Pub Sign Photo Study The Old Wellington Inn Manchester

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1552 (despite several claims that it dates from 1328). The Byroms of Manchester were a divided noble family after some of them from Manchester fought for Parliament while the Byroms of Alford were Royalists in the English Civil Wars of 1642-1651). Their descendant, John Byrom, the author of the hymn, ‘Christians Awake’ (who also invented an early form of shorthand for note taking) later lived at the pub in the late 17th century. The Old Wellington survived the Blitz in 1940 though many properties around it were destroyed by the bombing. After being raised hydraulically for expensive cable laying access roads to be built underneath it, the pub was shortly afterwards disassembled brick by brick and relocated in Shambles Square in the midst of the Arndale in the late 1970’s. The Shambles. (traditionally a butcher’s district) was badly damaged by an IRA bomb attack in 1996, leading to city-wide redevelopment. It was decided to move The Old Wellington and its sister bar, the later built Sinclair’s Oyster Bar again, placing them in their current location by the Cathedral in Manchester City Centre. Their distinctive Elizabethan look and their nomadic history have helped make them among the busiest and most photographed bars in the city. Despite its 17th century roots, the pub takes its name from the 19th century hero of Waterloo, and later Prime Minister, The Duke Of Wellington, portrayed here on the pub sign in his younger days. Many pubs were renamed in his honour after his decisive victory over Napoleon. This was just one. Arthur Chappell