The best pubs serve as crucial community gathering spots and significantly boost the local economy. But some pubs earn a reputation for being ‘rough’ or somewhat ‘shady’
The Liverpool Royal Court Theatre next to the new Penny Farthing pub, Liverpool city centre(Image: Photo by Ian Cooper)
Pubs are brilliant spots for a bit of socialising, sharing a joke, or even striking up a chat with someone who could turn into a lifelong mate. The top-notch pubs act as vital hubs for the community and give a significant lift to the local economy.
Yet, in any big city with a deep-rooted pub culture, you’ll find some watering holes that get tagged as ‘rough’ or a tad ‘shady’. When you ask locals to name such establishments, certain names crop up time and again.
Over the years, the ECHO has covered many notorious pubs and the stories behind their infamy. Some certainly earned their bad rep through links to criminal goings-on. Others might be dubbed more ‘rough and ready’, perhaps getting their rep from a cautious approach to new faces or the memorable regulars propping up the bar.
There was the pub regarded as a “criminals’ sanctuary” that reportedly raffled off a monkey. Another pub was described as a “throwback to the dark ages” that resembled Moe’s Tavern from The Simpsons. But at £1.20 a pint, some pubs with ‘rough’ reputations might be worth seeing for yourself.
We’ve put together a rundown of five now-closed Liverpool pubs that became infamous and what became of them after they served their last pint.
Eagle and Child
Demolished
One pub, the Eagle and Child, in Huyton was a name that always seems to crop up when the subject of rough pubs is mentioned. Situated on Liverpool Road, the “monster-sized” pub had an equally intimidating reputation.
Not to be mistaken with any existing pub called the Eagle and Child, this pub was demolished in the mid-1990s. A McDonald’s restaurant now occupies the site it once stood on.
The Eagle and Child pub incident, March 1996(Image: Trinity Mirror)
In 2008, a retired Merseyside detective called Albert Kirby, shared his memories of the pub. He told the ECHO: “It was regarded as being a hell hole and a no-go area. It always had that reputation. I think it was considered a criminals’ sanctuary.”
Commenters on internet message boards, when discussing rough Merseyside pubs, often highlight the Eagle and Child. Vladi, writing on The Liverpool Way website, said: “It takes some beating. I was in there once and they had a mouse racing track set up with everyone betting on these mice. It was all going well until some nutcase tried to eat all the mice for a bet and all hell broke loose. I never went in there much but apparently that was a normal night.”
The beginning of the end for the Eagle and Child came in the mid-’90s, when an arrest at the pub and the recovery of a pistol and ammunition sparked a major disturbance. Five months later, the pub was targeted by arsonists three times in one week and was eventually demolished.
The Penny Farthing
Completely renovated by new owners
It’s been nearly a decade since Liverpool lost one of its most remembered, if notorious, pubs. The Penny Farthing pub, later renamed the New Penny Farthing, was placed in one of the most prominent positions in the city on the corner of St Johns Precinct, next to the Royal Court Theatre.
Some of the most enduring memories of the pub included getting a free bacon butty with a pint, topless go go dancers, midday drinking and a “deafening silence” when an out-of-towner walked in. When the ECHO announced the pub’s demise back in 2016, readers shared their memories with many saying they were glad to see the back of the “eyesore” pub.
Jackie Dawson said: “Horrible dirty looking place, needs sorting out! It’s an eyesore and gives a bad impression of our lovely city if you get off the train at Lime Street it’s the first pub you see!”
The Liverpool Royal Court Theatre next to the new Penny Farthing pub, Liverpool city centre(Image: Photo by Ian Cooper)
Stephen Halligan posted: “Remember they wouldn’t serve us because after last orders. Some customer opened his coat and offered us cans to top up our glasses – never charged us. Could only happen in the Penny Farthing”.
But despite its tatty and dated feel and reputation, it seems many of those who frequented the New Penny Farthing held a different view. Maria Baum said: “It was full of people who liked the old pub style. I had many good laughs there years ago – everyone [was] friendly”.
