Old Liverpool Pubs: Bar Royal Etc

Hi there!

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a research project I have that is part of a documentary currently being filmed in Liverpool!

I am looking to speak to anyone who can tell me about any of the following pubs and the people that may have run them or just any lively characters that were regulars there or anyone themsleves that drank in these places and have any stories or photos to share! If any of you know any of the below and can hep out it would be a big help!

Thanks in advance!

Bar Royal : Run by someone called Sadie (Woud love to know more about him)

Paco's

Cottages (Gory)

Jody's

Pie Stall

Pyramid

Macmillans

Griffin Pub

Archway

Gateway Pub

Fish and Chip Boat

Bears Paw & Harrington

Masquerade

Swan Pub

Magic Clock

Bus Routes

Mr Woo's

Stevie's

Old Royal

Black Cat

Bird Stork Hotel

L8

Empress

Curzon

Saunas

Reflections

The State

She

The Curzon was a afternoon stay back pub. it opened when the other pubs shut a 3 pm :)

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Originally Posted by Sam

Hi there!

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a research project I have that is part of a documentary currently being filmed in Liverpool!

I am looking to speak to anyone who can tell me about any of the following pubs and the people that may have run them or just any lively characters that were regulars there or anyone themsleves that drank in these places and have any stories or photos to share! If any of you know any of the below and can hep out it would be a big help!

Thanks in advance!

Bar Royal : Run by someone called Sadie (Woud love to know more about him)

Paco's

Cottages (Gory)

Jody's

Pie Stall

Pyramid

Macmillans

Griffin Pub

Archway

Gateway Pub

Fish and Chip Boat

Bears Paw & Harrington

Masquerade

Swan Pub

Magic Clock

Bus Routes

Mr Woo's

Stevie's

Old Royal

Black Cat

Bird Stork Hotel

L8

Empress

Curzon

Saunas

Reflections

The State

She

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Wasn't Paco's run by Bobby Burns? I remember having quite a few late nights there.
Knew the Pyramid club, but don't remember a pub of that name.

A bit before my time,but the"Magic Clock",in Roe st.apparently,was frequented by some "Magic" people,as was "Jody's",at a later period!:unibrow:

i'm currently doing a bit of work in the bear's paw/harrington bar. hasn't been used since 1989, flooded with water and in a pretty bad state

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Originally Posted by wsteve55

A bit before my time,but the"Magic Clock",in Roe st.apparently,was frequented by some "Magic" people,as was "Jody's",at a later period!:unibrow:

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Yes... we were also warned in the 60's that it was a "strange, but very friiendly" bar. It was next to, and patronized by, the Royal Court Theater.
I won't use the 60's terminology for a gay bar...:)

"The State" and the "She" were both clubs.

They're only ones I've been in,then when we got kicked out it was up to Pete's bar in the seel street area? till gone past 5 o'clock in the morning...two steps forward and one back...hic!

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Originally Posted by saintpaul 79

i'm currently doing a bit of work in the bear's paw/harrington bar. hasn't been used since 1989, flooded with water and in a pretty bad state

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WOW!!

Don't suppose you can get any pics of the place before as is now... ?

I'd love to see it how it last was.

Has the place been bought now...?

it hasn't been sold, just maintenance by the leaseholder.
i'll be able to get some pics, there's still a glitter ball down there and some very odd decor, along with an inch of mud. the curved bar is ready to collapse.
where the club's false ceiling has come down you can see the original bear's paw ceiling, c. 1910? very rich. according to my 95 year old grandad was the best restaurant and cocktail bar in liverpool, pre war.

Macmillans was owned by Lenny McMillan, (who sadly died last year) and Stuart Davenport.

They also owned the Mardi Gras on Bold Street, O'Connors bar on Hardman Street and the building that houses Cream nightclub in Wolstenholme Square. Macmillans was a good laugh. It had great DJs on. I think it was open Wed - Sunday till about 2pm but frequently stayed open later.

Thursdays was quite good, it was a night called Disco ****ation which went on for a few years and was very popular.

The Bears Paw & Harrington Bar stayed open until about 1989. I worked there in the daytime when it was called the Harrington Bar. It was owned by Gordon Shearer, who also owned Paco's Bar.

Towards the end it's patrons - who tended to be 'rough' - twice attacked the place smashing it to bits and attempting to ransack the office in order to get to the safe and steal the money, and in the end Gordon let the bar go because he couldn't live with the stress. I think he sold it.

