Speaking as a retired German Shepherd, I spent the best years of my life in the 80's prowling around the flat-roofed, heavily barb-wired part of one of these architectural gems- snarling at punters and so on.

As the son of publicans who lived in pubs around Manchester till I was 26, I absolutely loved this video! These pubs are ugly to look at, no doubt, but the beauty is in what they stood for, and, in ever decreasing amounts, still stand for. A time way way gone now where to socialise ment leaving the house and actually meeting people. The Internet now soothes our social itch for the large part. God I sound like an old fart lmfao Thanks for the trip down memory lane, absolutely loved it.

My dad spent all his working life as a joiner, he told me when new estates were built the first thing to be built was the pub to give the workers somewhere to go at dinner time! Oo how the world has changed and i don't think for the better.

Tiger Moth in Irlam is a jewel in the crown of Irlam. When a large gas blast damaged a few dozen houses locally they opened their doors and gave board, food and drink to all. Lockdown they did special days to get people out their homes and socialising. Seamus and Eileen would give their shirts of their back to help their community. With it being on an estate - back 40 years ago it got a bad name due to it's football team of the day being a bit boisterous. Them days are long gone. Now it's full of local people who help each other, play darts, pool, dominoes and have a good chat. So if you live close by call in and give it a try. By your 3rd or 4th visit you too will be one of the Tiger family...

Brilliant video! I adored the music you chose for the introduction...I couldn't stop smiling through the whole video. I still dream of being able to visit Manchester one day. Top notch pictures and history lesson. Thank you for taking us on this adventure. Bless you and have a lovely evening.🌹

I drank my first pint in the Artillery Arms in Chorlton on Medlock. I was 15 years old, and looked it. I paid my one shilling and elevenpence halfpenny, and felt like a giant. I winced at the intense bitterness of what must have been my pint of Wilson's, but I never looked back.

Great piece, thank you. These pubs are being swept away, and while many of them may have been great places to have a drink amongst friends old and new, too many of them were places where the local bullies and self appointed hard men tried to make up for their many inadequecies.

This video is a mini masterpiece - a neglected and niche but fascinating topic, well researched and flawlessly put together. Middleton had several such pubs, most of which have been lost, notably those in Langley. A well-maintained and popular survivor is The Beacon in Eston, Teesside.

Sean Locke's dad, allegedly, once gave him the advice " Never drink in a pub with a flat roof". I totally agree.

I remember the "Tom Thumb" pub in Stockport, an estate pub near Hollywood park meant to serve the blocks of flats around the small park. As a "A" level GCE students at Stockport college in the late 1960s we had lunch there every Friday, Holland's steak pies chips and gravy! and a couple of obligatory pints. There was a Manchester "Log End" type dartboard Friday afternoons were always a little relaxed! Last time I saw it it was an "Indian" restaurant.

I spent the late 90's avoiding these sort of pubs as a student at Salford Uni. Best old fashioned boozer was the Walness Tavern at the back of the university. A good mix of students & locals. Sadly no longer there.

Been watching your videos every day, I find them very relaxing, like watching David Attenborough. I think this is what we need more of right now. Cheers mate.

A great roundup of a sad situation. The death of the estate pub is but a small part of the death of the local pub generally. In the 60s there were three main reasons to drink at the pub: To meet your mates, It was the cheapest place to drink and the Lounge was smarter than the one in your home. The pub is now the dearest place to drink The average home is smarter than your average pub and mates now go down to the town centre in their cars for a night out. In Manchester there are a few local areas like Didsbury where pubs do well but in general they are failing. Withington lost both White and Golden- two of its trio of Lions. and the closer you get to the inner suburbs the more pubs have closed for ever. Sad but the aspirations and habits of the local communities have also changed. Pubs will survive as an institution but the day of the small local as a hub of the local community are long gone.

As my old dad used to say, if you don't want a glass in your face, never drink in a pub with a flat roof...

Used to goto the Swinging Sporon a lot in the mid to late eighties as they used to put punk bands on, Happy memories

Well thank you! What an excellent piece of work. My previous reaction to these type of pubs was disdain but after watching your presentation my eyes have been opened. A truly great piece of KZfaq work, full of quality comment, well thought out and intelligent appraisal - keep it up

You are really underated.

