Tag: Stockport

The next pub in my tour of Good Beer Guide pubs in Stockport was the Swan with Two Necks, owned by the local Robinsons Brewery. Robinsons started brewing at the Unicorn Inn in Stockport in 1849 and they’re still going, now owning over 260 pubs and inns in the north-west of England and north Wales.

It’s not common to see a pub now which still has outdoor toilets, but I thought it added to the authenticity of the place. Who needs expensive renovations? There has been a pub with this name since the late eighteenth century, but the brewery notes that it was rebuilt in 1926 which makes it an interesting inter-war survival. CAMRA are able to provide a useful background to the heritage of the pub:

“A long, narrow pub which has changed little since its rebuilding in 1926, just before it was bought by local brewers Robinsons. The interior is simply organised and the extensive use of wall panelling is typical of inter-war pubs. To the left of the tiled and panelled entrance lobby is the vault, with plentiful panelling, although much of it was actually added as recently as about 2009 (and now covers over a fireplace). The other door from the entrance leads into a drinking lobby, which is essentially an expansion of the corridor and faces the servery. Beyond this is the delightful smoke room which, with its Tudor-style fireplace and oak panelling, has a particularly warm and comfortable atmosphere. From the central lobby one can see the unusual feature of roller shutters which can be brought down to safeguard the contents of the bar-back shelves and, above the servery entrance, a notice saying ‘waiters’ from the days when waiter service was a regular feature in north-western pubs. A small room at the back came into pub use during the 1960s.”

As for the pub name, it’s all about swans. The historical significance of swans in England is closely tied to the monarchy and, for centuries, unmarked swans in open waters were considered the property of the King or Queen. This ownership was formalised through a practice called ‘swan upping’ where young swans were marked with notches on their beaks to indicate ownership. In the sixteenth century, Queen Elizabeth I granted ownership of some swans to two organisations, namely the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Worshipful Company of Dyers. To keep track of ownership, these organisations marked the beaks of their swans. The Dyers’ Company marked their swans with one nick on the beak, while the Vintners’ Company used two nicks to identify their birds.   Over time, the term ‘two nicks’ was misinterpreted and mispronounced as ‘two necks’. And that’s how a pub name was born…

The real ale selection. There were two staff members, both of whom were friendly and welcoming. A customer later on asked for a gluten free beer and there was rather a debate with the publican suggesting that the customer was wrong on numerous matters, it was an exciting conversation to listen to.

My first half was the Unicorn from Robinsons Brewery, which is better than the reviews on Untappd suggested. A traditional beer with a malty edge and some caramel flavour, actually rather decent.

My second half was the Old Tom Original, also from Robinsons Brewery. I liked this, a complex beer which was boozy, rich, slightly sweet and a chocolate edge. It had a fruit flavour that I couldn’t identify and it felt like a well-rounded beer.

The separate front bar has remained, a survivor of how pubs have been opened up over recent decades.

Wood panelling, I had this room to myself. There was another room at the rear with a couple of people in, but it was a quiet pub when I visited. Anyway, I enjoyed this pub and I liked how it hadn’t been knocked around and ‘modernised’. It feels old fashioned, but that’s to the good as not every pub needs to be modern and shiny.

Whilst in Stockport, I thought that I would have a little meander around some of the Good Beer Guide venues, with this being the first one.

The pub was opened in 1840 and was used as a coaching inn given its location to the Heaton Norris railway station, which closed in the 1960s. There’s a traditional feel to the decor and I like that there are numerous rooms with different seating and design styles. There’s an article in the newspaper from 1841 which notes:

“John Newton, of Stockport, will wrestle any person whose weight does not exceed his (5 and a half score) for £5 a side. He may be heard of at the Magnet Inn in Stockport.”

I suppose that was a handy guy to have as a doorman…. I have no idea what that weight means, the nearest that AI could get was that a northern measure of weight was a score which was 20 pounds, but that would make for a very light wrestler.

The Magnet is the ‘inn’ by Andrew Street, showing how near the railway station was. It has lost that railway station link now and it had some troubled years, being closed and starting to become derelict for a short while. However, it has been turned around over recent years and it has become something of a destination venue.

It was reasonably busy on the evening that I was there, with the service being friendly and welcoming.

The beer selection is substantial and they use Untappd for their beer menus. They have around 14 cask beers and 12 kegs to choose from, with the selection being well curated with most beer styles represented. The beer prices are also all towards the lower end of the scale.

My first beer was the Bright & Early from Wakey Wakey Brew Co and after trying it, I was surprised at its low rating on Untappd. Lots of toffee evident in the flavour, along with orange peel. The staff member pro-actively mentioned that they use lined glasses for their half pints, something which I personally think is a rather good policy.

Second beer was the Whiskey in the Jar from Liquid Light Brew Co. It was rather sweet and a little boozy with a taste of dark chocolate, really quite punchy.

I can absolutely see why this pub is in the Good Beer Guide as it’s welcoming, clean and has lots of beer which seems to be in very good condition. The reviews on-line are very positive and just about as high as a busy pub can reasonably get. They’ve never picked up a one star review on Google which is an achievement in itself. The food option is pizzas which are freshly made, with the non-beer drinks choice also being wide. The National Geographic also published an article last year, which I think is badly written for numerous reasons, but it mentions the pub as one of the twelve best pubs in the UK which must have been a pleasant little boost for them. And this was a positive start to my visit of pubs in Stockport, friendly and hospitable, so all rather lovely.