Stretford - Dog and Partridge Hotel and Public House

The Dog and Partridge Hotel and Public House, which was located at 710 Chester Road in Stretford, is well-remembered by many Manchester residents due to its proximity to the Manchester United Football Stadium. Before its easily recognisable half-timber structure was erected, an earlier whitewashed building stood in its place, carrying the same name. This slightly smaller building was built in the 18^th century on an estate known as Crowfield Yate. It started as a farmhouse occupied by the Hampson family before being converted into an inn and public house. Its first known licensee was James Buckley in 1780.

On 21 October 1794, the estate, including the Dog and Partridge Inn along with stables, a brewhouse, a garden and an orchard, was advertised for sale in the Manchester Mercury newspaper. While the name of the new owner was not mentioned, according to local history books, Thomas Metcalfe became its licensee in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries. From the 1830s onwards, the names of its licensees start appearing also in the street directories held at the Trafford Local Studies Centre.

From the 1830s to 1850s, Thomas Tattersall was listed as the licensee, succeeded by his widow, Mrs Tattersall, in the late 1850s. The street directories from the 1860s through the 1950s indicate that licensees (sometimes also referred to as landlords) held their licences for approximately 10-20 years each. While the owners of the public houses are not mentioned in the directories, it is known that the Dog and Partridge Hotel was owned at least from 1904 onwards by a large brewery company called Walker & Homfrays Ltd.

The first Ordnance Survey map featuring the Dog and Partridge Inn dates to 1848. This building was likely the same one as depicted in a drawing held at the archives of the Trafford Local Studies Centre, dating to around 1860. The map shows the building located beside a large bowling green, which is often mentioned in contemporary newspapers as a location of bowling competitions and championships. The building is named as an inn on the map. This continued until the 1860s, after which it was consistently referred to as a hotel.

The opening of the railway in 1849, the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894, and the introduction of an electric tram service that passed through Stretford in 1901 created new opportunities for the Dog and Partridge Hotel and the surrounding area. The proximity of the railway and tram stops made it easy for customers to reach it.

When Trafford Park was developed into a large industrial park in the late 19th century, thousands of houses needed to be built for the workers and their families, along with entertainment and services.

Football became a popular form of entertainment for the working men, and the history of the Dog and Partridge became closely linked with the Manchester United Football Stadium, which was opened in 1910, just a few hundred meters away on the north side of the railway lines.

The first connection between the Old Trafford area and the Manchester United football team dates to 1904. During this time, the club’s directors recognised the large workforce at the Trafford Park industrial estate as its potential supporters and started paying the Liverpool Warehousing Company ten shillings a year for the right to display a bill poster board at Trafford Park.

By 1907, rumours began to circulate about the club’s possible move from Clayton to Old Trafford. The new location between the Bridgewater Canal and the railway lines, on land owned by the Manchester Brewery Company, was deemed ideal due to its excellent road, tram and train connections.

However, the location of the Dog and Partridge Hotel had not always been considered ideal. Newspaper articles from Feb 1904 to Feb 1906 reveal that four applications were made by the licensee Mr. William Hodgson, to have the licence of the Dog and Partridge Hotel transferred to a hotel that was proposed to be built in Trafford Road, at Trafford Park.

The applications stated that the Dog and Partridge was the property of Messrs. Walker and Homfray, who were willing to spend £12,000 to £15,000 on the new hotel. However, all four applications were refused, and it appears that the favourable development of the area after the opening of the football stadium altered the plans, leading the company to decide to build a new hotel on the site of the existing Dog and Partridge Hotel.

The earliest Ordnance Survey map available at the Trafford Local Studies Centre shows the railway lines dates to 1895. This map also marks the location of the Dog and Partridge Hotel, along with its adjacent cricket ground and bowling green. Both are also featured on the 1908 Ordnance Survey map. The 1908 map also shows the turning point for the newly built tram line just in front of the hotel.

The hotel was frequently mentioned in contemporary newspapers as a starting point for Manchester Harriers’ running races. However, it was also associated with less favourable events, such as brawls and fights.

Additionally, the Dog and Partridge was often cited as a venue for the Stretford Court Baron manorial court, which was held on a rotational basis in one of the local public houses.

The earliest Ordnance Survey map depicting the Manchester United Football Stadium dates to 1913. This map indicates that the area surrounding the Dog and Partridge Hotel had developed quickly, featuring numerous small streets and terraced houses. While the large cricket ground that once existed nearby had vanished, the bowling green adjacent to the hotel remained.

The subsequent maps, from 1922 and 1931, illustrate how the streets and houses around the hotel continued to develop, and they also show the new slightly bigger structure of the hotel.

After the opening of the football stadium, the Dog and Partridge was frequently mentioned as the venue for the football players' Christmas Day lunches, and contemporary newspapers noted that it received extended licenses to sell drinks on its grounds during match days.

The historical building plans that inspired this article are now archived in the Historical Building Plan Collection at the Trafford Local Studies Centre. Approved in January 1912, these plans provide an early glimpse of the appearance of Dog and Partridge Hotel, shortly after the opening of the Manchester United Football Stadium.

A sign above the side entrance of the building indicates that it was owned at that time by the brewery and pub chain Walker & Homfrays Ltd. Furthermore, the accompanying Notice of Intention to erect the building confirms that the plans were commissioned by Walker & Homfrays Ltd.