Great story Ollie! I really like Manchester and its surrounding boroughs. The whole place has vibe about it! and anything about it makes me very interested for more info about it ! Keep up the excellent work! - Robert

I’ve just discovered you and your channel. And I love everything about your work, your perspective, your humour, and your production values. You’re totally brilliant, in my books 😜

Thank you for including a picture of the Collyhurst Totem - the cube-shaped pressed concrete sculpture, by William Mitchell, which stands by a row of abandoned shops. It features in my painting 'Three Totems' and was used in a BBC Christmas drama around 10 years ago.

Sympathetically filmed, beautifully written and narrated. Top class Ollie. 👌

I've been following your videos for quiet some time. I just wanted to tell you that this is a beautiful essay of social history ❤

Got to say, that was a very enjoyable video! These are buildings which I almost consciously block out of my vision because I find them so ugly but you are right - they actually do have merit and are a part of our urban history. Thanks.

Built a few of those pubs back in the seventies. Brilliantly presented, thanks and have a great Christmas.

Great intro 😅 thoroughly enjoyable throughout too! I've wondered about these types of pubs before, but never really thought to actually look into them. Thanks for another interesting, informative and well made video!

great video, am surprised you didnt feature the ultimate estate pub, "the jockey" as featured on shameless. as a regular pub goer in the 90s its sad that they are starting to go, its more to do with prices and people's budgets, and then the business becomes unsustainable, some of them might get a refresh to try and bring them back but usually, it just ends in a fail.

Sad to see the derelict pubs, you can just imagine the atmosphere in the olden days, the drinking, music, chatting a lady up. Laughter no more, all you hear is the ghosts of many a workers lives, long gone but not forgotten.

can aImost smell the carpets from here! The White Iion as pictured was not an estate pub but a temporary replacement as the original was knocked down and never rebuilt {for your info}

If you had asked for subject ideas then estate pubs never would have come to mind but wow did that deliver. That was the video that needed to be made but we just didn't know it - thank you Ollie!

Best part about the old estate pubs was that you could get anything you need at any time. From charlie to a 'new" TV or a box of meat. The marketplace of the estate was always in the smokey flat roof pub.

I was lucky enough to have been born and bred, in Hulme. Born in 1953, left in 79. We were lucky to have a mixture of Victorian and flat roofed pubs. The Charles Napier, The Crown, Pomona, Bulls head, the Boatman, all being Victorian. I have to mention the Grants Arms, great Boddies pub. Grey Parrot, Falstaff, Unicorn, Mancunian, Iron Duke. And plenty more. Totally different world back then, but totally wonderful

Value to the community is exactly right. The British pub is disappearing fast. It’s a shame. Many estate pubs give back to the community in many ways. Bus trips for the kids in summer, food banks, Christmas bags made up for the elderly. Then there is the vital role of somewhere to go for a laugh, a moan, a gossip and refuge from a hard world for a few hours. A bag of crisps and a pint can help you forget the struggles for a short while.

These pubs have always fascinated me, we had a few in Corby Northamptonshire, our local being the silver band or the shire horse. Amazing places full of everyday people... Back in the day. Top work as always 👍

This video was in my recommendations, it's my cuppa tea, youtube seems to know me a bit too well. I've been a walker and photographer for most of my life, but in the last couple of years i've gotten more interested in walking around and capturing my local area and other neighbourhoods, i think lockdown had something to do with that as well. There's an estate pub near me in Birmingham called Perry Common: No.1 British Legion Club (as it claims to be on it's sign). It's one of those places that i've past countless times throughout my life on the bus or in the car, it's on a busy road, but it's a bit of an invisible rusty gem, only known by it's locals, no one really seems to notice it, it's almost become part of the land and that's what i feel a lot of these pubs have become. I still love walking around forests and countryside, but walking around suburban areas, council estates and side roads has become one of my main interests, through doing it quite a lot you can start to develop an appreciation for the overlooked. People hardly ever walk around the area where they live, everyone drives everywhere. When you walk, you see what's on your door step in a completely new light, at least for me. There's definitely an element of nostalgia to it and embracing the working class which i'm part of. Being a photographer has something to do with it as well. I'd love to go inside the Perry Common and take some photos, but like you i'd probably feel like an alien visiting a unknown land with the looks i would probably get hahaha.

