The Soldier Dick

 

 The Soldier Dick opened in1805, just a year after the new turnpike road, now the A6, had been completed. It is said that the licence was transferred from a pub at Stoneheads which had lost its trade when the Manchester to Buxton traffic had ceased to pass its door.There is a story that the pub was built from materials salvaged from the pub at Stoneheads but this is based upon a diary entry which said that Sam Bower came down from Stoneheads with a cart load of stone. Bower didn't become landlord of the Soldier Dick until 1851 when he was 34 years old, so it is unlikely to be true.

 Advertised for sale in 1849 on the death of its owner, Joseph Gould. William Travis was tenant by that time.  Mr Gould is recorded as owner in 1821 and perhaps had owned the pub from its earliest days. Travis remained at the Soldier Dick until 1851.

Another sale was held in 1885, advertised here in the Manchester Guardian and this time the auction was held at The Swan at Newtown.  Thomas Ollerenshaw then became licensee, quickly followed by Frederick Hackett who was to remain at The Soldier Dick for about 15 years.

The Soldier Dick in the early 1900s. Samuel Bridge and his family pose for the photographer. He became landlord between 1901 and 1905, probably at the time that Gartsides Brewery of Ashton purchased the pub. His wife, Amelia became licensee by 1914 and continued at the house until the mid 1920s. 

Gartsides Brewery was founded in Ashton in 1830 but by 1939, when it had 180 tied houses,it was acquired by Bents Brewery of Liverpool. It retained its identity and brewing continued at Ashton until 1970 after a takeover by Bass Charrington in 1967.

At the back of the pub were these pigeon lofts. The people are perhaps Samuel Bridge and his family. The picture is on a postcard sent in 1907 to Mr Gregg of Chestergate, Stockport in which Mr Bridge asks that the bird be sent on at once.
 

 The Soldier Dick is bedecked with bunting, perhaps for the 1935 Jubilee celebrations. The outbuilding with the tall chimney is probably the former brewhouse, the pub having at one time brewed its own ale.   Note the phone box which is of the pre-cast concrete K1 style introduced in 1927.

By 1989 when Derek Brumhead took this photograph, The Soldier Dick was a Bass pub. At soe time in the 20th century a second bay window had been added giving a uniformity to the frontage.

The pub was sold to Punch Taverns in 2005 and modernised. Six letting bedrooms were installed on the upper floors.

The back of the pub in recent times
 

In 1827, a branch of the Oddfellows was formed in Furness Vale. This mutual society, a forerunner of the Welfare State was founded in Manchester in 1810. The Foundation Stone of Truth Lodge held its monthly meetings at the Soldier Dick where they occupied the top floor. A bell was housed in the ceiling and rung to announce the start of  proceedings. A hatch in the door allowed scrutiny of  anybody wishing to enter. In 1840, an artist, F. W.Roche was commissioned to paint murals on the walls of the Lodge Room. These five paintings depicted scenes from historic battles including Crecy, The Civil War and Napoleonic Wars. The paintings were preserved when modernising the pub but hidden  from view.

In the 1970s, Len Burgess, an art teacher from New Mills Grannar School was staying at Yeardsley Hall.  In his spare time he painted this mural for the "snug" depicting the exploits of te eponymous Soldier Dick. Ralph Plumley and Harold Littlewood are enjoying a  conversation over a pint of Draught Bass. 

 

Keeping time.

 

 

The two storey extension to the pub now houses  the restaurant area and the licensees flat. It was originally a shop, separate from the Soldier Dick. From 1859, this was Sarah Wright's grocery shop but for many decades of the 20th century, this was Ford's ironmongers. The building was later incorporated into the pub and housed the off sales counter with a separate entrance. It was known as Furness Vale Wine Stores.

Furness Vale Shops, Pubs and Businesses

 Try our new interactive map. Zoom in and out, then click on each marker for more details and photographs

Shopping in Furness Vale

We will take an imaginary shopping expedition to Furness Vale. 
We have had plenty of shopkeepers in the village. There are over 30 addresses, although not all of these traded at the same time and some closed many years ago.  How many can you remember?

