CLC and Boddingtons

CAMRA CENTRAL LANCS BRANCH AND ... BODDINGTONS’

This is the 50th year of CAMRA Central Lancashire branch, and for much of that time Manchester brewer Boddingtons has been a major player in the branch area. Famed for Boddingtons’ Bitter, this was a beer to split opinions. Some people would travel miles to visit a Boddingtons’ pub, while others were happy to stay well clear of it.

When the branch (then known as CAMRA West Lancashire) was formed in 1973 there were plenty of Boddingtons’ pubs in the Preston area, but strangely there were none in the Leyland and Chorley areas. Historically this situation had arisen due to Boddingtons’ acquisition of the Joseph Hull Brewery (located in Glovers Court, Preston) in 1899. More recently Boddingtons’ had added to their pub estate with the takeover of JG Swales Brewery of Hulme in 1970. A 1957 inventory of Preston’s pubs lists 18 Boddingtons’ houses. However by the time CAMRA came on the scene 16 years later several of these pubs had gone. Who now remembers the Butchers & Commercial on Brook Street, the John O’Gaunt on Avenham Lane, and the Sailors Home on Marsh Lane? Furthermore two of their pubs, the Duke of Sussex on Kent Street, and the Wellfield on Adelphi Street, had been disposed of and were now Greenall Whitley outlets.

The branch’s first Real Ale Guide came out in 1975, and listed were 23 Boddingtons’ pubs. There were 15 pubs in Preston, with the other 8 pubs being located in the more outlying areas. Around the same time Boddingtons themselves produced a promotional booklet which provided summarised information about their extensive tied house estate. In this booklet they were particularly keen to stress that many of their pubs in the Preston area had been rebuilt or recently modernised.

Everything was going well for Boddingtons until 1989, this being the year that the Strangeways Brewery plus their many pubs were acquired by Whitbread. This proved to be the beginning of the end, although for a time in the 1990s Boddingtons’ Bitter became a national beer brand and was to be the most commonly-found beer in the branch area.

It is interesting to look at what has happened to the 23 Boddingtons’ pubs that existed when CAMRA Central Lancashire branch was founded. Most of the Preston pubs have now gone, while many of the other former Boddies pubs have also gone through testing times.

The first Preston pub to close was the THEATRE on Fishergate. In January 1987 it was reported at a CAMRA meeting that it was to be refurbished – the following month it was reported that it had been sold by Boddingtons for a ‘fortune’. Later that year it was demolished, with a gas showroom being built on the site.

There were no more casualties until after the Whitbread takeover. The second pub to bite the dust was the NEPTUNE on Strand Road, which closed in 1992 and was quickly converted for residential use. The Boddingtons’ booklet described this pub as having ‘quite a docker clientele’, but it was the demise of the neighbouring British Aerospace factory that probably finished it off.

Next to go was the OLD ENGLAND on Ribbleton Lane. It closed in 1999 and was to stand derelict for over 20 years, becoming quite an eyesore before being demolished in 2021.

The STEAMER on Fylde Road (affectionately known by many as the Yacht Club) had undergone an official name change in 1986, becoming the Fylde Tavern. It continued under this title until 2011, when it was closed to become a Shisha & Grill establishment. Closing in 2012, the GREYHOUND on London Road was another to be closed and have an afterlife

as an eating establishment, with it becoming an Egyptian restaurant and takeaway.

Opened in 1964, the JOHN O’GAUNT at Ingol had presumedly been built to replace its Avenham Lane namesake. It was closed in 2014 and was converted into a children’s day nursery.

The original SUMNERS on Watling Street Road had closed in 1985, being demolished to make way for a road widening scheme. It was replaced by a new Sumners, which itself was closed in 2018, quickly falling into disrepair, before being demolished later that year.

These were not the only closures in suburban Preston. Other pubs closing their doors were the SELBORNE in Frenchwood (2003), the ROYAL OAK on Plungington Road (2007), the ACREGATE on New Hall Lane (2008), and the BELLE VUE also on New Hall Lane (2014). 50 years on, just four of the Preston pubs are still in business, these being the CONTINENTAL on South Meadow Lane, the LANE ENDS at Ashton, the OLD BLACK BULL on Friargate, and the ROYAL CONSORT on Meadow Street. These days the Continental is extremely popular, having twice been nominated by CAMRA Central Lancashire branch for the Lancashire Pub of the Year award. However it should be remembered that it has also had some

troubled times, being closed and left derelict for 18 months before it re-opened in 2008 under the present management.

Away from Preston most of the branch’s former Boddingtons’ tied houses have survived the years, but there have been a couple of casualties. The TALBOT at Chipping closed in 2006, although for quite some time it did have the appearance of a pub that could yet re-open. The VICTORIA at Walton-le-Dale, which once had ex-Coronation Street actor Bernard Youens as its landlord, closed in 2008 and was very quickly demolished to make way for housing.

The OLD OAK at Hoghton closed as a pub in 2017, briefly becoming an Italian restaurant called the San Lorenzo. This enterprise lasted about a year before the premises became the Oak, once again a pub but this time an establishment with a greater emphasis on food.

Like the Continental in Preston, the SWAN at Higher Walton was another to come back from the dead. It was closed for two years, before re-opening in 2014. The PLEASANT RETREAT at Lostock Hall has in recent times also had several short spells of closure. Interestingly earlier this year there was an announcement that it was to get a £190,000 facelift and be transformed into the Tap & Barrel, a craft beer house.

The WITHY TREES at Bamber Bridge was for a time Irishified as Shifty O’Shea’s, and then later it had a spell being known as the Top House. In 2011 it got a new lease of life as the Withy Arms, being the first of four pubs owned by the enterprising Bamber Bridge pub company.

Completing the line-up of former Boddingtons’ pubs from 1973 are the SUN at Chipping and the WHITE BULL at Walton-leDale, two pubs that appear to have come through the last 50 years relatively unscathed.

The brewing industry has gone through many changes since CAMRA Central Lancashire branch came on the scene. What will happen in the next 50 years – will anyone still remember Boddingtons’ Bitter? GORDON SMALL