Howcroft, Bolton

Delicensed on 28/05/12 landlady was Karen Cusack, and owner Punch Taverns. In March 1976 it was confirmed on a list that it was Walkers not Tetley Bitter. It was included in the 1976 selective Greater Manchester Good Beer Guides and the subsequent ones in 1980 and 1985 as well. It was the North Manchester Pub of the Month in August 1976. The pub was listed in John Stotts 1977 Guide to Good Beer in Bolton as selling Walker Bitter and Tetley Mild (H) with TV, Juke Box, darts, dominoes, pool and bowling green. It was also listed in Geoff Breakwell as a good Tetley Walker pub to visit article on Bolton Pubs in April 1977. It was in the Good Beer Guide from 1979 to 1984, 1987 to 1989, 1991 to 1993, and 1999 to 2004 and finally in 2011. In July 1979 it was mentioned as a Pub with a Bowling Green. Later in 1979 on November 16th the pub was visited on a Pub Crawl. It was also visited on a Sunday Lunchtime Crawl on March 8th 1981. It was listed on the pub inserts for May 1981, February 1983 and June 1985 as selling Walkers Mild and Best Bitter (H). In July 1982 the original Bowling Green had been lost for Topp Way, but the new one had been laid but it would be 1983 before it would be ready for use. In August 1982 the front page of What's Doing announced that it was to become a Walkers Pub, and to celebrate a social was held on August 18th. It was also included on the Marathon Bonfire Night pub crawl. In October 1983 landlord Frank Hardcastle was due to retire and a petition had been raised for Tony and Carol Bretherton to replace him. A year later the pub had been refurbished. A Valentines day social was held here in 1985 and a Branch Meeting on August 7th, also the same month Pub had been submitted for a Pub Preservation Group award. Another social was held here on January 22nd 1986 and in February the pub was awarded the Pub wins CAMRA's Joe Goodwin award for Best Refurbished Pub, this was rather fitting as the late Joe used to drink in the pub when he was a student in Bolton at BIT. The Christmas Pub Crawl visited here on December 11th 1986. It was included on the Great North Western Beer Festival town centre pub crawl in 1987. On August 9th 1987 there was a Camra Bowling Competition held here, and again the Xmas social called here. Branch Meetings were held here on December 13th 1988, February 8th 1990 February 7th 1991, December 3rd 1992 and October 7th 1993. The Pub was included in the 1989 Beer in Bolton Guide as selling Walkers Mild and Best Bitter (H). It was included in the 1992 Great North Western Beer Festival list of town centre pubs to visit. It was mentioned in the Elephant and Castle magazine for both Autumn as selling Walkers Mild and Best Bitter (H). But soon in the Winter copy Ind Coope Burton Ale was on the bar too. Another Branch Meeting was held here on September 8th 1994 and in February 1995 the pub was listed on the CAMRA Historical Interiors list. In May Landlord Clive Nightingale won a Business Award and took over the Hare & Hounds on Bury Road. On an advert in Bolton Pub Scene 2 it said the pub was now selling Moorhouse's Beers. A Branch Meeting was held here on October 5th 1995 and there was to be a Beer Festival at the pub on October 25th to 29th where John Feeney's Bank Top Brewery Bridge Bitter and Fred's Cap from the nearby new Brewery would be available. Another Branch Meeting was held here on February 6th 1997 and on February 11th 1998 a Beer Festival meeting was held here. In December 1999 guest Beers had been Weetwood Old Dog, Moorhouse's Volcano and Barleyhead Autumn Gold (£1.85). By July 2000 the beers were Tetley Bitter, and Bank Top Beers when visited. Another Beer Festival was held here from October 11th to 15th with 200 beers, it was thought to be largest pub beer festival in the country. In September 2001 the beers were Tetley Mild and Bitter, Timothy Taylors Landlord, Bank Top Gold Digger and Weetwood Old Dog. The annual Beer Festival took place on October 10 to 15th. The Branch 25th Anniversary was held here on November 29th 2001. In August 2002 the pub had been selling Leyden Brewery beers and the annual Beer Festival was held from October 9th to 13th. In December 2002 One of the guest beers was Wentworth Best Bitter, it was also noted that Bank Top Brewery had moved to the old Tennis Pavilion at Bank Top. After ten years of Beer Festivals which had raised around £100,000 for Bolton Lads and Girls Club an award evening had been held on January 6th for Clive Nightingale. The pub also was nominated for a Trotter Independent Trophy (TIT) award for the best Beer Festival he had attended. The Beer Festival was held from October 8th to 12th 2003. In 2004 the dates were October 13th to 17th and this raised £30,000. A Branch Meeting was held here on February 10th 2005. The 2005 Beer Festival was held from October 12th to 16th.