‘THRIVING TOWN COULD SAVE PUB’:
AS Covid-19 continues to hold the country in its vicious grip, the Government has responded by reintroducing lockdown measures which Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said will get increasingly draconian if necessary.
The new lockdown measures have seen Johnson and his Government in conflict with the north of England, with Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, accusing them of being prepared to sacrifice jobs in the north to save them elsewhere.
One of the industries that has had it tough since initial lockdown measures were introduced in March is the hospitality industry, with thousands of restaurants and pubs relying on Government support to stay alive.
But with the return of lockdown measures, many are now staring down the barrel, and there is a very real threat that some will disappear forever.
Pubs generally have been facing troubled times even before Covid-19 hit, and the pandemic and associated lockdown have left many on the edge, and it was fairly obvious that large numbers may not reopen.
One of those – surprisingly – is the Leopard in Burslem – one of the Potteries’ most historic watering holes and a Grade II Listed Building.
And to make matters worse, the old place has been placed on the market. This wonderful piece of the Mother Town’s heritage can be had for the princely sum of £220,000.
This is terrible news for both Burslem and our city on a number of levels, as the Leopard is a very special place.
The Leopard has played an important role in the Industrial Revolution here in the Potteries, hosting the first meeting between Josiah Wedgwood, Thomas Bentley, Erasmus Darwin, and the first superstar engineer James Brindley – a meeting which ultimately led to the building of the Trent and Mersey Canal, the M6 of its time.
Wedgwood recorded the meeting in his diary on March 11, 1765: “On Friday last I dined with Mr Brindley, the Duke of Bridgewater’s engineer, after which we had a meeting at the Leopard on the subject of a Navigation from Hull…. to Burslem”.
As local historian and fellow Sentinel columnist Fred Hughes has said, ‘history was made here in this pub and there’s no doubt about that’.
As Burslem grew in the 1800s, The Leopard became increasingly popular, and after the building of the large hotel wing to the rear, it became known by some as the ‘Savoy of the Midlands’.
About 15 years ago there was a proposal to revive the hotel wing, which is now in a dreadful state, but sadly it came to nothing.
Another great admirer of The Leopard was the Bard of the Potteries, Arnold Bennett, and the Leopard was at the heart of his famous Five Towns work, thinly disguised as ‘The Tiger’. In more recent times, The Leopard has been a popular local pub with a good atmosphere, and so when a board went up following its closures, it has understandably led to fears for the building’s future and that it could be prey to conversion to other, perhaps inappropriate, uses.
And so Our Burslem are proposing that The Leopard be listed as an Asset of Community Value to reflect its importance to Burslem.
There are many examples around the country where this has happened successfully, and so I should say that there is no reason why this couldn’t be the case with The Leopard.
But although The Leopard has been a great pub, it’s also fair to say that in recent times it hasn’t truly fulfilled its potential.
Of course, its role as a great pub will always be key to its future, but there has to be a recognition that the landscape has changed, and there needs to be a response to this, and a diversification that allows The Leopard to play multiple roles.
And the advantage that it has is that it has a lot of space with which to play with – including a large function room, two floors of upper floorspace, and the aforementioned hotel wing.
So as well as playing its traditional role, it could also play host to daytime events such as meetings and conferences, community usage, and live entertainment and exhibitions. And in the long-term, who knows, the reopening of the hotel wing.
However, ultimately, for The Leopard to be a success, Burslem needs to be a success. The new homes in the pipeline are welcomed and will put hundreds of people on its doorstep, but the Mother Town desperately needs a new economic purpose.
With some vision, genuine action and investment, this is possible.
And it would be nice to think that The Leopard could contribute to that.