Barbary Coast

pendy · 23-11-2005, 14:57

All this talk of pubs has reminded me - does anyone remember the Barbary Coast in Blackburn. I think there were about 5 pubs, the Wheatsheaf and the Dun Cow being two of them. I think there was one called the Sun, and perhaps the Castle was another one. It was always known as a very racy area, the "ladies" used to stand at the bar of the Dun Cow with the prices written on the soles of their shoes! They must have had a full time job inking them back in, the number of times they were in and out of the pub. A group of us used to go down there for devilment - we thought we were really seeing the high life! There was also Yates Wine Lodge in Blackburn, can't remember whether it counted as part of the Barbary Coast, but it sure was rough!

Less · 23-11-2005, 17:41

I think pendy you might mean the Dunn Horse, but I can't be sure I always went to the Wheatsheaf!

cashman · 23-11-2005, 18:19

it was the dun horse! the swan the sun and the wine lodge were all virtually next door to each other.two very celubrious pubs around the corner by the post office were the legs of man and the county coarse i don't remember any of these establishments lol

Alan Gilmartin · 23-11-2005, 21:53

Used to spend a lot of time in those pubs when I was a full time student at Blackburn Tech, they were very handy just around the corner from the Mecca. Yates Wine Lodge, The paint stripper they sold ( Australian Plonk ). Are they all gone now??. There was a knife shop there called Little Sheffield. Lionel Morton had a boutique in Mincing lane I think it was . We used to go in the Vulcan a lot. I suppose a lot of the pubs have gone now, Star & Garter, Adelphi , White Bull, There was a Chinese Restaurant Called the Yinn Kinn above the new Market Hall, The St Johns Tavern was a favourite with the mods. Reid'ys record shop in Penny St. God all this sends shivers up my spine.

Bazf · 24-11-2005, 02:51

Didn't the mecca change its name to the Golden Palms or something like that, I seem to remember palm trees or it could have been what I was drinking

pendy · 24-11-2005, 13:59

Ah memories. When I was a student nurse at the Infirmary, we used to visit Yates's Wine Lodge to buy their Australian white - foul stuff, but only ten bob a bottle and virtually guaranteed oblivion! I can well remember my friend Judith, still in uniform having just come off duty, leaning against the wall in the nurses home, swigging from a bottle of the awful stuff. As the level in the bottle went down, so did the level of Judith against the wall!

It was Julia Foster, Lionel Morton's wife, who had the boutique. We were talking about it a few weeks ago (she's an antique dealer now), and she has very fond memories of Blackburn.

lettie · 24-11-2005, 17:12

Hehehe, I also used to go round the Barbury as a student nurse in the 80's. The Aussie white wine never failed to get us drunk. The rest of the pubs were rough but we loved it. I also remember going into the Vulcan before they shut it down. It was full of prostitutes, transexuals and extremely shifty looking people. They had an African Grey parrot in there, which an acquaintance of mine inherited when it closed. She tried to teach it to speak but to no avail. One day at a family party at her house, when the house was full, this parrot suddenly spouted the most obscene language (in a very loud parrot-type voice). We nearly had to pick her grandma up off the floor........ It seems that the parrot adored crowds.

Aaaah, happy days..

Alan Gilmartin · 24-11-2005, 21:45

By the way my mum & dad, Both now in there late 80s said they had a really nice meal in the Old Mother Redcap last week. Also there was a new pub at the time ( early 70s ) I had a few beers in, in Knuzden, but cant remember the name. spent a lot of time in pubs in my youth. good to talk about Blackburn, even though its an Accy site. A few more memories from you all would be great, 60s & 70s. Can we have a forum devoted to surounding towns,

jelly baby · 26-11-2005, 15:13

My friends and I spent many oblivious hours doing the Barbary Coast, We would catch the 7pm bus from accy bus station and did a circular route starting with the Merchants, (Gay bar, very risque at that time) then on to the wine lodge for a dock of aussie white, from there it was the Queens, Peel, Jubilee, Vulcan, Ribblesdale, Sun, Swan, and back to the Merchants for last orders! I have missed a few out as I can't remember all of them. We did this every Friday and Saturday for about 3 years, its a wonder we are still here to to tell the tale.
Who says binge drinking is new?
JB

jelly baby · 26-11-2005, 15:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Gilmartin

By the way my mum & dad, Both now in there late 80s said they had a really nice meal in the Old Mother Redcap last week. Also there was a new pub at the time ( early 70s ) I had a few beers in, in Knuzden, but cant remember the name. spent a lot of time in pubs in my youth. good to talk about Blackburn, even though its an Accy site. A few more memories from you all would be great, 60s & 70s. Can we have a forum devoted to surounding towns,

Could this (new pub) be the Cabin End, it was built to serve the new estate that was going up if memory serves

Alan Gilmartin · 26-11-2005, 21:39

Yes thats the one , Jelly Baby. You have a better memory of the names than me.

pendy · 29-11-2005, 17:17

I remember once in the Wheatsheaf, celebrating a friend finally passing his medical finals (God help the patients). Got absolutely rat-a***ed, but nobody noticed until I got up to go to the loo, missed the door by a foot or so, and apologised politely to the wall. So what else is new .....?

Alan Gilmartin · 21-04-2008, 06:17

I think this thread, would go very well with the King St thread.

steeljack · 21-04-2008, 14:54

interesting thread ........I remember them all , especially the old wine lodge , my drink of choice was a glass of Australian red and white mixed , If I remember correctly the place had a bare wooden floor.
The mention of the working girls in the Dunn Horse made me laugh , I think every young lad from the area must have been in there at least once to see if the story about the price written in the soles of their shoes was true.

There was also another good little pub around the corner from the old co-op emporium , on a side street , only one room , opposite what used to be a dance hall (Tony's ? ) think it was called either the Queens or the Grapes

Wynonie Harris · 21-04-2008, 15:09

Spent many a happy hour on the Barbary Coast in the 70's. A particular favourite of mine was the Old Bank which seemed to have a whole cast of interestingly disreputable characters. Although there were some rough pubs down there, they were rough in the old-fashioned way - if you didn't bother anybody, you were left in peace, but woe betide anybody who started taking liberties. Not been down there for knocking on 30 years now. I suppose it's all trendy wine bars and plastic disco pubs, more's the pity.