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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.”
ADVERTISEMENT
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.”
‘Craic Den?’ – New Irish bar to open on Albert Square this week
Daisy Jackson
A new Irish bar is set to open in Manchester this week (yessir, another one), and its owners have been on the hunt for its new name.
Tokyo Industries has announced plans to reopen the Red’s True BBQ site, right off Albert Square, as a new Irish bar.
They’re promising it will have an ‘Irish American feel’ and will be serving food like all-day Ulster breakfasts as well as roast dinners with Guinness gravy.
Aaron Mellor, CEO of Tokyo Industries, has shared a call-out for name suggestions for the new bar, with the shortlist so far including names like ‘The Craic Den’ and ‘House of Guinness’.
Red’s True BBQ was famed for its slow-cooked meat, and outrageous specials like its doughnut burger, but shut down in Manchester in 2023.
It had previously been rescued by Tokyo Industries, which also operates other venues in town like Gorilla and Deaf Institute, Impossible, and Factory 251.
The site itself is in a magnificent Grade II-listed building on the corner of Albert Square, facing out onto the Town Hall (and soon, the Manchester Christmas Markets).
A new Instagram account shows the space slowly being transformed into an Irish bar, with green leather and Guinness logos slowly taking over the space.
It also suggests that, sadly, The Craic Den hasn’t made the cut as the new name – instead it’s set to open as Dirty O’Sullivan MCR.
Aaron Mellor shared last week: “Deciding on names for venues is always so hard – we’ve come up with about 300 names & suffering choice fatigue…
“It’s a new Irish bar with an Irish American feel set in the Reds True Barbecue site on Albert Square, Manchester.
“Amazing food – Great live entertainment – The finest Guinness – The coolest cocktails – All day Ulster Breakfasts – Guinness Gravey Sunday Roasts Mmm.
“Favorites So: Dirty O’Sullivans, Reds True Irish, Luck of the Irish, The Dublin Docker, The Hare & Harp, The Craic Den, The Perfect Pint, The StoreHouse, House Of Guinness, Murphy’s Law, Oscar Wildes.”
Dirty O’Sullivan is set to open on Lloyd Street at Albert Square this week.
Mulligans are making butties with the team behind some of the best sandwiches in Manchester
Danny Jones
We feel like we say this almost every time they set up one of these crossovers, but Bada Bing might have just hit it out of the park with their latest collaboration, as they’re teaming up with beloved Irish bar Mulligans to create what could be the sandwich of the century.
In case you’re wondering where we’ll be when this butty becomes available, we’ll be in the legendary Manchester pub, clutching at least three of these while asking the live band to play The Sopranos theme tune in full Celtic reel fashion.
Yes, two of our very favourite places in the city centre are teaming up not just for a one-off special, the Deansgate boozer – widely considered one of the best Irish bars (if not THE best) in Manchester – is actually going to be supplying the crucial ingredient in their limited-time menu item.
Teasing the collab earlier this week, the Bada Bing boys roped in Mulligans owner, Pádraig Brady, to play his role in the announcement that quickly went viral.
Now, in case you weren’t already salivating at the mere thought of it, wait until you hear what concoction they have come up with.
Simply titled ‘Split the B’ (nice), the Bada Bing x Mulligans special edition sandwich features Mulligans’ Guinness-braised short rib, crispy spuds, greens, pickled cabbage and crispy onions. Oh. My. Word…
With punters’ favourite ‘Mullies’ pouring in more than 13,000 pints of the black stuff every single week, it won’t surprise you to learn that those lines have to be cleaned and maintained almost constantly.
It also goes without saying that wasting even a single drop of that liquid gold is a tragedy, so they had the ingenious of using that surplus stout to create a limited supply of slow-roasted, Guinness-flavoured beef fit to grace any authentic Irish stew.
Slap that meat between bread, and what do you get? Perhaps one of the greatest culinary creations we Manchester foodies have ever seen.
Speaking on the collab, Pádraig said: “At Mulligans, we take pride in every pint of Guinness we pour, so when the chance came up to team up with Bada Bing and create something special for Mancs to enjoy beyond the pub, it just made sense. Quality recognises quality.”
“We’ve always admired Mulligans for how they do things – with no shortcuts”, says Sam Gormally, co-founder of Bada Bing.”
He went on to add: “This collab celebrates everything we both love about Manchester hospitality – craft, quality and a bit of heart. It’s a proper Manc sandwich, made with a proper pint.”
In case it wasn’t already blatantly obvious, we cannot wait to try this thing, and since it’s only being served for a few days, we intend to eat as many as possible.
The ‘Split the B’ Mulligans x Bada Bing Guinness Sandwich will be available exclusively at Bada Bing, 125 Oldham St in the Northern Quarter from Thursday, 6 November – and once they’re gone, they’re GONE.
Georgina Pellant -
23rd August 2023 
