A weekend visit to Brigg town centre for a few pints left me reflecting on pubs of the past and some of the familiar families who've run them.Many older Brigg Blog followers will remember popping into the historic Angel Hotel, in the Market Place, before it closed its doors - later to reopen as a council office complex (as our picture shows).
On the Lord Nelson side of the entrance - adjoining Exchange Place - was the Angel Hotel shop/off licence. It was quite fashionable, decades ago, for pubs/breweries to have shops of this kind. That was before the arrival of supermarkets in small towns like ours and before almost all convenience shops successfully applied to court for the right to sell cans and bottles of ale/lager.
To many of our generation, the Shrosbree family is synonymous with the Angel. Back in early October 1980, Charles (Mick) and his wife Susan, who had left the Angel 17 years earlier after a spell as managers, returned to take over the hotel again - this time holding the lease.
For five years prior to returning to Brigg, he had been running a private hotel in North Wales. But, having been born in Cleethorpes, he wanted to return to Lincs, and was pleased to take up the opening in Brigg. He was first appointed manager of the Angel in 1959 after training at the Royal Hotel in Grimsby. He later transferred to the Carlton in Blackpool, prior to moving to Wales. Son Martin - 17 at the time the family came back to town in 1980 - was reportedly born in the Angel.
I'm sure we can get that confirmed one way or the other in the near future!
Another well-known landlord at the Angel was Colin Sanderson, in the late 1970s. He gave his name to Sandy's Bar - aimed at the younger age group - and can only have been in his mid-20s when he took over the place with wife Janice.
Like many buildings in Brigg, Scalini's (is that the proper spelling?) chippie use to be a pub.
ReplyDeleteThe small, oriel-like bay window at the side of the chippie use to serve as the 'beer off', as they say in these parts.
Any idea what the original pub was called?
Wasn't The Red Lion on Wrawby Street , or was that on the site of Parish Watsons Deli ? The Angel , Qeens Arms , Brockelesby Ox , Dying Gladiator , Brigg Snooker Club , Sugar factory Sports Club , Horse and Cart all have fallen along the wayside in my lifetime .
ReplyDeleteGone are the times when I used to drink bottles of Forest Brown ale . I would go up to the bar in the Britania and ask for a large Forest , " Sherwood " came the reply from Landlord or at weekends " Epping " !
I remember starting my catering career in this hotel under the eponymous mr shrosbree . Many a dinner/dance held by the great and good of brigg were held in the glorious ballroom , I distinctly remember carrying huge cauldrons of hot soup up the stairs behind sandys bar, where were the elf an safety police then?
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