The Notice of Intention states that the new building was to be located on the site of the existing Dog and Partridge Hotel. This is further supported by the accompanying block plan, which shows the building’s location on Chorley Street, just off Chester Road. It was to be constructed using Ruabon bricks with added terracotta dressing.

According to earlier Ordnance Survey maps, the building occupied precisely the same spot where the previous Dog and Partridge Hotel stood, although the new building was slightly bigger. The plans were created by Manchester architect William Michael Gillow. His father was Joseph Gillow, and his mother, Ella McKenna, was the daughter of a brewer. The brewery, B & J McKenna Ltd, was acquired by Walker & Homfrays Ltd in 1905, establishing an interesting connection to the Dog and Partridge Hotel.

William started his architectural practice around 1909, but tragically passed away just four years later, on 7 August 1913. According to the Architects of Greater Manchester website, the only two other buildings attributed to him are the Radcliffe Council Offices and the Sacred Heart and St. Teresa Catholic Church in Wilmslow.

The above-mentioned plans depict the Dog and Partridge Hotel as a three-storey building with a basement located beneath the central section. The elevation plans show the building’s façade from all directions, including various decorative features. The accompanying section plans provide interior details, including supporting structures, such as lintels, rafters, joists and purlins, and show how these elements were interconnected. Additionally, the floor plans describe the intended functions of rooms on each floor.

The basement contained beer and wash cellars, storage rooms, a heating chamber, and a larder. The ground floor featured bars, a smoke room, news and billiard rooms, along with a lounge, a hall, and separate toilets for ladies and gentlemen. The first floor comprised a bedroom, dining room, sitting room, kitchen, servery, linen room, scullery, and a bathroom with a W.C. The second floor had six bedrooms and another bathroom with a W.C.

In February 1913, William created additional elevation plans for the Dog and Partridge Hotel. These plans depict the front of the building in a way that is still remembered today by those who visited it. This appearance has also been preserved in several photographs, including two held in the photographic collections at the Trafford Local Studies Centre.

Compared to the earlier designs, the upper section of the new design features a half-timbered structure in the Tudor style. The lower section features more decorative elements, including muntin windows with decorative bars that divide the glass panes into small squares. This was also a popular feature in mock Tudor-style buildings. 

The Dog and Partridge Hotel and Public House was demolished in the early 21st century. Trafford Council’s planning applications portal includes a decision (H/51706) made on 9^th May 2001 for the “Demolition of public house and use of land as a car park including the erection of railings along the site frontage.”

Additionally, the portal contains two other applications for the Dog & Partridge: one for erecting an illuminated sign in 1985 and another for an external fire escape (H22167 and H40796). Before being demolished, the building was the target of an arson attack in March 2001.

Today, a car park occupies the site where it once stood, next to the Bishop Blaize pub. The only remaining structures of the old hotel and public house are a stone gatepost and some brickwork.

Further Research

You can find more building plans and archival records using the Trafford Local Studies catalogue

Sources

Building Plans:

Proposed New Dog and Partridge Hotel, Stretford, Trafford Local Studies collection, cat. ref. PLA/2/STR/1912/2/2247

Dog and Partridge Hotel, Stretford, Trafford Local Studies collection, cat. ref. PLA/2/STR/1913/2/2370

Photos:

Dog and Partridge Hotel, 1950s, Trafford Local Studies cat. ref. TL2114

Dog and Partridge Hotel, Chester Road, Stretford, c. 1860s, Trafford Local Studies cat. ref. TL2650

Chester Road, Stretford, showing the Dog and Partridge Public House, 1970s, Trafford Local Studies cat. ref. TL3574

Councillors and Officers Bowling Match at the Dog and Partridge Hotel, Stretford, 1921, Trafford Local Studies cat. ref. TL1862

Maps:

OS Lancashire Sheet CIV, published 1848

OS Lancashire Sheet CIV.13, published 1896

OS Lancashire Sheet CIV.13, published 1895

OS Lancashire Sheet CIV.13, published 1908

OS Lancashire Sheet CIV.13, published 1913

OS Lancashire Sheet CIV 13, published 1922

OS Lancashire Sheet CIV 13, published 1931

Books:

Dickens, Steven 2014, Stretford & Old Trafford through time. Amberley Publishing: Gloucestershire. P. 61

Massey, Samuel 1976, A History of Stretford. John Sherratt and Son Ltd: Altrincham.

Masterson, Vicki & Cliff, Karen 2002. Stretford – An Illustrated History. Breedon Books Publishing Co Ltd: Derby.

Smith, Tony 2024, Manchester United, Old Trafford and the Legacy of 1910. Independently published.

Taylor, C. 1965. Manchester’s Transport. Part 1. Tramway & Trolleybus rolling stock. Trustees of the Manchester Transport Historical Collection.

Newspapers and Street Directories:

Kelly's Street Directories, Stretford

Manchester Evening News, via the British Newspaper Archives

Manchester Courier, via the British Newspaper Archives

Slater's Directories, Stretford

Webpages:

Trafford Council Planning Application Portal

William M Gillow - Architect | Architects of Greater Manchester

Walker & Homfrays Ltd - Brewery History Society Wiki

Everyone's gutted! | The Bolton News

United pub goes up in flames - Manchester Evening News