Castle, Macclesfield

Whitened brick, 18th century pub tucked away on a cobbled street. It probably started life originally as late 18th century dwellings which were remodelled later as a pub in the 19th century and was owned by Macclesfield's Lonsdale & Adshead Brewery. Large 19th century extension at rear. The interior of four small rooms off a central corridor is little altered no doubt partly due to a long serving licensee Charles Lomas (1930 to 1962). From the central entrance a door in the inner lobby on the front right leads to the tiny tap room with a late 19th century bar counter with decorative brackets, old half-height tongue-and-groove panelling with wall benches attached, and a small Victorian cast-iron fireplace was originally in the kitchen, that has a mirror in the old mantelpiece above; the bar back shelving are mostly modern.. Note the holes in the bar counter in the public bar near the fireplace – in the 1930s crates of Guinness were brought from the cellar and placed behind the counter and the holes were to help to bring it up to room temperature.

The inner latch door with glazing protectors leads to the lobby and passageway to the rear. On the right of the corridor is a splendid curved shop front-like glazed screenwork with rising sash windows, formerly the off-sales, now permanently closed, where cigarettes and spirits were stored and sold from. Alongside is a stable door entrance to the servery for staff with a ledge and upper window that can be closed. Also in this area is a display case holding a collection of miniatures and old bottles. Take a look within the servery and you will see an indicator box for the bell-pushes with four windows 'Front Door' (unusual), 'Parlour', 'Smoke Room', and 'Kitchen' which last worked in the 1960s.

On the left are narrow double doors leading to the splendid small smoke room which has an ornamented, probably 1920s, ceiling of moulded putty featuring a pair of lozenge patterns with foliage ornament. Deteriorating in recent years, the ceiling was superbly restored back to its original condition prior to the pub reopening in 2021 after a six year closure. All around the room is high-backed fixed seating with delicate legs and arms and bell pushes in the top and is said to have been installed in 1910. This room also has a good painted slate Victorian fireplace incorporating two pictorial tiled panels of monks eating and drinking.

On the right is the parlour situated behind the servery with a glazed partition to corridor side and has a doorway and plain baffle. It retains the original bench seating on the left hand side with bell pushes above. The bar counter was added in 1971 and some fixed seating in this area was removed. The passageway has a dado of varnished Lincrusta and at the end of past an open staircase is the rear room brought into pub use in 1986. It has no old fittings and part of the wall between it and the parlour has been removed 'for supervision'. Then in 2021 the rear room was doubled by amalgamation with the kitchen on the rear left. A passage on the left leads to the original gents' brought inside in modern times.