‘There is only air where the poem once took pride of place’
The Hardy’s Well pub was demolished in May 2023 following a blaze, also resulting in the loss of a historic Manchester landmark
More than 18 months ago, a landmark mural hailed as ‘insanely cool’ and for being ‘life-changing’ to so many was knocked down as part of necessary demolition works on the Hardy’s Well pub in Rusholme, on Wilmslow Road and Dickenson Road. Less than 48 hours earlier, a fire had broken out on the historic pub, dating back more than 200 years. It served as the second such incident in the space of three years, and the building had been deemed too unsafe to be saved following the May 2023 blaze.
Not only was the pub building lost, but a painted poem from Lemn Sissay – titled Hardy’s Well – was also completely destroyed. Written in 10-inch capital letters on the pub’s gable end, the work celebrated the joys of drinking with friends in a good old-fashioned boozer. The pub itself had been a popular drinking spot for the wordsmith in the 90s.
Designed as a tongue-twister, the vast majority of the mural’s poem’s 98 words began with a ‘w’. It was previously reported that, at the time of its creation in 1994, it was considered to be one of the first major pieces of public poetry in the country. Earlier this month, Sissay, who served as the Chancellor of the University of Manchester from 2015 to 2022, took to social media to share that he has been reunited with remnants of the poem in the form of brickwork recovered from the demolition.
Lemn Sissay has received some of the brickwork from his Hardy’s Well mural(Image: Lemn Sissay)
He posted online: “I had a poem on the side of Hardys Well Pub in Manchester. Remember? It became a landmark until it was demolished. There is only air where the poem once took pride of place. John Regan saved some bricks for me. Love Manchester. The kindness of the place.”
In 2023, Sissay said he was ‘extremely proud’ that the mural had become one of the city’s many landmarks, and how he had often met people from all over the world who recognised the work. Speaking of the demolition, he said: “I would have loved it if it could have been put somewhere else, but life moves on, things change, Manchester changes. I don’t have a problem with it going now.”
Following Sissay’s recent post, a number of people took the opportunity to share their own connections to the mural and how, in some cases, it helped inspire a love for literacy and poetry. One person commented: “Takes me back to the top deck of the Magic bus in 2004.” Another posted: “I still think of your poem every time I drive past there.”
The poem was created on the side of the pub in 1994 with the vast majority of the mural’s poem’s 98 words beginning with a ‘w’(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Another commented: “This was the first poem I ever saw that made me want to know more about poetry. The first time I had experienced a poem in the world, outside a classroom or book. Life changing.” One other wrote: “I used to sit and read it whilst on the bus sat there on my way to school and college….it was amazing.”
One follower also posted: “I got knocked off my bike as a student right beside Hardy’s well and the car didn’t stop! I remember reading and re-reading your poem on that day sitting on the kerb feeling very wobbly! It had even greater meaning to me on every day afterwards. Thank you for everything LS.”
Sissay is also behind a mural featuring his Rain poem near Oxford Road, which was recently resurrected after 27 years by Global Street Art. He is also behind the iconic ‘Flags’ poem, which was originally created in 1997 and found on the floor of Tib Street in the Northern Quarter. It was restored in 2021 and relaid in cast iron.