Bid to rebuild historic Abercromby pub ‘brick by brick’

A PLAN has been hatched to relocate the historic Sir Ralph Abercromby pub in Manchester “brick by brick”, according to reports.

The pub in Bootle Street, which dates back to the Peterloo Massacre in 1819 and was the inspiration of the hit TV series Life on Mars, looks set to be demolished to make way for a £200m development by the St Michaels  partnership in which former Manchester United starts Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs are key figures.

According the drinks trade publication the Morning Adveriser, the Campaign for Real Ale wants the pub rebuilt on another location if bulldozers come in.

St Michaels’ plans are for two skyscpaers and a hotel which would cover the site where the pub now stands and the former Bootle Street police station.

The Central Manchester branch of the Campaign for Real Ale wants the pub protected and has submitted a 3,500-name petition.

Chair of CAMRA’s Manchester Central branch, Graham Donning, told the Manchester Evening News: “To be frank, we’re not happy. How it can be said it’s not an historic, significant community pub is beyond me.

“Rebuilding it may be the only option. Some council help – or from the developers – to do that would go a long way to apologising to Manchester for destroying the pub.

“It’s very disappointing, but it’s what we expected considering the amount of money going into the development.”