out on the edges of Greater Manchester in Wigan there used to be an estate pub called the wheel, so named because the building is entirely circular - always fascinated me as a kid, just stood out as one of the weirder buildings I'd ever seen, tragically it was demolished a few years ago :/

Great episode! Would love to see an episode on the slum clearances of GM?

Ha ha...well done Ollie, great script, great editing....and a really great story! I used to drink in the Sherwood (5.31) in another life. When I was too young to buy a pint but got severed anyway. When lager came with a dash of lime and the sound of knocking came from people playing dominoes while they waited for the cockle man to turn up. Those with a bit of cash to chuck about bought a bag of prawns instead. It didn't take much to show off in those days. Brilliant stuff mate, really enjoyed it.

I remember The Clarendon pub, used to have guard dogs on the roof. My aunty lived in the Turkey lane flats, they were known as the legoland flats. I still have a photo of a street party there for the kids in the early 1980's. Time flies...

Bloody enjoyable. The Narrator is boom. I can imagine him working at the BBC Studios in Salford some day.

I think they stand as a testiment to how arrogant yet utterly uninspired the planners of the 60's and 70's were. Where they threw away much of victorian and industrial Britain in favor of naive grand designs imposed upon the populace with such staggering arrogance, all in the name of progress. The damage done has been immense. Cheers.

The gamecock is still occupied by someone, there are houseplants on the windowsills and lights are often on at night. It is currently under threat of demolition as someone wants to build yet another multistory student block there. It does look scruffy and rather odd sat on the corner but i will kind of miss it when it's gone.

Corner shop is popular with city fans pre/post game. Been in myself a few times. Rough af. The marble arch is fully gentrified with its own micro brewery, great selection of beers and decent food. Again popular with city fans on match day.

I still love Manchester but now I know why I emigrated to Western Australia 50 Years ago but I still have Manchester in my Soul. Thanks for this Video.

An absolutely brilliant video. These pubs are amazing and it’s great that there any many like who are fascinated by their design and the story’s they tell. We have a few of these left here in Sheffield. It’s sad to see them demolished. A great video and I will be raising a pint 🍺

Thank you for calling out Farage as a toff who puts on a 'man of the people' act. Can't believe people still fall for it

This was a fascinating, thoroughly researched , entertaining film thanks for taking the time to make it.

Very sad. I pass many old abandoned pubs during my travels. Spanking Jockey, Copenhagen, Glue Pot, plus many more I can’t remember.

Fabulous video and Presentation Ollie! Talk about Time Travel !! Going back 42 years when my Mum & Dad ran the Tiger Moth for a few years.. Grim, is an understatement! Just going to have a look at your Sankey Canal Pt 1 for more Memories! Merry Xmas everyone!

Ollie, this was really a "out of the box" video, you know your local history quite well. One comment you made hit the nail on the head----there is to much TV to watch. Why do we need 6 million TV channels to pick from? And Smartphones don't help much. When was the last time you saw kids actually playing outside and people in general just walking around, not looking at their phones, for the pure enjoyment? Love your work, top notch. Stay safe and stay strong.

I really enjoyed that! Glad it was on my suggested section..thanks for putting it together , Sonique 🤗

Hello Ollie - greetings from Poland. Parks pubs Sheffield and road junctions. A fascinating insight into what was and what is and even what will be. A wonderful series. Congratulations

