Category: Pubs, Clubs & Beer

Where Now Brown Cow?  Which Part of  Blackburn?

Posted by Roving Mick on March 1, 2022

Some good news is Blackburn’s Brown Cow pub on Livesey Branch Road reopening.  But it seems to have caused controversy amongst locals after this pub’s parent group said their hostelry was based in Blackburn’s Feniscowles district and not the Livesey part of town.

This pub is owned by Stonegate Group, which is one of Britain’s largest pub chains.  Their head office is in Solihull, but they are registered in the Cayman Islands.  Stonegate is owned by venture capitalists TDR Capital who are based in London.  TDR also own 50% of EG Group, in partnership with Blackburn’s Issa Brothers.  They are also in the same consortium, along with the Issa’s, which recently bought control of ASDA.

As regards Blackburn’s Brown Cow, Stonegate are calling it a Craft Union pub.  This sounds like music to the ears of us die-hard trade union members.  But an image of skilled electricians, plumbers and engineers working behind the Brown Cow’s bar is a bit fanciful.  It’s debatable whether Stonegate even recognises trade unions in this industry.  They certainly didn’t have any dealings with the cartographer’s union when they decided their pub’s address was in Feniscowles.

Harking back to a previous identity problem following boundary changes in 1974.  Cherry Tree and Feniscowles, which came under the old Chorley Rural District, became part of Blackburn.  Unfortunately this resulted in Livesey Branch Road having houses along it with the same door numbers as a legacy of this road originally being in two separate boroughs.

Perhaps there could be an answer to this mystery of why the Brown Cow has been placed in Feniscowles after all.  This may be down to Feniscowles actually having a cow in its name – immediately after Fenis.  No doubt Stonegate are glad our town is Blackburn and not Scunthorpe.  This latter town gave rise to the ‘Scunthorpe Problem’ of 1996 which AOL’s profanity filter prevented residents from this Lincolnshire town creating accounts with them due to a substring containing an obscene word.  Something similar also happened to Google’s SafeSearch filter with the same town.

On the bright side, at least we can breathe a sigh of relief that we could never suffer any confusion with Blackburn’s other Feniscowles pub at the top end of Livesey Branch Road – the Feildens Arms.  This is down to it not having an apostrophe like its namesake a few miles due north in Mellor Brook.  What a handy solution!

Blackburn Pub Museum Plan

Posted by Roving Mick on October 1, 2021

One of Blackburn town centre’s closed pubs may be turned into a heritage project.  This scheme could regenerate its building by transforming it into a pub museum.

The Fleece on Penny Street has been closed for many years and its previous owner, Thwaites Brewery, would probably have liked to have seen it demolished.  But our local council, in partnership with Maple Grove Developments, plans to buy Thwaites’ old brewery site.  This includes the Fleece and former Waterloo/Daniel’s pub, currently being used by the Bureau of Blackburn, following the fire where they were based at St John’s church.

This pub, at one time known as the Golden Fleece, was used as a lock-up many years ago.  These were various town centre pubs with secure cellars where drunks and vagabonds could be banged up overnight and dealt with next day.  John Hall, a 19th century landlord of this pub, charged one shilling to lock drunks up during the day.  His night time rate was 1s 6d.  But the Fleece has since hosted many a voluntary lock-in since its days as a drunkard’s prison.

Our problem in Blackburn is pubs are disappearing at an alarming rate.  This follows a similar situation with our old textile mills and factories.  Blackburn’s skyline used to be thronged with mill chimneys, but now they are noticeable by their absence and have become quite a rarity.  While not being an aesthetically pretty sight, they are still a huge part of our history and heritage as a cotton weaving town.  Now there is a movement to make sure our old mill chimneys are preserved wherever possible.

Preserving our old pubs could also be a once in a lifetime opportunity to save another aspect of Blackburn’s working class culture and heritage.  Sometimes people forget our town was known as an important brewing centre.  Many people think this seems to be the case with some brewers which used to be based here and now want to see themselves in a more gentrified and rustic way than they were known for previously.  But it should always be remembered:  You can take the brewery out of Blackburn, but you can’t take Blackburn out of the brewery.  Sadly, time has proven you can take pubs out of Blackburn, mostly never to return.

