Hulme’s party pub has been crowned the Community Pub of the Year by the Trafford & Hulme CAMRA branch.
The flagship venue of STEAM Hubs and Pubs C.I.C (Community Interest Company), it was specially designed to be a safe space for the community when purchased in 2018.
Four years on, this latest award proves more than ever just how well the team there is doing that job.
So much more than just a pub, the accolade is well deserved for this ‘community hub in a pub’, which regularly runs club nights and live music gigs, pub quizzes and community feasts at its historic site.
mage: Old Abbey Taphouse
mage: Old Abbey Taphouse
It also does a lot for its vulnerable neighbours. During the pandemic, owners Frankie and Rachele ran a successful Taphouse TV Dinners campaign that saw the pub deliver nearly 3,000 two-course dinners to people who were struggling in the local community.
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As well as being a site of importance to the local community today, it also has historic roots that stretch back hundreds of years.
The taphouse is the last remaining building of what was once the Greenhey’s Estate, and the pub’s beer garden is on the former Victorian Road.
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The team behind it also collects stories from the local community about the pub’s history, which it shares on its website.
In tribute to the spirit of the pub, which is committed to providing a safe space for all, local historian Geoff Brown revealed that its reputation for inclusion and solidarity stretches back decades – even if it took a bit of a rocky road to get there.
The Old Abbey Taphouse was one of the first in the area to remove its colour bar, following a campaign by anti-racist activisits boxer Len Johnson and scaffolder Wilf Charles in the late 1940s.
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Sharing a newspaper cutting from the time, he reveals the reality of that early push for equality in the words of those who fought hardest for it: “We campaigned then in the pubs for the freedom of people to be able to go in without discrimination and we had a big campaign against the Abbey pub in Park Street, Moss Side, who refused to serve coloured, Blacks and we forced a test case and got that lifted and that had a big effect.
“Len … ordered two pints and they said we don’t serve Black men… I insisted they would serve him or no-one else would get served. So they brought in the police and they asked us to go – we created a tremendous problem inside the pub. “Next day I went to see the Lord Mayor and the Bishop of Manchester and got statements that they deprecated this action and … we put on a mass picket of blacks and whites from the Communist Party and progressives – some 200 people – so the ban was lifted in a matter of two or three days.”
It’s great to see the beloved local boozer getting the recognition it deserves.
Feature image – The Old Abbey Taphouse
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‘Disgraceful’ Manchester sex offender jailed after messaging several young girls under 16
Emily Sergeant
A sex offender from Manchester has been charged with 35 offences, including messaging several young girls while on a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
William Howarth, from the Miles Platting area of Manchester, appeared at Manchester Crown Court this week where he was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison – with a further six years on licence.
The 23-year-old’s sentencing follows an investigation by Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) Sex Offender Crime Investigation Team (SOCIT) after Howarth was found to be in possession of an unregistered mobile phone in a visit from his offender manager in 2023.
Howarth was subject to routine checks due to him being an already-registered sex offender managed by GMP through a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and it was here where he had to register his mobile device and hand it over to his offender manager from our Sex Offender Management Unit (SOMU) during home visits.
After Howarth’s phone was seized by police, forensic analysis revealed a number of messages were sent to several young girls under the age 16.
#JAILED | On Thursday at Manchester Crown Court, William Howarth (28/7/2002), of Miles Platting, was sentenced to 15 years & 8 months with a further 6 years on licence – after previously pleading guilty to the 35 offences involving messaging young girls pic.twitter.com/HrYKCVay2l
An investigation was immediately launched, and with the help of police forces across the country, GMP managed to trace the children Howarth had been in communication with – who ‘bravely’ agreed to give their accounts.
Police say Howarth displayed ‘controlling’ behaviour over the children he had been in contact with, not allowing them to refuse his requests.
When the children attempted to make a stand and refuse to send further images to him, Howarth would threaten them by stating if they didn’t do as he asked, he would post their images online.
In a hearing at Manchester Crown Court last week (10 November 2025), Howarth pleaded guilty to the following 35 offences – including 11 counts of breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and possession and making of indecent images of children.
Speaking following Howarth’s sentencing, Detective Constable Joshua Cresswell, from GMP’s Sex Offender Crime Investigation Team (SOCIT), commented: “I’d like to thank the brave child victims in supporting our investigating through agreeing to give us their harrowing accounts of how Howarth came in contact with them.
“Howarth is a disgraceful predator and belongs behind bars away from causing further harm to children.”
DC Cresswell then spoke directly to child victims of sexual abuse to encourage them to come forward and report it to police.
“We are here to listen to you, and we will believe you no matter the passage of time. We can work at a pace that you are comfortable with.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Rochdale man jailed for 16 years after killing another man at a New Year’s Eve party
Emily Sergeant
A man from Rochdale has been handed a lengthy jail sentence after killing another man at a New Year’s Eve house party.
Hassan Suliman, of Rothesay Terrace in Rochdale, appeared at Manchester Crown Court last week after previously being found guilty of the manslaughter.
His sentencing comes after Greater Manchester Police (GMP) responded to reports of a disturbance on Essex Street in Rochdale in the early hours of New Year’s Day (1 January 2025), and upon arrival, officers found a man with multiple stab wounds.
Despite the best efforts of all emergency service workers, the man was sadly pronounced dead at hospital soon after.
The victim was later named as 38-year-old Alberto Ursu.
GMP’s Major Incident Team launched an investigation immediately after, which subsequently revealed that Hassan Suliman had been involved in a confrontation with Mr Ursu – which both of the men were left injured during.
#JAILED | A man has been jailed following the death of a man after a New Year's party in Rochdale.
Suliman fled the scene following the confrontation, but was found by officers collapsed nearby a short while after.
Forensic analysis by officers later linked the weapons to both Suliman and Mr Ursu.
Following a six-week trial at Manchester Crown Court in September, Suliman was convicted of manslaughter, but was found not guilty of all other charges, and then last Friday (14 November), he was sentenced to 16 years – ordered to serve a minimum of 13 years in prison, with a further three years on licence.
Speaking following Suliman’s sentencing last week, Detective Sergeant Helen Hitchen, from GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “This was meant to be a happy night celebrating the New Year, but sadly ended in the tragic loss of a life.
“This case just goes to show the devastating consequences of knife crime and its lasting impacts on lives.
“A man lost his life and will never return to his family.
“Suliman is now serving time behind bars for his actions that night, and I do hope that this sentence brings some measure of closure to Alberto’s family.”
Georgina Pellant -
1st September 2022 