Thanks so much for this Ollie. I lived in Hulme from 1990-1993. 91-93 was fifty yards from the Falstaff.....great pics and footage. I might have sent you this before but what the hey: Let me know what you think........ "Streets In The Sky" The streets in the sky have all gone... The concrete, the crustys, the Crescents are no longer there.. All the hippys and punks And droputs and drunks and weirdoes and junkies have all done a bunk! The Eagle's been grounded, The Checqured Flag's been flown, The Spinners stopped spinning and the last film's been shown at the Aaben cinetheque. The streets inthe sky have all gone.... And now no trace remains of the cube shaped estates They threw up for twenty years and then threw away, "Dreamscapes" of reinforced concrete and glass, with gas central heating in every flat and maisonette, It's so easy now to forget the graffitti scrawl wallpaper, The deck access walkways, The squatters, Punx picnics on hot summer days, The streets in the sky have all gone.... So goodby Charles Barry, the memories we carry are with us wherever we move, Farewell William Kent How much time was spent collecting the poll tax from you? Adieu Robert Adam... Good times we had 'em There was always something going on, it's true! So long John Nash How much hash was scored through your steel shuttered doors? The streets in the sky have all gone!

When I was a kid we lived in the flat below the Four in Hand in Hattersly (Hyde) and my mum managed it at the same time. It was one of the ugliest builds I've ever seen inside and out. It was a rough estate but the locals taught me how to play cards, pool and darts on a Friday night. Estate pubs are/were eye sores but, they're a huge beacon of community for the locals. Manchester would be awful without them!

"never drink in a flat roofed pub"

This is abso-fucking-lutely SPLENDID. Whatever "it" is : you have nailed it. I am an older punk London boy living in Devon. I have always loved the aesthetic of Estate Pub. You have truly warmed my heart and spirit. Your style is magnificent and engaging. 😊♥️😊♥️

One of your best. An aspect of history so far overlooked.

Our local estate pub struggled for years gangs and drug use finished it near the end landlord opened the disabled toilets for coke use thankfully flattened new houses on it

Great feature. It is interesting how a change in habits has affected a whole industry.

Two pints and a couple of E's, please Kev!

Silver Birch in Wythenshawe is still there. Great pubs that have sadly gone from the area :- The Lantern The Eagle The Greenwood Tree The Anvil The Royal Oak The Wendover (The Pear Tree) The Cock of the North The Happy Man The Benchill The Legion The Naval Club The Spread Eagle The Jolly Carter The Portway The Woodpecker They’re ones I can think of. Not many left in the area, which is a shame.

The Flemish Weaver, or the Woolpack (I can't remember which was which) building is still there on Salford precinct, but not a pub. I was not hard enough by a factor of about 100 to go in, 30 years ago :-) Some of the older pubs (mostly gone - the Griffin, Lord Nelson, Brewery Tavern, Priory, Horse Shoe, the one which was up a bit from where Gt Clowes Superstone used to be, and the one near the bottom of Leicester Rd) were more welcoming. Only the Star left, and only then due to a community buyout. Anyone remember the House that Jack Built?

What can I say, your best one yet mate! I loved it this!

Your best yet. I hated these type of pubs, once my underage drinking years ended, and I grew more discerning. But I agree with you now, these are historic, of their time, and seriously endangered. We will never see the likes of these again. Ever. This was so well done, mate, that I can't think why it wasn't done before- blindingly obvious now you have pointed it out. My grateful thanks for dragging me back to these, some of which (most!) I have been in BITD.

Our estate pub is now a Morrisons daily. Estate pubs are horrid ,souless places where you can get a good kicking for no reason at all.

We should visit as many pubs as possible ..they will soon all be gone..

Remember visiting my Grandad in Gorton & going to Labour club around corner from my Grandads Carfax St home, long gone as are many watering holes, nostalgia is a wonderful antidote to the modern madness...✌️🌍🙏

Great video, my grandad was landlord of an estate pub in Macclesfield. This brought back a lot of memories. I’ve posted a link on Twitter, there’s a GrimArt account and I think a lot of their followers will enjoy your video. I hope that’s ok?

Brilliant little film...always been fascinated by estate pubs..was brought up on Langley in Middleton

Loved this, I know two of them from my youth and have drank in one of them. Always fascinating to see how someone sees places I know from a different perspective. Thanks.

We had a pub (called The Anson) near where I lived, though my experience wasn't so great. I used to walk past it in fear and trepidation when I was a kid - periodically called a "p" by someone drinking there (or loitering). It's now a cash and carry and my kids don't ever get to experience the dread I used to - that's a positive.

