Stuart Rimmer came to Gateacre Chapel on 13th March to talk about his book 'Lost Manors: A history of the townships and alehouses of Gateacre and Childwall'. Part 1 of this review was published in our May 2022 Newsletter

The Black Bull was extended by the Fleetwood family (who made it double-fronted) to take in the site of the Manor Court House. The Bear & Staff existed in the early 1700s, but - if its name the 'Bear & Ragged Staff' is indeed attributable to the Earls of Warwick - it would have had a different name prior to 1760 when this became the Earls' official emblem. The Brown Cow was a sandstone cottage, converted to a beer house by George Fleetwood in 1847. Finally the Childwall Abbey - which existed in 1615 but was rebuilt in the early 1700s - probably acquired its name, some time prior to 1773, because it was run by Ellinor Abbot, and not (as previously assumed) because of the nickname of nearby Childwall Hall.

The 'lost' pubs researched by Stuart include the present day No.1 Stone Cottages and No.1 Paradise Row, the recently-demolished Bridge Inn, and the nearby Halfway House on the site of Belle Vale Fire and Police Stations. There were also three alehouses on the original Wood Lane (which was diverted in the 1960s). Skillington House, Stuart told us, was "the only alehouse to survive Cromwell". This last-named building stood in Belle Vale Road, opposite the end of Wambo Lane, but was demolished many decades ago.

Stuart's talk, inevitably, only covered a fraction of the information contained in his book, which has 36 chapters spread over 164 pages. Most of the information in it has never before been published, and we are very fortunate that Stuart has found the time to research it so meticulously. We are also lucky that - at the third attempt - we managed to arrange a Covid-free date for him to tell us all about it.