This idea of a pub museum actually originated in one of Blackburn’s pubs.  What makes it different from all those other beer-sodden hare-brained schemes, which often come up in pubs, is this one is no pipe dream and might make it to the next rung.  After all, along with the Fleece, we have plenty of premises available for such a project.

Blackburn’s Sun Shines And Rock Box Rocks The End Of Lockdown

Posted by Roving Mick on May 1, 2021

It had been a long time coming, but Monday, April 12th 2021 was this big day we’d all been waiting for.  It was when lockdown was partially lifted and you could get a pint from a pub, albeit outside in a beer garden or a tent.

After a brisk walk down town, passing a quiet Napier, had me thinking I’d certainly be going for a pint there this week.  Dylan was setting tables outside the Rock Box, preparing for a hectic day.  After yapping briefly with him and telling him I’d be back at opening time, it was off to the Sun to try my luck.  Andy from the Rock Box was passed on my way to the Sun and was wished all the best for today.  It was dry and sunny, a bit cold, but Andy won’t have minded one bit.  He was just glad to open up his pub again.

My arrival at the Sun was at half past eleven, with me finding it to be very busy already.  It had been open since ten.  My arrival an hour and a half later led to me being turned away at first.  So its landlord was bade farewell and told my luck would be tried again later this week.  I wished him well and said it was good to have him back.  Then came a shout for me to come back as a seat had become available and it meant me being able to buy my first cask pint of real ale for this year, at last!

It took around ten mins before receiving my pint of Gold.  But at £2.50, it didn’t bother me at all.  It was enjoyable too.  What I didn’t enjoy was how cold it started to feel outside the Sun.  So one pint was enough outside here and my way was made away, after thanking the Sun’s landlord and Vicky its busy waitress, for their hospitality.

Next stop was a now open Rock Box.  As forecast earlier, it was busy.  Dylan put me on a table with a friendly couple I’d met in a few pubs before.  All the rest of its punters were people I’d also met before at some time in here and elsewhere.  It was good to come across familiar faces, some of whom hadn’t been seen since last year.  But what made it all feel like lockdown really was coming to an end was the arrival of those three old soaks – Brian, Bill and Dougie.  Normal service was almost resumed! It was nice to catch up with these three lads and everybody else.  By the time I left for my bus home, effects of being back drinking real ale again were starting to dim my already befuddled brain.  Most pubs probably won’t make a great deal of money until customers are back indoors next month.  But April’s outside unlocking certainly gave some of us a taste of happy days being here again.

Vaccine Pub Could Be Shot In Arm For Blackburn

Posted by Roving Mick on January 1, 2021

COVID-19 vaccine take–up in Blackburn is expected to be well below the national average.  This has prompted an outrageous suggestion which may well be able to entice some of its citizens into becoming willing recipients. 

An out of the ordinary inducement has been put forward to open up a pub where only vaccine recipients will be allowed inside this hostelry and only vaccinated staff will be able to work behind its bar.  This means wearing masks and social distancing rules will not be necessary anymore. 

Similar proposals have been suggested about setting up smoker’s pubs.  Here staff sign a pledge to say they smoke and only punters who do the same are allowed in the premises.  This idea is still up in the air, but with all the euphoria surrounding these new vaccines and an end to COVID-19, anything is possible. 

Those who are scared of needles may have their own point of view.  But to some people though, this vaccine is just a shot in the dark. They are worried about it being used as a way of carrying out extra surveillance of ordinary citizens.  There seems to be paranoia about DNA being taken and tracker chips being injected into recipients.  We are being reassured that if this pub does open, management promise the only kind of chips allowed on their menu will be potato ones. 

Corona Virus vaccines themselves have not been without their own controversies.  Rather than working together with the goal of one universal remedy being available for everybody, different countries and pharmaceutical companies have struck out for their own COVID-19 cures.  No doubt stopping the Corona Virus from killing would lead to making a killing of a financial kind to whoever cornered the worldwide vaccine market. 

Along with Britain’s Oxford vaccine, there are two others from America, although one of these is part German.  Along with a Chinese version, we also have Russia’s Sputnik jab.  There is ambiguity here over whether it has been properly tested.  Western scientists believe it is only effective when injected with an umbrella.  So it could be a very long shot. 

