OPENING SOON!
It’s recorded on the Original Historical Indenture Real Estate Transaction that a Public House has been present at the junction of Belmont & Blackburn Road, Astley Bridge Bolton since 1st September 1804. The Pubs initial name was The Lawson’s Arms Hotel named after local Lords & Landowners the Lawson Family from the Astley Bridge & Sharples area. The manor of Sharples was once part of the barony of Manchester and the lordship title is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book. The last of the Sharples family of Sharples Hall was Dr John Sharples Lawson, who died in 1816. Locals believe a former Landlord decided to change the name of the public house and mistakenly identifying the three black heraldic swallows adorning the Lawson coat of arms on the Inn Sign as pigeons, hence the name The Three Pigeons. A lot of change has taken place during the past 200 or so years, there was a time that you could stand outside the Pub and watch the new Rail Trams pass by although you would always hear the clip clop of horses hooves on the cobbled street as they pulled up with their heavy carts at the water trough to the front of the building. The Pub had beautiful stone flagged floors and roaring log fires in the winter, sounds romantic but walking into the pub from gas lit lamp streets wearing clogs after a hard days work at the mill probably wasn’t as romantic as we may think, although for those early patrons it was a little haven they could call into and meet up with friends for a frothy glass of real ale and a good old gossip.
The Three Pigeons Blackburn Road, Astley Bridge fell on hard times some years ago and eventually closed it doors for good in September 2011. In the good old days this popular community local pub was a thriving successful establishment but coupled with the smoking ban, beer escalator tax (government yearly Tax on Beer as it was) and one of the worst recessions this country has ever seen trade declined and the building became dilapidated, closed down and de-licenced. The Pub then made it’s sorry way to the auction house (as many do) and then probably onto a complete change of use. Well that’s what was supposed to happen until Nick Howcroft (Henighans MD) drove past and saw the auction sign and also the buildings potential. The large and imposing building was bought prior to auction by Henighans and planning consultation was then carefully carried out in conjunction with Bolton Council Planning Department and local councillors to decide the future of the property. After much discussion it was agreed that part of this large building could be converted into “The Island Apartments” (7 separate modern apartments) and the original part of the property dating back to 1804 would become a new Henighans Public House as the planners wanted to keep some form of retail use from the building and also valued its important Island Landmark location within Astley Bridge.
Henighans then set to work at the task in hand. The whole building is currently undergoing refurbishment and the new carefully refurbished historic public house will be due to re-open during 2015. Once the refurbishment has been completed this Sensationally Designed New Henighans Bar & Restaurant (with a few twists) will create 15 new jobs for the area, boast a great new range of 6 locally brewed Traditional Ales along with a large selection of competitively priced Wines, Spirits and Lagers, the pub will even feature a themed Mediterranean Restaurant on the first floor of the building along with regular live music events at the weekends in the Bar area on the ground floor.
For further updates and information regarding developments at the former Three Pigeons public House please check out www.henighans.com or our dedicated Facebook page
Henighans will be looking for a Proactive Management Team to operate the New Henighans Astley Bridge site, so if you would like to apply for the position please contact us.
Henighans Astley Bridge will offer a Great Range of Draught Ales, Beers, Lagers & Ciders including Carling Extra Cold, Carlsberg, Coors Light, Grolsch, Cobra, Caffrey’s, Stones Bitter, John Smiths, Guinness, StrongBow, Magners Golden Draught, along with 6 Real Ales, popular Bottle Beers & Lagers and a wide selection of the finest Wines.
Open: Monday to Sunday 12pm till 11pm
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A themed Mediterranean Restaurant on the first floor of the building will play an integral part of the new Henighans Astley Bridge Pub, serving the very best in Mediterranean Cuisine. The Restaurant will feature a vaulted ceiling and an open plan kitchen enabling guests to see our talented chefs create culinary masterpieces using only the finest ingredients available. On the ground floor a Bar Snack’s and Tapas menu will be available with some tasty treats to enjoy with a Pint or a Glass of Wine whilst relaxing in our informal warm and cosy Bar area.
Live entertainment is key to any Henighans Pub so with this in mind we aim to ensure we only have the very best Artists playing at the Pub each weekend. The Pub will feature a stage area with a Honky Tonk Piano and stage lighting, so if you would like a sing song then you can “feel free to do so”. An idea of what kind of artists appear at our other local Henighans is available on our What’s On page, why not pop down to see a gig and find out what we are all about, you’re sure to get a warm and friendly welcome.
Henighans widely sponsor many local Football and Rounders teams, so we will be looking for local teams who would like sponsorship along with Darts and Pool Teams. Pub Poker has become a bit hit recently at Henighans so with this in mind we will be joining forces with the Champions Poker League which is the UK’s premier pub poker league, offering the largest prizes in UK pub poker history, so don’t miss out get down to Henighans and see if you have the skills required to win.
Henighans Astley Bridge will have Multiple Large Flat Screen TV’s in place in the Bar showing all the latest Football, Rugby, Cricket, Formula One and other sporting events. We will have a huge projector screen also so you won’t miss any of the vital action.
Did you know that you can hold your next event in the Henighans bar? from Birthday Parties (21 and above), Wedding Receptions, Engagement or Christening Parties to any other reason for a celebration, Henighans is your number 1 destination. Hey and don’t forget we can even do the catering!
Henighans are prolific fund raisers helping many different charities far and wide to raise some much needed money and support for these truly amazing causes, so if you would like to organise a Charity Fund Raising Event and need our help please do get in touch with the Manager at one of our establishments who will be more than pleased to lend their support and help organise a successful event with you.
Henighans
The Island
587 Blackburn Road
Astley Bridge
Bolton
BL1 7AA
Click here for map
Friday & Saturday 12pm to 2am
Sunday to Thursday 12pm to 1am
Beer Garden
WiFi Connectivity
Off Road Car Parking Available
Mangers: TBC
Telephone: TBC
Email: Henighans Astley Bridge