From what I can remember I was told that there was a life sized statue of The Queen sat on a throne behind some red velvet curtains or something - not too sure. Maybe it was a cabaret bar in the sixties or something.

Jody's was an alternative / punk type club in the early eighties and then a lot of the gay crowd began going there. It used to have live cabaret every Wednesday with acts like Paul O'Grady's Lily Savage performing for a hour or so.

It wasn't frequented too much towards the end. It's now a lap-dancing bar call Sugar.

My Mum used to frequent the She Club in the 60's, it was owned by a married footballer with an roving eye apparently :-)

Hi,

Do you have pictures of the Bears Paw before now? If so Iwould really like to speak with you...
Haven't logged on in a while but we are in Post Production stages now and the film will be shown in August.

Please let me know

Much appreciated

Sam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saintpaul 79

it hasn't been sold, just maintenance by the leaseholder.
i'll be able to get some pics, there's still a glitter ball down there and some very odd decor, along with an inch of mud. the curved bar is ready to collapse.
where the club's false ceiling has come down you can see the original bear's paw ceiling, c. 1910? very rich. according to my 95 year old grandad was the best restaurant and cocktail bar in liverpool, pre war.

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Hi,

Do you have pictures of the Bears Paw before now? If so Iwould really like to speak with you...
Haven't logged on in a while but we are in Post Production stages now and the film will be shown in August.

Please let me know

Much appreciated

Sam

Er...I KNOW I went to The She at sometime or other but after that..........Alcohol induced Altzeimers ! :beer: :confused:

Sadie's real name was Tony, Jodie's was owned by a guy called Tommy, Paco's by Gordon, who also owned Bars Paw and Old Masq, they were all old school.

I used to go to the Harrington Bar every weekend, from 1985 up until around 1988 or thereabouts. You used to go downstairs, pay at a little hatch and then go into the bar itself. For a while, there was a lower section inside that sold chips, burgers etc, where there were also tables for you to sit at when you fancied a break from the dancing!

The music played there at the time used to be a lot of Simple Minds, The Cult, Divine, Dead or Alive, Billy Idol, Bronski Beat, Fine Young Cannibals, that sort of stuff. I used to drink Snakebites (ugh), and my friends and I used to dance in the same spot every night - by the large fan that was at the side of the dancefloor.

The same people were there every night too, so it became like a home from home where you just went to have a laugh with your friends. I remember two lads who dressed like Teddy Boys - both called Ste; one was very tall and the other was quite short, but they were immaculately dressed and loved dancing. As did Graham, another regular who loved Simple Minds and danced a lot like Jim Kerr. Bet his knees are knackered now, ha ha. One of our friends dressed to look like Billy Idol, too, with the bleached hair, leather glove and everything!

I loved the place, I have very fond memories of it - not least because it's the place where I met my first serious boyfriend - the father of my daughter!

I used go to the Black Cat on a Saturday for the Blue Mountain Boys in the early sixties. It was a club not a pub, above Samson & Barlows restaurant in London Rd, opposite the Odeon cinema.
It was renamed the Peppermint Lounge but I didn't go there after the name change.

Pie Stall I've never heard of a pub by that name. There was the Pie Shop at the bottom of Fontenoy St and that has also been renamed after a period of closure. Taxi drivers used to have a knowledge quiz and one of their questions was: If you picked a fare up (before the flyover Churchill Way was built) at Mile End in Scottie and the fare wanted dropping at the front door of the Pie shop, what route would you take?
Answer: The taxi would have to go through the tunnel (only one in those days) and turn around in Birkenhead and return to Liverpool, Such was the road layout and that was only way it could be done.

The Griffin in its heyday was run by Brian Toner, that was at the corner of Bankhall and Derby rd. Joe Rogers and Harry Chambers played there for years, it was the place to hear good music on a Sunday. They were extremely popular and attracted many other singers and musicians to sit in. Sadly Joe & Harry have left us within the last couple of years.

The Pyramid was one of the clubs run by Terry Phillips and associates. I think it was in Temple St.

missjo, I drank snakebites and frequented the Harrington bar around that time too.

Oddsocks, are you sure about that taxi route to the pie shop ha ha.

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Originally Posted by Ged

Oddsocks, are you sure about that taxi route to the pie shop ha ha.