News about opening a vaccine recipient’s pub could go viral.  It might lead to a rich vein of income for our local pub scene; the kind of cash injection Blackburn town centre really needs following this hated lockdown.  All we need to do now is come up with a name for the place. 

Suggestions have included:  Royal Toke, Michael Cocaine, Camel and Needle, Fix and Grapes.  And appropriately for Blackburn –  Stepmother’s Jag.

Blackburn Pile Sufferers Demand Understanding – And Ointment

Posted by Roving Mick on July 3, 2020

Do you suffer from Piles?  Well, you are not alone.  There is a growing movement developing in the bowels of British society for understanding and recognition of this little understood and painful malady.

Piles, or to call it by its correct name, Haemorrhoids, causes suffering to many people in our society.  Identifying the number of sufferers has proved to be very difficult though.  This is due to it being one of those ailments nobody really likes to admit to having.

Can you remember the day you went into a chemist and started to go red?  You wanted to buy Pile ointment but lost your bottle and to hide your blushes, you ended up having to buy contraceptives instead.  Very embarrassing indeed!

Many Piles sufferers tend to bump into each other in pub toilets by accident.  They are often mistakenly accused of gross indecency by undercover police officers.  It must be pointed out how these meetings are random and purely coincidental, being based on individual need rather than arrangement.

To solve this thorny issue, suggestions have been put forward by sufferers to make Pile ointment available in pub toilet vending machines.  These are out of sight and this can help relieve pain and embarrassment for sufferers and anybody else who just happens to walk in on them.

The ointment is in sachets and will be inside boxes of a similar size to ones used for other popular products, such as condoms and erectile dysfunction tablets.  This should prove cost-effective and very handy to vending machine manufacturers as there is no need to replace any of the existing dispensers.  They will be re-labelled instead.  Also the ointment is now available in a wide variety of colours and aromas, i.e. strawberry, banana, cherry etc.

Dr Emma Royds has had a lifetime of experience suffering from Piles and is an expert on this subject.  She says: “If you have Piles, don’t just sit on it.  You are not alone”.

Along with requesting Pile ointment being made available in Blackburn’s pub toilet vending machines, extra soft cushions will also be requested.  There are also discussions about setting up a support group for sufferers.  Regular meetings would be held in town centre pub venues.  It has been suggested perhaps the most appropriate location for these would be the aptly named Grapes Hotel.

Old Danny’s Snake Oil Coming To Blackburn

Posted by Roving Mick on June 1, 2020

During a time of hibernation, dreams sometimes had their price.  And so came the Snake Oil Salesman.

When the lockdown finally ends, many pubs could have gone bust.  But one of the breweries may have its own answer.

Once upon a time in the north-west there came a traveller from even further northwest. He arrived in Blackburn by Shire horse and cart. He had a top hat on his head, a twinkle in his eye and he was a man with a plan.  His name was Old Snake Oil Danny. 

Old Danny looked at Blackburn and thought:  ‘This is my kind of town’.  Its populace gathered round his cart and he gave them his sales pitch.  He said he patented a remarkable cure for every human ailment known to science.  This was down to venom extracted from snakes living on a farm in Ireland.  Now the people of Blackburn could reap these benefits of this wonder tonic.  Maybe they could be cured of consumption, colic, common colds and Corona Virus.

This is what Danny was trying to do.  He span them yarns of how his snake oil tonic could make men feel strong and tough and look more attractive to women.  He told the girls his tonic would keep them slim and help them become a hit on the dance floor.  It sounded too good to be true, but those good people of Blackburn swallowed it all and Danny became a rich man.

He had wealth, power and property.  Even having such influence behind him where he could dictate to his customers what to do with property they bought from him.  No doubt in another era he would have been able to claim a bride’s first night of wedlock, but there was no money there and Danny was too old anyway.

Eventually Old Danny tired of Blackburn, deciding he hated the place and was a country boy at heart.  By now its townsfolk realised Danny was a charlatan and his snake oil was just quack medicine after all.  Once he’d made his money, he realised he’d overstayed his welcome and it was time to get out of town.  Soon Danny was gone.  Blackburn didn’t matter to him anymore.

