Beautifully Ugly - The Last Estate Pubs of Manchester

Speaking as a retired German Shepherd, I spent the best years of my life in the 80's prowling around the flat-roofed, heavily barb-wired part of one of these architectural gems- snarling at punters and so on.

As the son of publicans who lived in pubs around Manchester till I was 26, I absolutely loved this video! These pubs are ugly to look at, no doubt, but the beauty is in what they stood for, and, in ever decreasing amounts, still stand for. A time way way gone now where to socialise ment leaving the house and actually meeting people. The Internet now soothes our social itch for the large part. God I sound like an old fart lmfao Thanks for the trip down memory lane, absolutely loved it.

Tiger Moth in Irlam is a jewel in the crown of Irlam. When a large gas blast damaged a few dozen houses locally they opened their doors and gave board, food and drink to all. Lockdown they did special days to get people out their homes and socialising. Seamus and Eileen would give their shirts of their back to help their community. With it being on an estate - back 40 years ago it got a bad name due to it's football team of the day being a bit boisterous. Them days are long gone. Now it's full of local people who help each other, play darts, pool, dominoes and have a good chat. So if you live close by call in and give it a try. By your 3rd or 4th visit you too will be one of the Tiger family...

My dad spent all his working life as a joiner, he told me when new estates were built the first thing to be built was the pub to give the workers somewhere to go at dinner time! Oo how the world has changed and i don't think for the better.

You are really underated.

Great piece, thank you. These pubs are being swept away, and while many of them may have been great places to have a drink amongst friends old and new, too many of them were places where the local bullies and self appointed hard men tried to make up for their many inadequecies.

Brilliant video! I adored the music you chose for the introduction...I couldn't stop smiling through the whole video. I still dream of being able to visit Manchester one day. Top notch pictures and history lesson. Thank you for taking us on this adventure. Bless you and have a lovely evening.🌹

I drank my first pint in the Artillery Arms in Chorlton on Medlock. I was 15 years old, and looked it. I paid my one shilling and elevenpence halfpenny, and felt like a giant. I winced at the intense bitterness of what must have been my pint of Wilson's, but I never looked back.

This video is a mini masterpiece - a neglected and niche but fascinating topic, well researched and flawlessly put together. Middleton had several such pubs, most of which have been lost, notably those in Langley. A well-maintained and popular survivor is The Beacon in Eston, Teesside.

Sympathetically filmed, beautifully written and narrated. Top class Ollie. 👌

A great roundup of a sad situation. The death of the estate pub is but a small part of the death of the local pub generally. In the 60s there were three main reasons to drink at the pub: To meet your mates, It was the cheapest place to drink and the Lounge was smarter than the one in your home. The pub is now the dearest place to drink The average home is smarter than your average pub and mates now go down to the town centre in their cars for a night out. In Manchester there are a few local areas like Didsbury where pubs do well but in general they are failing. Withington lost both White and Golden- two of its trio of Lions. and the closer you get to the inner suburbs the more pubs have closed for ever. Sad but the aspirations and habits of the local communities have also changed. Pubs will survive as an institution but the day of the small local as a hub of the local community are long gone.

Well thank you! What an excellent piece of work. My previous reaction to these type of pubs was disdain but after watching your presentation my eyes have been opened. A truly great piece of YouTube work, full of quality comment, well thought out and intelligent appraisal - keep it up

Sean Locke's dad, allegedly, once gave him the advice " Never drink in a pub with a flat roof". I totally agree.

I remember the "Tom Thumb" pub in Stockport, an estate pub near Hollywood park meant to serve the blocks of flats around the small park. As a "A" level GCE students at Stockport college in the late 1960s we had lunch there every Friday, Holland's steak pies chips and gravy! and a couple of obligatory pints. There was a Manchester "Log End" type dartboard Friday afternoons were always a little relaxed! Last time I saw it it was an "Indian" restaurant.

Thank you for calling out Farage as a toff who puts on a 'man of the people' act. Can't believe people still fall for it

Been watching your videos every day, I find them very relaxing, like watching David Attenborough. I think this is what we need more of right now. Cheers mate.

I spent the late 90's avoiding these sort of pubs as a student at Salford Uni. Best old fashioned boozer was the Walness Tavern at the back of the university. A good mix of students & locals. Sadly no longer there.

As my old dad used to say, if you don't want a glass in your face, never drink in a pub with a flat roof...

Used to goto the Swinging Sporon a lot in the mid to late eighties as they used to put punk bands on, Happy memories

Got to say, that was a very enjoyable video! These are buildings which I almost consciously block out of my vision because I find them so ugly but you are right - they actually do have merit and are a part of our urban history. Thanks.