The Lord Nelson on Newton Street …… no longer will it celebrate the Battle of Trafalgar

Now I am the first to admit that the title is a tad contrived.

The Lord Nelson circa 2010

But the 27 ships of the Royal Navy were commanded by Admiral Nelson when it engaged a larger force of French and Spanish ships at the Battle of Trafalgar.

The outcome was a victory for the Royal Navy, although Nelson died during the battle, and like so many victorious commanders he gave his name to a string of pubs across the country.

Here in Manchester and Salford, Pigot’s Directory for 1828-9 listed six pubs bearing the Admiral’s name and one of these was the Lord Nelson on Newton Street, when it was run by a Robert Walker. Mr. Walker is a shadowy figure, and I can find no reference to him in the Rate Books till 1840, but he will be there, I just haven’t found him yet.  

But then I can’t locate him on the census returns.  There are lots of Robert Walker’s in Manchester in 1841, but not one of them was a publican.

So I shall have to revert to the pub, which in Michael’s picture carried the date of 1895, which will be when it was rebuilt.

The Lord Nelson, 1851

The early pub was quite a substantial one taking up a largish footprint according to several maps from the middle decades of the 19^th century.

 Leaving me just to add it closed around 2010 and was demolished the following year, after which it became a building site between 2016 and 18, and is now one of those modern buildings the city seems to throw up from Ancoats across to Deansgate.*

 Pictures; The Lord Nelson, circa 2010, courtesy of Michael Markey, and the pub in 1851, from Adshead’s map of Manchester, 1851, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, https://digitalarchives.co.uk/

 *Pubs of Manchester, http://pubs-of-manchester.blogspot.com/search?q=lord+nelson