But like his grandfather clock pendulum, things were starting to swing and Old Danny was frightened he would swing with them.  Moving to the countryside became one big self-isolation.  He was less welcome there than he was in town.  Things were compounded by Covid-19 arriving and everywhere going into lockdown.  With pubs being shut until further notice, breweries were looking at other methods of shifting their produce.  History could be repeating itself and Old Danny might have to dig out his horse and cart once again.

Blackburn’s Vulcan Pub Still Packing Them In

Posted by Roving Mick on April 1, 2020

It’s nearly thirty years since Blackburn’s legendary Vulcan Hotel shut down.

Situated across from Blackburn College, this pub gave our town’s students a different kind of education.  It was called sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.  Unfortunately this didn’t go down well with College Management.  After years of trying to get the pub closed down, they eventually had their wish granted in the early 1990’s.

Like most Blackburn teenage students, going in here was a must.  Plus in the mid-70’s they put on a really good spud pie with peas or gravy at dinnertime.  This was enough to convert me to the Vulcan, along with their jukebox and the great atmosphere which pervaded throughout the pub, both upstairs and downstairs.

When you think of this pub, you think of long hair, leather jackets, motorbikes, weed and glass fights in the back room.  But it was also full of characters who went on to enrich Blackburn’s folklore.  Remember when Viking Billy’s mum won Spot the Ball, or the pools, and him throwing cigars all over the pub?  Or thinking you were in the fairground hall of mirrors when you saw the Gardiner brothers.  No they were big lads, as a bunch of Burnley fans were to find out.  They decided to take a detour to Ewood Park when they saw them stood outside the Vulcan.

After the pub shut down it became a subject of great nostalgia to many of its former patrons.  This has spawned reunions and a very funny Facebook page called ‘I Drank In The Vulcan In Blackburn’.  Created in 2008, this brings together some of the old Vulcan stalwarts and shares news and views, along with featuring records which used to be played on the pub’s memorable jukebox. One of the highlights of this Facebook page has been its use as a vehicle for helping organise these Vulcan reunions.  They have previously taken place at the Havelock and Mill Hill pubs.

On March 14th there was a Vulcan reunion with a difference.  It was held in Blackburn town centre in two pubs next door to each other, a joint venture between the Drummer’s Arms and Rock Box. This turned out be a really good event and brought about a big turnout.  I popped in the Drummers on the afternoon of this event.  After meeting up with Brian Rossall, an old Vulcaneer, we went back and forth a few times between the Drummers and the Rock Box that day.

Despite the sands of time having given most of us a good scouring, there were still a lot of familiar faces from those good old days of Blackburn’s legendary Vulcan.  Many old friends met up and a good time was had by all.  The great news is this event went down so well, we can expect another reunion to take place next year in the Drummer’s Arms and Rock Box.

Drummer’s Arms Gives Dry January Frosty Reception

Posted by Roving Mick on February 1, 2020

Following an artistic workshop near Blackburn’s Drummer’s Arms, a snowman made from plastic cups appeared in the pub.  This turned out to be very popular and became a great success.

Not only was it an unusual and aesthetic work of art, but it was environmentally friendly too, as most of the cups could be used again in the vending machine they were borrowed from.  Unfortunately, the ones stapled at their base might have turned out to have been a bit leaky while you were drinking your cuppa.  But how often do you get dodgy drinks from vending machines anyway?  Half a cup of cocoa, topped up with chicken soup, often makes you want to put its cups to alternative uses.

This secret project followed plans to make a snowman which wouldn’t melt.  It was completed despite the pub being very busy over Christmas and many people going in to enjoy themselves during the recent festive season. With it being a mild winter this year, there had been no snow available.  Besides, things might have got a little bit messy if people had taken their own snow into the pub and started building a snowman inside.  Using plastic cups was an ideal substitute.

Building a snowman using plastic cups is also quite a symbolic gesture.  After the New Year festivities, we start to get bombarded by holier than thou commentators trying to persuade us to give up drinking for a month.  The first one of the New Year is always this Dry January campaign.  A plastic cup snowman sends a message out to people about not using vending machines for a drink, but to get to a pub and have a proper drink from a glass instead.  Our plastic cup snowman leaves no carbon footprint, because he has no feet.  What better way could there be to send those annoying Dry January people a message to leave us alone, by showing you don’t have to be a snowman to give them the cold shoulder.

