September - Midland
The Midland
19 Wellington Road North, Stockport SK4 1HJ
The Stockport & South Manchester CAMRA Pub of the Month award for September 2014 has been won by the Midland on Wellington Road North, Stockport. John Clarke reports.
The Midland is another local example of a thriving free house that escaped pub company ownership. Moving from Whitbread to Enterprise Inns it was purchased by Mark Hayter in July last year (prior to that he had been the pub's tenant for two years).
The most notable change has been in the beer range, although Mark has cleverly adopted the course of evolution rather than revolution. So the semi- regular beer, Greene King IPA, has been joined by up to four guest ales - generally speaking the number increases towards the weekend. By largely keeping to the style of beers his regulars enjoy Mark also ensures the new beers enjoy healthy sales and so remain in good shape while they are available.
There's no food available at the moment but live entertainment does feature with a live band performing every other Friday. There are two darts teams based here - a Premier League men's team plays on Tuesdays while Wednesday nights see matches in the Stockport & District women's league.
The pubs itself has been knocked around a bit over the years but still keeps much of its multi-roomed feel with three distinct areas. There's also some impressive tile work surviving from former times. The atmosphere is one of genuine local, although one where the casual visitor is made welcome.
This is a success story that deserves celebration and it will get that when our award is presented on Thursday 25 September. However this will be more than a celebration - it will be a show of support. As we have reported, there is a planned road scheme which in its present form will involved the demolition of the pub (a cycle path will go through the front). It is still early days and we hope that these ridiculous and destructive proposals can be amended. A good turnout on the night will show that the pub's friends and supporters mean business.