At one time, there were two fish and chip shops as well as a fishmonger. We had a tailor, a milliners,  dress shops and a candle maker. There was even a clockmaker at Ringstones.

Who can remember the undertaker with his stock of coffins lining the wall and the hearse waiting to perform its duties?

Do you remember the wool shop with its colourful window displays. Many women knitted in the past and this craft is again becoming popular. I’m told that even men are learning so it’s a shame that it closed. There were always drapers and haberdashers because so many clothes were hand made.

Every shop had it’s own distinctive aroma,  whether  that of freshly sliced bacon or newly baked bread, paraffin at the ironmongers or earthy potatoes at the greengrocers.  Many of these businesses would have mahogany counters and fittings, always well polished. Colourful sweets arranged in gleaming jars to tempt the eyes of youngsters and weighed out a quarter at a time. Some of us will remember when flour and sugar and sometimes butter was weighed out to order and packed in a blue or white bag.

We’ll hear of  Reuben our travelling yeast dealer, of two ghosts, a pub with two names, closed because of disorderly conduct and finally we’ll take a boat trip to the tea rooms.

We are going on a tour of the shops and pubs of Furness Vale. 
We will start at the southern end of the village at a house called Hollins View, which stands in front of the old quarry. There was never a shop here but if you needed your shoes soled and heeled in the 1940’s, a cobbler worked from a shed in his back garden. 

ALEHOUSES IN DERBYSHIRE 1577

The article above is an extract from the Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological Society of 1879.
The list covers the entire County of Derbyshire although we have only included those places in our neighbourhood. Furness Vale and Whaley Bridge were of course in Cheshire at that time although it is doubtful that any local inns existed here in the  16th Century.  There is no mention of any location closer to New Mills, than "Heyfelde". 

The pubs of Manchester

This website will take you on a tour of hundreds of Manchester's pubs, many long since forgotten. Many entries are well illustrated with a brief history. There is a good list of useful links to related sites.

You will come across pub names such as the Engineers and Filecutters Arms,  the Greengrocers Arms and the Isonomy Inn, all three close together in Ancoats and the Bundle of Sticks in Boundary Street East. Visit the City's medieval pubs, most long demolished and read about some of the characters who ran or frequented these hostelries.

Learn also about some of the breweries that have long since gone our of business. Kay's of Ardwick, Cronshaw's of Hulme and Groves and Whitnall for exampe.

http://pubs-of-manchester.blogspot.com/

The Band On The Wall, an Historical Archive

One of Manchester's premier music venues, The Band On The Wall has operated as a jazz club since the mid 1970's. This was formerly a public house, The George and Dragon , Swan Street. The pub first opened its doors in 1803 although the building has undergone many changes since then.  As far back as the 1930's the pub boasted a stage on which musicians regularly performed and it was at that time the nickname "Band On The Wall" was first coined.  The adjoining building, now the venue's cafe bar "Picturehouse" has been in the same ownership as the pub since the early 20th century, if not longer. It has had many roles since it was built in 1865 including conversion to a picture house in 1915.

The George & Dragon as a Wilson's house.

The Band On The Wall website has a superb archive. This documents the meticulously researched history of the building and adjoining Picturehouse.

Early days as a music venue

Swan Street is in one of Manchester's oldest districts, an area with a fascinating history.  The archive tells the story of the neighbourhood. Smithfield Market, Little Italy, Ancoats and New Cross all feature as do violent gangs such as the Scuttlers. The music heritage of Manchester is a strong feature of this archive; "Broadsides", cheap song sheets were printed in the area and the Ancoats Brotherhood was founded by Charles Rowley to bring serious music to the streets.

Smithfield Market

This website is highly recommended, it makes fascinating reading. If jazz music is also to your taste then there is even more of interest.  http://bandonthewall.org/archive/