Blackburn’s Grapes Now Open Again

Posted by Roving Mick on October 1, 2019

Blackburn’s Grapes pub has re-opened.  The town centre pub at the junction of King William Street, Northgate and Sudell Cross re-opened in early September.

The new Grapes Town Tavern opening was delayed by a week due to electrical safety precautions, but this didn’t seem to hinder matters.  There was a good bunch in the Grapes on my afternoon visit of its Friday opening day.

Three real ales from Thwaites were on sale.  I plumped for Gold and was pleased to be charged £2.30 for a pint.  There were a lot of familiar faces in the pub, mainly Blackburn Times regulars, also behind the bar were former staff from there.  But other nearby King William Street pubs also had some of their punters in to check out this newly opened hostelry.  Having an artist and butties on helped boost the crowd, as did their big screens, showing live Ashes test match cricket.

A week is a long time in politics, so said Harold Wilson.  But something similar can also be said about happenings with Blackburn town centre’s pub scene.  A week later, on my next visit, it was still busy in the Grapes, but not so much in Blackburn Times.  After watching the amount of hand pump activity in the Grapes, perhaps this might send a message to Times not to have sour grapes, but to get those cask ale pumps back on again.

Unfortunately it’s going to be a fruitless trip across the road to the Squire, where they won’t be selling real ale for its foreseeable future.  Barely a week after the Grapes opened; their nearest neighbour threw in the towel and ceased to be a pub.  Word on the ‘grapevine’ is it may become an Indian restaurant.  This is not only a bad blow for staff and regulars who went in here, but very annoying too.  It was turning into a good run around King William Street and its immediate area.  Optimistic eyes were even starting to look towards the Borough maybe being the next one to open.

Unfortunately in Blackburn town centre, it always seems to be two steps forward and one step back these days.  But at least the Grapes has made a good start to its new lease of life as a public house.  Let’s hope it continues to mature like fine wine and this becomes a vintage year for the Grapes and Blackburn town centre.

Blackburn’s Adelphi To Open Again

Posted by Roving Mick on July 2, 2019

Plans are afoot for Blackburn’s Adelphi pub to re-open in July.  The Railway Road establishment is under new management and is in the process of recruiting staff.

Though still owned by Admiral Taverns, the pub will be managed by Farnworth based Change Hospitality.  They already manage three other pubs around the Bolton area, including the Market Inn, Farnworth, where this business is located.

Harrison Clayton is the owner of Change Hospitality and behind plans to re-open Blackburn’s Adelphi.  I put together a few questions for him which have been raised by punters in Blackburn:

  • Your Facebook page says the pub is under new ownership.  But is it not owned by Admiral Taverns?
  • Have you been inside the pub to have a look at it?
  • Do you intend to refurbish this place?
  • Have you studied local Facebook comments and looked into the past history of this pub?
  • Do you intend to serve food?
  • Will real ale be available?

Unfortunately there has been no reply forthcoming from Harrison yet.  He is obviously a very busy man, running three pubs and his recruitment business, so his time is probably very limited.  No doubt he will have business plans for the Adelphi and his other ventures look to be a good recommendation for what the Blackburn pub’s future could be.  But he might find punters at this end of the A666 are going to be more sceptical than those at the other end of the Devil’s Highway.  There seem to have been a lot of false dawns with Blackburn’s Adelphi pub.  Many people remain convinced it cannot be turned around due to current economic conditions, people’s changing drinking habits and the Adelphi’s reputation. 

Various attempts at making a success of the Adelphi have been tried over the years.  Sadly, these have proved rather limited.  This pub seems to have had a recent history of opening and closing as often as the lion’s eyes on nearby Morrison’s clock chimes.  Sadly this clock’s jungle scenes have also been compared to life in the Adelphi.  Yet it sits between our railway and bus stations, thousands of people pass this pub every day and a new football season will soon be here with plenty of thirsty fans landing in Blackburn town centre when Rovers are at home.

Hopefully the new regime in charge of the Adelphi can transform this pub into a thriving hostelry its position in the town centre should command.  But they have one hell of a task on their hands.