Salford and others in faraway Altrincham, Knutsford, Timperley and Urmston, but the company had two in Didsbury, of which the second was the Station, which is a story for another day.
Location, Didsbury, Chorlton on Medlock and Salford
Pictures; The Royal Oak, 1959, J.F. Harris, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass and the Taylor’s Eagle Brewery, 1894 from the OS map of South Lancashire, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/
*Brewerypedia, http://breweryhistory.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
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| The Royal Oak, 1959 |
But once upon a time it received its beer from the Taylor’s Eagle Brewery, which was based behind the University on Lloyd Street.
The brewery was founded by Joseph Taylor in 1849, registered in February 1888 and was sold in 1924 to a company which retained 60 pubs and was acquired by Marston, Thompson and Evershed Ltd in 1958.*
Now, if you are at all romantic or imaginative, you might well speculate on the origin of the name Eagle in the title, and I wish there were something bizarre about how it came to be included.
 |
| The Eagle Brewery, behind the University, 1894 |
It was here by 1863, and was advertised as “Taylor, Joseph, ale & porter brewer Eagle Brewery, Lloyd Street, Burlington Street, Oxford Street, Chorlton on Medlock”.
Mr. Taylor does appear to have prospered, because thirteen years earlier, he didn’t qualify to be listed in the trades section as a brewer and only appears in the alphabetical listings of the directory as “brewer 12 Calder Street”, and “beer retailer 25 Brownhill Street”, both in Salford.
It is a measure of just how modest his two enterprises were back in 1850, that neither Calder Street or Brownhill Street were significant enough to be included in the directory.
Nor does he show up in the historic records.
In 1851, a Joseph Taylor is recorded as a pauper in the Salford Workhouse, while a second was living in Prestwich, was 73, and on “private means”, neither of which is he.
But, for all those who like lists, I do have a full list of the pubs owned by Taylor’s Eagle Brewery. Most are in Manchester, with a few in Salford and others in faraway Altrincham, Knutsford, Timperley and Urmston, but the company had two in Didsbury, of which the second was the Station, which is a story for another day.
Location, Didsbury, Chorlton on Medlock and Salford
Pictures; The Royal Oak, 1959, J.F. Harris, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass and the Taylor’s Eagle Brewery, 1894 from the OS map of South Lancashire, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/
*Brewerypedia, http://breweryhistory.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
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