Stanley Arms, Stockport

Converted 1/2/1996 to become commercial offices. Closed 1/2/1996. History: Former large, street-corner Wilson's house. In the late 1980s it became a free house. This is what Opening Times magazine said of it when it won Stockport & South Manchester CAMRA Pub of the Month award for Nov 1991 - "The Stanley Arms has had a chequered history in recent times and a few years ago the thought of it getting such an award would have been laughable. For many years it was a run down Wilson's pub with run down beer. This was followed by an admittedly quite good refurbishment which also saw the pub signed as the first Webster's house in Stockport. Still it struggled and eventually closed, seemingly for good until it was rescued from dereliction by present owner Mike Belsham. Once again, though, disaster struck with a serious fire in the pub just days after Mike completed the purchase. This would be enough to put many people off but Mike, now ably assisted by wife Lynne, has persevered and is finally beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. The fire at least enabled the pub to be refurbished to a high standard which makes good use of the unusual split-level layout. The, frankly, unimaginative Scottish & Newcastle range of beers has been jettisoned in favour of what is arguably the most enterprising array of beers in Stockport. The regular beers are from Dent and Ryburn breweries (including two specially brewed house milds from the latter) and these are complemented by guests from all over the country which Mike usually picks up himself-so you are likely to get the full range from many interesting micro-breweries appearing on the bar. With this range of beers quality can be a problem but Mike sensibly orders all of his beers in small 9-gallon containers which ensures that most of the beers are usually top notch. The Stanley also scores on price - Ryburn bitter is 96p and another regular, Dent Bitter, is £1.06 as are one or two other beers. The policy is simple-if Mike gets a discount it's passed on to the customer. All in all this is a pub that is doing a lot right and deserves bringing to a wider audience". Opening Times magazine March 1996 reported closure as "end of last month".

Further history here:
Lost Pubs Project website
Photo here:
Stockport library photo