ECCLES HISTORY UNEARTHED AFTER OVER 100 YEARS FROM PEEL GREEN PUB

A few weeks ago we visited the site of the Unicorn pub in Peel Green, many of you will remember it as The Jules Verne, as we filmed the demolition of this iconic, landmark building.

We were kindly allowed into the fenced off area on Harrison Street and allowed to use the drone for aerial footage as the bulldozers razed it to the ground.

I am delighted to say that, today I was on Barton Lane when a van drove past and flashed it's lights and the driver got out.

It was a very good friend of mine, Barry Calderwood who was working one of the heavy plant machinery on the demolition of the pub.

Barry said to me:

Quote

"I have something for you I rescued from the pub cellars, God knows how it has survived because we had crashed the pub walls into the cellars and were digging the rubble out last week, and I somehow spotted this amongst the rubble, so I stopped the machine and retrieved this for you, as I know you like your local history and collect these bottles"

It was a, J.H, Batty, Extra Quality Stone Ginger Beer, Walkden bottle in superb condition, which dates from around 1890 - 1910, and it is very possible that this bottle has lain in the cellar of the pub since it opened in 1899, which is remarkable and the fact that it survived the wrecking ball, makes it that bit more special for me, and will have pride of place in my collection.

If any readers have similar bottles from the local area please feel free to publish them and if you have any, you don't want... then obviously I'm yer Man.

So, once again many. many thanks Barry for being so eagle eyed and thinking of me and rescuing this small part of our local history.