The Royal Court Theatre took over the premises in 2015 before the new owners completely renovated the building top-to-bottom. With the new addition of an outdoor drinking area, The Courtyard Bar and Kitchen opened in place of the Penny Farthing in 2017, turning the old building into an attractive bar and restaurant that now receives glowing reviews from customers.
The Punch and Judy
Demolished
This lost but popular Liverpool city centre pub had been described as a “throwback to the dark ages” and like “Moe’s Tavern” from The Simpsons. The Punch and Judy pub on Bolton Street, at the back of Lime Street, was a popular destination for drinkers and it’s thought a pub had occupied the same site since 1726.
With its mock-Tudor style exterior, the Punch and Judy had a long and unusual layout with no less than three front doors. It was described on the Merseypub.com website as a popular and friendly, if “down market two-bar boozer,” that sold cheap beer at £1.20 a pint.
The Punch and Judy pub on Bolton Street in 2009(Image: Google Maps)
It’s thought the pub took its name from the regular Punch and Judy shows that were staged by Lime Street Station by several generations of the Codman family up until the late 1950s. On June 28, 2012, an explosion rocked the pub in the early hours, causing the roof to collapse and fire to spread throughout the building.
Following the fire, a number of people were arrested but there are no reports of any criminal charges being pursued. The building was so badly damaged that it was later demolished.
However, despite its rough-and-ready reputation, The Punch and Judy pub had its fans. In an ECHO story on lost Liverpool pubs, Heisspartacus said in the comments: “I miss The Punch and Judy, [a] great place to meet up before the match, cheap as chips,” but admitted it “had the worst toilets I’ve ever seen.”
The Inglenook
Demolished
This south Liverpool pub became caught up in a spiral of violence and police raids. It was closed and eventually demolished following a vicious underworld shooting.
The Inglenook pub on Ullet Road in Toxteth was built in the late 1960s close to the busy Aigburth Road. Anyone who had passed by the suburban, leafy Liverpool road would have been tempted to stop by the pub with its massive beer garden and seating at its rear.
Police first raided the venue back in 2005, when they arrested eight people after uncovering a stash of guns, ammunition and drugs inside. The following year, further incidents included complaints about excessive noise and a man was stabbed outside the pub. The pub was also burgled the same year.
The Inglenook pub(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Licensing officials heard the nuisance activity at the pub continued into 2007, when police were called to eject a drunken woman, and in 2008, a man was arrested following an assault. In January 2009, officers dealt with an excessive noise complaint again after the pub’s licensee organised a private party.
In May 2009, they arrested a man following an assault. But just two months later, the final straw came after a man was glassed shortly before the pub’s landlord was blasted in both legs in a vicious kneecap shooting, prompting police to close the pub down.
The Inglenook did eventually reopen, but only lasted another year before closing for good in 2011. It was demolished in July 2012 and a care home was built on the site.
Despite the pub no longer being around, it was by all accounts, a much loved and welcoming family pub from the 1970s right through into the 1990s. Many who frequented the pub during those years have commented on its enviable beer garden and expressed sadness by its fall from grace and eventual demise.
The Dog and Gun
Demolished
The Dog and Gun pub in Carr Lane, Croxteth(Image: Trinity Mirror Copyright)
The notorious Dog and Gun pub in Carr Lane, Croxteth, was closed down and eventually demolished after it was hijacked by criminals and used as a drugs base. In 2004, magistrates ordered the pub to be closed after it was taken over by teenage criminal Wesley Brown.
Brown, then 19, had such influence in the pub he made sure only the front door was open and that two of his gang were on the door. He was jailed for three and half years in 2004 after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm.
The pub had already been closed after police made a dossier of criminal activity they said took place there. The document revealed that during a police raid detectives found a handgun in the toilet, and stashes of heroin and cocaine were discovered.