Interesting video about post war urban architecture. I shall view these pubs in a new light now. What a great pity so many lovely old Victorian and Edwardian pubs have disappeared. If it wasn't the Luftwaffe then it was the local council to blame!

You'll notice a lot of these estate pubs have ample parking. Built just in time for the introduction of the breathalyser. Unfortunately. I recall stories of police cars surreptitiously lurking round street corners for some easy pickings. I also heard tales of people handing their car keys over the bar to avoid temptation. Not quite sure how they got to work the next day though.

Ahh man - If only I knew back when I was young and free that one day the pubs I frequented would no longer exist, the memories. the laughs, the fights, all year round welcoming, guaranteed to always have people you knew sat inside waiting for a chat. It's sad on reflection, a lot of drinking places these days seem shallow, no more regulars, no more midnight kisses. Just memories and one day those will be gone too.

Great choice of subject and very interesting insight. I have to plead guilty of having tried to avoid these sort of pubs. I've not done much (enough) drinking in Manchester and we don't have them hardly in the Fylde or even many in Blackpool or Preston. Only one (Retro) have I been to because or the carpark there ironically. Though the Tiger Moth is at the end of a long a planned walk to Irlam to complete my walk of the Irlam from it's source that's stalled at Salford due to covid. As usual I digress. Way back in the late 70's My Fishing Coc mates and I at Nottingham University would battle hard and win the free barrel of ale for most money raised by a small society for Rag Mag sales. We went all over in the Student Union minibus and we were expert at finding places no one else thought of. One of our prime raids was to Chester and Ellesmere Port. two groups of four at each place. I was initially disappointed to get EP, it was very depressed and depressing on arrival. Full of these Estate Pubs. We got the full 'Alien' welcome. At the third one we risked a drink. Amazingly, everything changed. We sold loads of mags, they took extras to put behind the bar and we were made most welcome. Then the clever bit..... At the next one we got the frosty welcome, slipped in that the previous pun bought 40 mags and we sold 50, then 60 at the next one... It was the most fertile ground we ever found.

You're really starting to develop your style now and you confidence is growing. Loved it. Excellent video. Keep em coming. Oh.......and thanks 😊

they're ugly for sure but there's something charming about them. relics of a bygone era when things were just different, before clinical steel and glass covered everything. really seems like the architecture reflects a lot about us through the decades- these buildings felt imperfect but stubbornly, optimistically alive, kind of embodying the working class spirit. we're replacing these buildings with things that look like spaceships with their sleek design, monochromatic palette and smooth, reflective materials. out with the old, in with the new, as they say.

I built all the Concrete entrances for these pubs around Ancoats,Collyhurst,Bradford ect as entrances over services had to be constructed of reinforced Concrete that made it compulsory to try them all out when they later opened.

Thank-you for brilliant video,lived in Manchester early 80s,then hubby from Wythenshawe,silver birch,greenwood tree,eye opener to me southerner.remember vaguely pub called no 36 after bus.or is my memory playing tricks.

I know so many of these pubs, I was born in Miles Platting and then brought up on Openshaw Village, exactly the kind of estate in this video, we had a large nice pub called the Drop Forge, this was pulled down years ago

Excellent video Ollie. Like others have commented, I always thought these pubs reminded me of 'the horse & jockey' (C4 TV, Shameless)....but after watching your vlog, I almost want to go for a pint in them before they are lost.

This is such a genuinely nice homage, was hoping to see a pub I used to go past as a kid with my parents, think it was called The Drum, in Stretford, place literally was shaped like a drum. Think it was demolished a few years back, super-distinctive place, though.

An interesting and well made video. Really enjoyed it. Thanks for posting.

Good vid - subbed . I live in Manny n these pubs / semi eyesores have always drawn my attention

Is ' Billy Greens' pub still up was featured on ' Toughest Pubs in Britain ' in the early 2000s? People simply don't have the money for drinking in pubs now we are becoming more isolated which does not help with our mental health.

