Lord Lucan nominated it as ‘a pub worthy of visiting’. Quite what tempted him out of hiding in 2005 to make this statement is not known!
TOM JAMES reports on the Nursery Inn, in Stockport which has a surprise in its back garden ....
TIME GENTLEMEN M
ay 27, 2005 was a truly
momentous day in the life of the Nursery Inn, seemingly. For, on
that day, the 7th Earl of Lucan nominated the pub as one worthy of visiting, if an entry on their website records the deed correctly. Quite in what guise ‘The world’s most wanted man’ graced this north-west watering hole remains in doubt but something momentous must have prompted his supposed emergence from obscurity after fleeing following the murder of his children’s nanny in November 1974.
What is categorically certain, however, is that a myriad mystery drinkers and diners have entered its historic portals to deliver the highest national accolades possible for a pub. The Great British Pub has stood for generations at the social heart of every city, town and village across the nation - home from home to millions of customers who share drinks among friends in familiar surroundings. Today, this bedrock of British life is in danger of disappearing in all but a handful of hostelries as so many pubs appear to have lost both their sense of community and individuality. The traditional pub experience seems all but dead. Tucked away in the Greater Manchester village of Heaton Norris, however, down a quaint cobbled street is the Nursery Inn, an unprepossessing exterior with a heart of pure gold. Not every pub can boast the longest record of
80
continuous entries in The Good Beer Guide (Stockport & South Manchester area). Arguably, even more unusual today though, the Nursery Inn is home to another endangered breed, once common across northern Britain, now in sad decline, a bowling green, and a crown green one at that.
The pub, originally built in the early 1900s and modernised in 1939 as World War Two broke out, gets its name from the original nursery situated on the site. There is a rich sporting tradition that even predates the pub, for here was the old home ground of Stockport County FC, before the club moved to its present Edgeley Park site at the start of the 1902/03 season.
Evidence of the local connection still persists in the form of the 1933-34 season team photograph hanging from the wall in the pub vault along with images of local hero, Billy Meredith, who played for both Manchester clubs, City and United. Meredith ranks high in Nursery Inn
folklore, not only for his sporting prowess but also (and even more significantly for the pub) because he was one of the founding members of the Nursery Bowling club, which started up in 1917. It is now one of the most successful in the area with four teams in the Stockport and District league (of which they were founding members), two in the Altrincham and Sale and Veteran leagues and one in the Wednesday evening Premier League of which they are the only club in the Stockport area to
enter a team. The club is thriving, with currently
more than 80 members of varying ages, although they are striving to encourage children to get involved, along with anyone who fancies learning something new. “This is a very healthy number for a bowls club and is currently the largest in Stockport,” enthuses Malcolm Savage, 25-year-long member and its former secretary. He is speaking as yet another match begins on the crown green that has for so long seen competitive action. Strictly speaking, pub and club operate independently. However, they clearly acknowledge, and appreciate, the benefits of partnering each other in activities that promote both causes - and you need look no further than the modern decked area at the back of the pub where locals and those from farther afield enjoy award-winning ales while watching the bowls action, crowds often gathering on match days, especially Wednesday evenings.
The pub and the club have recently teamed up to run a yearly bowls fun day - a bid to spread the word and to get more local people involved with a sport much cherished in these parts. A barbeque will be laid on for guests for a small fee and visitors will have the chance to join up. The scheme is just one in a series of initiatives planned by the club and the Nursery’s landlord, Simon Wetton, who took over the reigns from his stepfather, George Lindsay, when he retired, and has continued to maintain
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