Woodsend Road, Flixton M41 8QW

Building

Roofed and walled permanent structures.

Asset type

This building is a pub which has an important connections with an early cooperative/charity body which provided foodstuff for poor people living nearby. The pub appears to have been built around an original cottage, but has been modernised and extended on several occasions. The Fox as it is known locally remains popular today.

Age

The present building, which probably dates from the early nineteenth-century and which may incorporate earlier features, was once owned by the Flixton Union. The pub was enlarged and rebuilt in 1929.

Rarity

The likely connections with the early poor law provision make this an interesting building. Very few buildings of this kind remain in the district today.

Historic Interest

The Fox and Hounds was originally named The Union Inn, highlighting a connection with the Flixton Union Society, an early cooperative selling basic foodstuffs especially to poorer people in the locality. The Flixton Union was dissolved in 1850. Local historian David Smith tells us that: "Around 1798-1800 the Union ran in a similar fashion to a Co-op. It was housed in a row of cottages adjoining the Hulme Bridge Farm with three main outlets. The group had Grocery and Provisions, then a Bake Shop, with a Brewery to complete the row. To accompany the complex there were orchards and gardens. Dealing mainly with the poorer people they also began a Sick and Funeral Club there. Their slogan which was written across all the cottages was Sobriety and Industry Destroy Rags and Poverty. The Union was closed up and sold in 1850 having gone into liquidation. One member who was 85 years old and had been subscribing to the sick fund all his life received one week's payment before he died in 1853." Although the detail of this is unclear, the Flixton Union may have its origins in the system of outdoor poor relief which existed under the Poor Law prior to the reforms of 1834. Evidence shows that poor relief in the area was provided in local cottages, rather than in any one single workhouse building. The Poor Law reforms of 1834 ended outdoor relief, forcing those who relied on these means to either enter the workhouse, or find another alternative way of living. Although abolished under the 1834 changes, outdoor relief continued until around 1844, when they were no longer viable financially. Outdoor poor relief was particularly common in the north of England. These factors may help to explain why the Flixton Union closed in 1851, adding weight to the suggestion that this was part of the pre-1834 Poor Law system which exited in the area. The present pub building probably originates from one of the cottages owned by the Flixton Union, dating back to the early nineteenth-century. The building incorporates earlier features dating back to the Flixton Union. The pub was renamed in 1973 following alterations and extensions. Situated close to a bend on Woodsend Road, the pub is an interesting building in a noticeable position. The pub was modernised in 2008 and again in 2019 and remains a popular pub in this part of Flixton.

Landmark Status

The pub occupies a landmark position - situated on a bend in Woodsend Road. It is the only building of its kind in this part of the locality, the remainder being of modern construction. This adds to the local landmark status.

16 May 2023

16 May 2023

Find out more about this Asset in Greater Manchester Local Heritage List:
https://local-heritage-list.org.uk/greater-manchester/asset/5084