Central Lancs CAMRA and

CAMRA CENTRAL LANCS BRANCH AND ... THWAITES IN PRESTON

Where have all the Thwaites pubs gone?

It may be hard to believe, but at one time it was quite easy to find Thwaites pubs and their beers in Preston. These days there is only one Thwaites tied house in the whole of central Preston.

Unlike Matthew Brown, which was a Preston brewery temporarily residing in Blackburn, Thwaites could always be considered a brewery with its roots firmly established in Blackburn. However times change. Matthew Brown is long gone, while Thwaites has now re-located much nearer to Preston at Mellor Brook. Yet despite being just 7 miles from Preston, Thwaites pubs and their beers have all but vanished from the city centre.

Admittedly it may now be considered a historical document, but ahead of the 1992 Preston Guild, Thwaites Brewery were able to produce a Preston Guild Pub Guide to publicise their bottled Guild Ale as well as their many pubs in the Preston area. The guide listed 22 pubs, of which 10 were actually in Preston, with the other 12 pubs being located in the surrounding areas.

Looking at the 10 Preston pubs, it makes quite depressing reading to consider what has happened to them in the intervening years.

SPINDLEMAKERS ARMS (Lancaster Road North)

This was the first of the 10 pubs to close. The end came in 1994, and in the following years the former pub premises were to fall into a terrible state of disrepair. Amazingly the building is still standing in 2021.

NEW INN (Queen Street)

The New Inn was the next Thwaites pub to go. Last orders were called in 1997, and soon after this occurred the pub was demolished. The land has since been used for car parking.

GEORGE (Church Street)

Thwaites sold this pub to Mitchells in 1998, and later that year it was re-named the Shepherd’s Arms. It soon became apparent that Mitchells did not really want any pubs in Preston, and in 2001 the pub was closed, being sold to become an extension to Ted Carter’s Fishing Tackle shop.

NORTH STAR (Hawkins Street)

A little bizarrely, this pub was described in the Thwaites guide as being ‘in the heart of Preston’. Like the George, this was a Thwaites pub sold to Mitchells in 1998, and similarly this was a pub that closed in 2001. For many years it retained the appearance of being a pub, but more recently it has been extended to create the Mason House apartment building. WINDSOR CASTLE (Egan Street)

Located in an area which once had a high concentration of street corner pubs. One by one most of these pubs have closed, with the Windsor Castle going through a particularly sad decline before its demise in 2001. Still standing, the building has been renovated to provide residential accommodation.

GUILD TAVERN (Tithebarn Street)

This was the Thwaites pub most centrally located to attract Preston’s weekend drinkers. It was a pub that had its ups and downs, eventually being re-named Lionel’s, and ceasing to be a real ale pub. It closed in 2006, being converted into private accommodation, although the Guild Tavern name continues to be associated with the building.

MOORBROOK (North Road)

In 2014 the Moorbrook looked set for demolition, with it being auctioned off by Thwaites and acquired by a property developing company. Fortunately this deal fell through, and the second highest bidders Sue Woods and Gary Culshaw were able to take ownership,

with the pub subsequently re-opening as a free house. No longer a Thwaites pub, but still going strong, it was CAMRA Central Lancashire branch’s Pub of the Year in 2019.

LAMB & PACKET (Friargate)

When the Thwaites Guide was produced this was an extremely popular pub, famous as much for its food as it was for its beer. Although not the pub it had once been, when the 2012 Preston Guild took place, it was chosen as the branch’s Pub of the Season. Over the years trade dwindled, and in 2017 it was closed, having been bought by the University of Central Lancashire. No longer a pub, but it still holds a prominent position looking across to the university campus.

NEW WELCOME

(Cambridge Walk)

The most recent of Preston’s Thwaites’s pubs to close, the end coming in December 2017 with the retirement of a long-standing landlord. Currently it’s no welcome at the New Welcome, with the former pub having its doors and windows boarded up, assumedly this being in readiness for work to be carried out to convert it for residential use.

SUN (Friargate)

The good news – this is the one surviving Thwaites pub in the centre of Preston. The not so good news – it is not actually selling any Thwaites brewed cask beers. Writing this article, I thought it an appropriate time to pay a visit to the Sun. Unfortunately the only real ale available was Wainwright, a beer inevitably still associated with Thwaites, even though it is now produced by Marston’s, having been acquired by the brewing giant in March 2015 in a deal reported to be worth £25.1 million pounds.

Despite this steady decline of the Thwaites presence in Preston, it must be acknowledged that their pubs have played a significant role in the history of CAMRA Central Lancashire branch. As many people will know, the branch was founded at the MOORBROOK in 1973, the legendary George Lee then being the landlord. The Moorbrook remained the venue for most early CAMRA meetings, but when the branch began to venture a little further afield, the George, the Spindlemakers Arms, and the Windsor Castle, were all often frequented.

Several of Preston’s Thwaites pubs were regularly rewarded with a place in the Good Beer Guide. In 1992, the year that Thwaites produced their Pub Guide, there were actually four of their Preston pubs that were Good Beer Guide entries – the GEORGE, the LAMB & PACKET, the NEW INN, and the SUN.

Which reminds me – in early editions of the Good Beer Guide there used to be a comment ‘All Boddingtons and Thwaites pubs in Preston serve real ale’. I suppose that this statement is still true, even though it applies to just the one pub. GORDON SMALL