SHIRE HORSES MAKE HISTORIC DELIVERY TO CELEBRATE REVIVAL OF MANCHESTER’S OLDEST PUB

One of Manchester’s oldest pubs welcomed a couple of unexpected visitors as it reopened following a major facelift. The Spinners Rest underwent a £2.5 million refurbishment earlier this year.

Joseph Holt, the 177-year-old Manchester based brewery, which has been in the same family for six generations, decided to mark the occasion and celebrate the region’s rich brewing history by recruiting two shire horses to deliver beer to the pub.

This method was historically used by brewers to deliver beer to pubs until lorries became a faster, cheaper and more practical option. Standing more than 17 hands high and weighing close to a tonne, Shire horses remain among the largest and strongest horse breeds in the world.

Andrew Kershaw, director of Joseph Holt, said: “These magnificent animals played a hugely important role in the history of brewing, ensuring barrels of beer were delivered safely to pubs across the region. Traditionally businesses like Joseph Holt would have had a fleet of dray horses and we can see on old brewery plans where are stables were. We haven’t delivered Joseph Holt Bitter in this manner for a century!”

The seven-year-old shire horses, named Anne and Harold, first loaded up with barrels of beer at Joseph Holt’s Cheetham Hill premises. They then pulled a waggon load – known as a dray – just over a mile to the Spinners Rest.

Formerly known as the Shamrock, the pub first opened in 1808. Joseph Holt, which owns 127 pubs across the North West, bought the building in 2019. After standing derelict for two years, the property underwent a painstaking £2.5 million restoration and expansion before reopening under its new name.

The name Spinners Rest was chosen following a public vote as a tribute to the generations of mill workers who once lived and worked in the surrounding area.

Among the deliveries made to the Spinners Rest were traditional nine-gallon oak casks of Joseph Holt Bitter. The beer is still brewed to the same recipe created by founder Joseph Holt, the son of a weaver, when he established the brewery in 1849.

Shire horses were used by Joseph Holt until the early 1930s, when the brewery kept stables at its Empire Street premises.

The breed was used because of their calm temperament, immense strength and steady, controlled pace which was important when navigating busy streets and making frequent deliveries to pubs.

Added Andrew Kershaw: “We wanted to celebrate the key role of shire horses and the tradition they represent. While Joseph Holt is always looking to the future – investing in and expanding our estate with projects like the Spinners Rest – we are equally proud of our history and the traditions that have shaped the company. Shire horses were an essential part of brewing life for generations, and we wanted to celebrate that heritage with this very special delivery.”