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Yes Ged, it's true. Check it out with some of the older Cabbies.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sam

Hi there!

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a research project I have that is part of a documentary currently being filmed in Liverpool!

I am looking to speak to anyone who can tell me about any of the following pubs and the people that may have run them or just any lively characters that were regulars there or anyone themsleves that drank in these places and have any stories or photos to share! If any of you know any of the below and can hep out it would be a big help!

Thanks in advance!

Bar Royal : Run by someone called Sadie (Woud love to know more about him)

Paco's

Cottages (Gory)

Jody's

Pie Stall

Pyramid

Macmillans

Griffin Pub

Archway

Gateway Pub

Fish and Chip Boat

Bears Paw & Harrington

Masquerade

Swan Pub

Magic Clock

Bus Routes

Mr Woo's

Stevie's

Old Royal

Black Cat

Bird Stork Hotel

L8

Empress

Curzon

Saunas

Reflections

The State

She

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I know who started the bar royal (and why) along with the history of all that complex, I noticed from your list that you have missed out an awful lot. That era was my bed for many years but I didn't get much sleep in it; what with the hard-cases, bag robbers, gangster types and norms, it was a whirlwind of people and a replenishment of my educational values. The city centre -at that time- became my university with it's dark streets and vast array of prancing/prowling personaities from the Blue Angel to the She and all between. Bugzee.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ged

missjo, I drank snakebites and frequented the Harrington bar around that time too.

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Hi Ged, I only hope I wasn't sick on you! Terrible things, snakebites... :$ik:

Nice when going down on a Saturday night. Tasted terrible coming back up on a Sunday morning though, and that's when its poisonous name came into its own ;)

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Originally Posted by Ged

Nice when going down on a Saturday night. Tasted terrible coming back up on a Sunday morning though, and that's when its poisonous name came into its own ;)

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Oh, and the hours spent discussing why those flakes appeared in some but not in others. ;)

A very refreshing mix as I recall...probably only remember the first two or three though. :)

Ugh,reminds me of drinking Pernod,the only(?) drink that gets you drunk twice!!:$ik:

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Originally Posted by wsteve55

Ugh,reminds me of drinking Pernod,the only(?) drink that gets you drunk twice!!:$ik:

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Reminds me of my one and only pun.
A friend of mine, before drink driving laws, said he was so drunk leaving a party he could hardly reach the steering wheel.
I retorted that he should have drunk Pernod 'cos
"Absinthe makes the arms grow longer"
Sad thing was he didn't get it!!!

He was probably too drunk to. ;)

Ever come across any info' on the "mystery" pub' in Eldon st,yet,Ged?

No Steve, even the directories throw nothing up but do acknowledge it as a victuallers - but no name for it given.

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Originally Posted by wsteve55

Ever come across any info' on the "mystery" pub' in Eldon st,yet,Ged?

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There's a "Cottage Inn" listed in the 1938 Street Directory buts it's in Eldon Place No. 73

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Originally Posted by ellergreen

There's a "Cottage Inn" listed in the 1938 Street Directory buts it's in Eldon Place No. 73

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I'm not sure,but I think it had already gone,by then! It was on the corner of Eldon st. and Vauxhall rd. and it's just visible on the right of this pic'.

Photo courtesy of someone on Yo?

Hi, could you please tell me where the tunnel pub in wavertree used to be?

Not sure but at a guess I'd say Tunnel Road. Also there is/used to be a bar in Williamson's tunnels called The Tunnels Bar.

am i right in thinking that what i called caseys bar was the bar royal,remember sadie...true every one said no need for a bouncer!!...some one metioned jimmy ,so camp,but so funny,..trying to rememberwhat pubs bob byrnes owned ..my dad used to drink in a lot of them. did he have the why not & the
harrington bar he aso had the crooked billet,know he had maxwell's plum worked there for a little while, the manager was also called bob
byrnes.................some asked about... the tunnel hotel ...that was it's full name ,was on tunnel rd on the opposite side to the spoforth arms just by the old church hall that was use as a youth centre,a little further on past edge hill station ,my mate in school charlie panther. dad run the pub for a while in the 70's can't remember exactly when they knocked it down..will try and find more info

During the late seventies / early eighties i worked at the Bar Royal .. Paco's ..The Harrington Bar and The Bears Paw .. if i can be of any help with any questions regarding these bars..just let me know.