A historic pub in Cheshire has just undergone a huge refurb, and, as part of the makeover, its exterior has been plastered with a giant mural of Winston Churchill.
The controversial former Prime Minister appears in larger-than-life form on the back wall of the 130-year-old boozer.
He is now depicted at the Swan and Chequers in giant form smoking an equally gigantic cigar, alongside huge capital letters that read: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
The new mural nods to pub’s history, having once welcomed Churchill in 1945 to make a speech.
However, whilst in 2002 Churchill beat out the likes of Shakespeare, Darwin and Brunel to be voted the greatest ever Briton, in recent years racial remarks of his have come under scrutiny – leading some to consider the wartime PM one of the UK’s most intensely controversial figures.
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According to John Charmley, author of Churchill: The End of Glory, the former Prime Minister certainly believed in racial hierarchies and eugenics, and in 1937 Churchill told the Palestine Royal Commission: “I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia.
“I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place.”
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The new Churchill mural is just one new addition to the historic 130-year-old Sandbach boozer, which has been owned by its Stockport-based brewery landlord Robinson’s for nearly 100 years.
The pub, which started out as an old Corn Exchange, has some beautiful period features original stone signage dating back to the late 1800s.
After being shut for a year, it has reopened its doors and – alongside the new mural – it also features a new Victorian London underground theme.
Seating has been designed to mirror the 1950s metropolitan tube line, with railway pendant lighting and brown chequered tile work, as the mid-century London theme continues throughout.
Speaking on the refurbishment, Licensees Matt and Jaki Hurst said: “Our newly refurbished pub/bar was very well received over the weekend!
Image: Wikimedia Commons
“Customers enjoyed our new seating area outside in the sunshine, and we look forward to continued success. It’s been amazing meeting new customers as well as old.
“We’re also excited to launch our food menu this Thursday, with dishes such as homemade sourdough pizzas, kebabs, smashed burgers, a soft-shell crab burger and 13 small plates to choose from.”
Manchester’s Cat Café is set to reopen four years after its closure
Danny Jones
Feline fans, rejoice, because Cat Café Manchester looks like it is reopening more than four whole years after its unfortunate closure.
The city centre’s much-loved cat café – the only one of its kind in Greater Manchester and among just a small handful in the North West – closed back in 2021 following unavoidable economic struggles brought about by the pandemic
Despite being hugely popular before having to shut its doors, the business was unable to reach an agreement with their landlord at the time and the owners were left with no other choice than to close permanently – or so we thought…
Seemingly back from the dead and published their first post since 11 January 2021, the official Instagram page shared just one line along with a picture of their soon-to-be new premises.
Briefly teasing fans ahead of an official announcement, the post reads: “Manchester we’ve missed you! There’s only one thing this place needs…”
The shot taken across the road from Manchester’s historic Barton Arcade shows the large shopfront unit on the main Deansgate strip where the original Classic Football Shirts store used to be.
As you can see, although the vintage footy kit reseller’s brand and decals still remain plastered on the windows, the two-storey location has been vacant since October 2023 when CFS moved their flagship Manchester branch to Dale Street in the Northern Quarter.
We’ve personally been wondering what might take the old venue’s place for a while now, with the rest of the Grade II-listed Victorian shopping arcade populated by food and drink spaces, a barbershop and fashion retailers like The R Store, but after all this time the last thing we expect was the Cat Café.
This will no doubt come as wonderful news to the countless fans who were gutted to see it disappear just a few short years ago.
At the time, a fundraiser was set up in an attempt to rescue it and the pet-forward coffee shop format also paved the way for similar ventures like this one over Salford.
Although we’re still yet to hear any more details regarding a possible reopening date, we can safely assume their four-year hiatus will be coming to an end sometime in 2025.
When they were still up and running, the café had 10 resident cats at their original site on the edge of NQ, now home to one of two Gooeys in Manchester.
It is worth noting that there were some concerns raised around hygiene and animal welfare, though we’re sure steps have been taken to address these issues in the interim.
The Didsbury Dozen loses one of its best as The Dockyard confirms closure
Danny Jones
The Didsbury Dozen has lost one of its strongest stops as the much-loved Dockyard sadly closed for good this past weekend.
A favourite among those taking on the popular Greater Manchester pub crawl and a busy bar in its own right along the main Didsbury Village strip, The Dockyard has been a staple of South Manchester boozing for some time.
However, it’s time as part of the Dozen and in the heart of the community has come to an end, with the staff having completed their final service on Sunday, 19 January.
Sharing a short but heartfelt goodbye on social media, they welcomed customers to join them one last time “to raise a glass and say cheers!”.
An unreal beer garden too. (Credit: The Manc Group)
The post begins: “Right Didsbury… Thank you so much for your welcome and custom when we arrived here in the village, but the time has now come to say goodbye. We have had a blast over the last four years and we hope you have too!”
Although many relatively new to the area or at least its drinking scene will only know it as The Dockyard, the venue has actually been under a lot of names over the years.
Originally known as Times Square, it was then refurbished into a branch of O’Neills in 1996 before going on to re-open as The Stokers Arms in 2014.
Nevertheless, it maintained a regular and loyal following as The Dockyard and many will be “sorry to see it go”; one person commented: “Oh no! We had a fab time in here over Christmas and [were] hoping to return soon. Sorry to see you go and I will be visiting your other sites.
Thankfully, they did go on to confirm that the remaining pubs in Salford Quays and Northwich will remain open – as is the Left Bank location in Spinningfields overlooking the River Irwell. Better still, the building itself will still remain a pub and we already know what’s taking its place:
Although there is still no news on when we can expect to see The Salmon’s second venture launch, if it’s anything like the success the Northern Quarter one has seen then we’re in for a treat.
So don’t worry, The Didsbury Dozen may have taken a hit but it’s still intact and there are plenty of other pubs you can work into the crawl in the meantime.
For now, though, all we can say is rest in peace to The Dockyard Didsbury, you were a real one – we’ll always have the memories.
Georgina Pellant -
23rd August 2023 
