The pub has been serving customers for more than two centuries
Dave McNally, manager of The Jawbone Tavern(Image: The Jawbone Tavern)
Bootle’s oldest pub is set to open a new beer garden this weekend, taking advantage of the sunny weather – with Merseyside expecting highs of 24C. The Jawbone Tavern, which has been found on Litherland Road in the Sefton town since 1802, has turned an empty space next to the pub into a beer garden.
Since reopening in September 2024, the Jawbone has been a big hit with its regulars. It was taken over by new owners who updated the venue while retaining its rich history.
The pub, which was named after the whaling fleets based at Bootle Docks, has survived two World Wars and was once owned by title winning Liverpool FC footballer, Jock McNab. It has served thousands of people in Bootle over more than 200 years.
The new beer garden includes a mural by Liverpool artist Paul Curtis, who specialises in street art and large murals. Since 2017, Paul has created more than 250 public pieces, across the UK, with most of his work found around Merseyside.
The Jawbone Tavern in Bootle is opening a beer garden(Image: The Jawbone Tavern)
At the Jawbone, Paul’s mural marks the history of whaling. It depicts a boat of men heading out to sea, with a whale appearing behind them.
Nicola Halton, a spokesperson for Jawbone Tavern, said: “When we took over the site we had plans to create a new outdoor space.
“After a lot of hard work and the assistance of the fantastic artist, Paul Curtis, stage one and stage two of the beer garden build are now fully completed.
“With a capacity for 80 customers the beer garden is a great sun trap at the rear of the pub and we think it looks fantastic.”
Dave Mcnally, general manager of the Jawbone Tavern, added “We would like to thank Paul Curtis for his great work and think this has added to this local institution which is the Jawbone Tavern.
“Paul came up with the idea of the whaling image, as the pub’s name came from the links to the whaling vessels that sailed from Bootle Docks.
Artist Paul Curtis with his work at Bootle’s Jawbone Tavern(Image: Paul Curtis)
“Whilst whaling is now illegal in the UK, and rightly so, we felt that this would be a way of sharing the pub’s history whilst also brightening up our new beer garden area.”
About the Jawbone’s history, former owner, Harry Sandle, who operated the venue through the pandemic and its hospitality-related restrictions, previously said: “The Merton, round the corner from us, was also seconded as a hospital for the American soldiers during the war, and a lot of the Americans used to come into the Jawbone.
“The soldiers that were in the hospital would be short of money, but they would come in for a pint and pawn their watches to Jock so they could get a drink.
“Apparently, Jock had a safe full of American watches, and he made a fortune from it; a lot of them didn’t have the money to get them back off him. They were all exchanged for a couple of pints. We heard he was a bit of a character, but he died in 1953.”