Thanks for another interesting video! Cheers from Sydney, Australia

I did wonder where this was going, but I actually enjoyed it. Nice work bro 👊

My friend recently mentioned something about 'flat roofed pubs,' and I asked her to explain what she meant by that. She explained, and chuckled as she said, 'There are memes about them online.' I realised that I knew exactly which pubs she was talking about. They are the pubs that I have always instinctually avoided!! I was always drawn to the pubs in older and more beautiful buildings.

I love the stuff like the mural on the Queens Hotel pub. Especially if they're in concrete.... That harsh, 50s/60s redeveloped Britain. I think there's real beauty in its snapshot of an era way. Much like the stone sculpture sound the corner from where I live in Collyhurst. Hopefully not to disappear completely when they finally get round to demolishing the derelict shops/homes. I like the fact you can still see on Dalton St the curb opening to what would have been the car park for the Robert Tinker pub. Little clues to history all around us!

An excellent documentary on estate pubs, they served a purpose and those that survive remind us of times past. Many thanks.

great explore of some dying utopian dreams! I know some flat roofed pubs that still survive out in Liverpool's suburbs like Netherley and Halewood but a great many have gone the way of the bulldozer though a few remain as local mini markets. Takes me back to one close to my parents, as classic flat roof that had the customary dog on the roof, the Leather Bottle in Halewood, gone now. Don't see many dogs on pubs rooves these days eh? though there is a pub in Speke that still keeps the habit. I know a lot of people think brutalism is some kind of terrible monstrosity and lament the old terrace houses, but I live in the same type of terrace house in Liverpool that's cold and drafty, and almost impossible to keep warm in winter without continuously running the central heating! And with barely any outdoor space so it's hardly something to get too rose tinted about. That said as you stated in the video the problem is more than just bricks and mortar deep, a lot of these new shiny houses will descend in the slums of the future in 20 years or so.... Such is life, well have a pint for me in some locals local in Manchester Ollie!

I see you're channelling your inner Jonathan Meades! Great video, as usual! Lots of people in the comments are complaining how delinquent these places are - from personal experience many of the Victorian places are just as bad.

This was a fascinating and challenging video to watch, I agreed with you every bit as much as I disagreed which is a sure sign you're making me think, I'm aware I'm in the minority when I say that I LOVE these kinds of places. A huge portion of my family were from Barton and Blackbird Leys in Oxford so I have a lot of fond memories of these sorts of buildings and the community spirit that they inspired. They weren't always the shells they sadly became, it's not my place to try and decide what caused it, perhaps the world just moved on. But there really is something about mid century council estates that I love. Thanks for the genuinely interesting video! I'll definitely subscribe if this video is any indicator of your content 😁

this made me feel guilty for never going into either of my 2 local estate pubs. One was burned down and the other was converted into a nursery. I feel like we've lost something that will never come back

A brilliant subject. Brings to mind some of my home cities pubs, Carlisle with the Border Riever and Morton park estate’s ‘the royal Scot’. The pub that also came to mind was Hull’s Silver Cod; home of the Silver Cod Squad.

Our masters don't like us folk the slaves talking to one another. They all must go. Good video nice one.

I feel like you don't get enough credit for your excellent videos. A lot of other people on youtube have loads more views for crapper videos. Guys in London, guys in Manchester. They don't put the effort in that you do and it shows. Keep it up matey!!

I remember going in a pub just off the Mancunian way just before dinner. The Landlady was pouring pint after pint and lining them up on the bar. 12 03 and the pub was filled to standing only and all of those pints were half empty and due for a refill! 35 min later it was empty again! (the pub and the glasses) ..... 40 min dinner hours! Proper pub!

As a young man i used to drink in an estate pub in Nth London but very quickly realised it was the same old faces, day in day out. I guess that's the idea of an 'estate pub', a pub for the very nearby local's. No one ever said 'let's get on a bus and go the that estate pub on the other side of town'. Instead we went to the high street pub, different people, people passing through, a proper mix. Plus less chance of having your head kicked in by the local estate nutcase.

Excellent video documenting the type of pubs which are sadly in decline

Wow, what a great subject matter! Nicely documented. Would have been good to see some interiors too.