Friday 21 October 2016

The Feathers on Barlow Moor Road, from a pint in 1959 to a packet of salad 57 years late

I can’t really decide whether I mourn the loss of the old Feathers or accept that its present use as a mini supermarket was a “good thing.”

Food, wine and the other convenience things, 2014
Now I say that not out of any prejudice against either the pub or the present shop.

The Feather’s was another of those lost pubs I rarely drank in which may or may not account for its short existence.

It opened in November 1959 and just about staggered into the 21st century.

Near the end it seemed to have a number of fresh openings followed by swift closures and is now a supermarket.


A pint with a packet of crisps, 1959
Its attraction was those small front rooms which were just the right size for a gathering of a few friends or when you fancied escaping from the usual haunts and it was opposite the cinema so was available for a quick drink.

But having said that we always raced down to the Trevor after a film to catch last orders.

Nor is the present shop a place I go too often.

Still I am glad that Andy Robertson was passing and chose to record the place as it is now, full of food, wine and the other convenience things the late night shopper needs and allowed me to contrast it with R.E.Stanley’s photograph soon after it opened its doors to the thirsty drinkers.

Pictures; Tesco Express, 2014 from the collection of Andrew Robertson, and The Feathers, December 1959, R.E.Stanley, m49581, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

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