Chorley Chatter

News from the Chorley area is rather thin on the ground this quarter.

The first thing to report is that Withnell’s brewery has ceased brewing. Co-owner Paul Rowe told us that they had been forced to throw in the towel, unable to absorb the continuing price increases for utilities and raw materials. The brewing kit is for sale and this brings to an end 6 years of brewing. Withnell’s started in 2016 in a small unit in Bamber Bridge, moving to Chorley in late 2019, becoming the first brewery in the town for many years. The timing could not have been worse, with lockdown hitting almost immediately and delaying the opening of their taproom for some time. Sadly, along with the closure of the brewery we have also lost the ARTISAN ALE HOUSE and the excellent Lancashire Bottle Shop.

Staying in the centre of Chorley, the IMPERIAL has reopened under new ownership, along with a new name of MR TICKLE’S BAR. There has been a smart internal refurbishment, with the new look seemingly aimed squarely at the younger end of the market. Over the years, this pub has flirted with selling real ale, without ever making it work and the new venture is not serving any, although two unused handpumps sit towards one end of the bar, leaving the possibility that real ale may appear at some time. Meanwhile, the pub is still outwardly badged as the Imperial, which will no doubt cause some confusion. On the topic of bars not serving real ale that have gone through a name change, we have the VESTRY on Chapel Street in what used to be Latch. Slightly out of town, the DUKE OF YORK on Bolton Road is up for sale. This is a pub that has not sold real ale for many years and given the fate of other pubs at this end of town, one wonders if this will end up as something else.

Up on Eaves Lane, the BRETHERTON ARMS remains closed but there is some hope here as Star Inns have it on their list of pubs they are looking to refurbish, with talk of a food offering and an extended and improved outdoor drinking area. The big caveat is that any refurbishment is subject to the ‘right people’ coming forward to take it on. Given the out-of-town location and past problems with customer behaviour, we might be waiting some time for something to happen here. Another pub where a refurb has taken place recently is the TALBOT in Euxton. The new look interior is bright and cheerful and there are four handpumps to tempt the real ale drinker to visit.

We mentioned in issue 129 that the reopening of the TOP LOCK at Heapey was imminent. It has been taken on by Greg Crabtree, who is the owner/operator of SHEPHERDS’ HALL ALE HOUSE in Chorley and reopened in June. Due to the absence of kitchen facilities, the pub is operating on a ‘wet only’ basis at present with occasional food offerings from outside caterers. For the real ale lover, things are much improved with four cask ales available on my recent visits, with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Oakham Citra and Titanic Plum Porter among the beers on offer. The quality has been excellent and it is good to be able to report a return to form for what used to be one of the branch’s premier real ale pubs. Greg has reported that trade is very weather dependent, but he is hopeful that a deal can be done that will allow him to take the pub on a permanent basis.

Out in Brinscall, the ST JOSEPH’S SOCIAL CLUB has reintroduced real ale with one changing beer from local breweries being available. On the subject of clubs, we announced in our spring 2022 issue of Ale Cry that the CROSTON SPORTS CLUB had been selected as our Club of the Year. We presented their award in late May, by which time we had also learned that the club was now the Lancashire Branches Club of the Year. We have found it difficult to arrange the presentation of the award for this, but hopefully it will have been done by the time this magazine is printed.

Our Summer Pub of the Season was the RIVINGTON BREWERY TAP and given the lack of public transport to this area, we hired a minibus for the visit to do the presentation. We were rewarded with a lovely sunny day and the beer garden was packed. We presented the award to Phil who is the bar manager there, and enjoyed a few excellent beers from their extensive range in the sunshine, while enjoying views across the reservoir to Rivington Pike and the surrounding hills. As we were in a part of the branch not easily reached without a car, we took the opportunity to visit the two other Good Beer Guide listed pubs that can be reached in just a short walk. The RIVINGTON had been closed for some time for an extensive refurbishment,

TOP LOCK

SUMMER PUB OF THE SEASON PRESENTATION

THE RIVINGTON BREWERY TAP

THE RIVINGTON but it had reopened earlier in the summer. It is a little larger, somewhat smarter and still has a slightly non-pubby feel, being essentially a tea room attached to a bowling club. However the beer is still excellent, with two Abbeydale ales on tap and loads of outdoor seating to soak up the sunshine and take in the expansive views of the reservoir from the other side. The third pub on our travels was the YEW TREE, which can be reached from here in less than a mile – a very pleasant walk in the countryside. The Yew Tree needs no introduction; for many years it was famed for its good food, but the introduction of great quality cask beer in recent years has seen it become a favoured destination even if it is a little remote. Surprisingly there were only two beers available on our visit, Blackedge Pike and Bowland Hen Harrier, both of which were excellent.

In the same corner of the branch is the BLACK HORSE at Limbrick. We have heard recently that the pub has closed again although have been unable to substantiate this. The doors have been closed the last couple of times I have been past and we know that the licensee only had the pub for a short period. The pub is rumoured to be reopening on the 20th of August – hopefully this is true since it is probably the oldest pub in the branch and should be a real success, if only the right people can get hold

of it. ADRIAN SMITH