One of Liverpool's oldest pubs that boasts a fascinating history and a "supernatural" past has been a mainstay in the city for generations.
Located on Fenwick Street, The Slaughter House is based in the centre of the city’s bustling restaurant and business quarter and has evidently seen the city adapt and evolve around it. The building itself is a bit of an enigma – no one is certain how long the site has operated as a pub, though it is thought to go back as far as the 1800s.
The Slaughter House is so called because it was once located near to Liverpool's abattoir, which was on Drury Lane, but it has never been one itself. Staff from the abattoir are thought to have come to the pub for a drink after a hard day's work.
Read More:
- 21 photos captured by the 'Photie Man' of Merseyside characters
- Fascinating 80s photos of demolished Liverpool estate and city life
In living memory, we've seen the pub briefly change its name to O'Neill's and also operate as an Irish pub, attracting locals and tourists alike. And whilst The Slaughter House refurbishment saw it move away from its Irish theme, the pub "hasn't changed much character wise."
A part of the Liverpool ECHO's How It Used To Be series, we spoke to general manager Tom Dalton about how life has changed at The Slaughter House and how the city has evolved around the pub in years gone by. Tom, 32, told the ECHO: "It's been here for over 100 years, people say, as a pub and the building is older than that.
"Everyone knows the place. You get people coming in and asking questions about the pub, how long it’s been here and we get a lot of out of towners asking the same thing, so it keeps attracting people.
"It's still got a lot of historic features, the roof, the beams, they've been here for so long. It’s obviously been tidied up a bit but it’s never been changed.
Have you got a story for our How It Used To Be series? Let us know in the comments section below.
"People still come in and say they used to work here and they're in their 70s. People have been drinking here for 50 or 60 years and they say the same thing.
"The floor and the bar has changed but the roof and outside in many ways is still the same. Customers say lads off the ships used to come here for a few afterwards and other people used to say it was known as a place you'd have a little sherry years ago. It was boss back in the day – and it still is."
The Slaughter House is said to be haunted, which is no surprise considering its age. Back in 2017, TV show Most Haunted even paid a visit.
But a lot in the pub and Liverpool in general has changed since our fairly recent past. Tom said: "I was only 17 when I started glass collecting and now I'm 32 and it’s changed a lot.
"When I started I didn't even know where this place was. In 2007 there was no Liverpool ONE.
"The Mathew St festival, that was happening on one of my first shifts. It was great for the city and it was just bouncing – we miss that a lot."
"‘It’s busier now. When I started it was only us and a little butcher's next door. Now there’s a bar next door and a restaurant behind and more bars, Castle Street has picked up a lot and that's helped, people move around and we get a lot more customers.
"There's a lot more hotels round here now from when I started and that's big thing for us because we're on their doorstep. Now, people will come in and pull out their laptops or their phones and people get a lot of pictures taken. Social media has had a massive influence."
Join our Liverpool memories and history Facebook group here.
The Slaughter House in more recent years has become known for hosting regular live music and comedy nights at its Laughterhouse Comedy Club in the pub’s basement. The likes of John Bishop and Jason Manford have performed there.
In 2016, the pub underwent a refurbishment and is now more food led, but like many venues in the city, they've also seen trends change. Tom said: "Gin has taken over the world, it's taken over big time.
"When I started it was just a Carling and a vodka and coke and now it's a Madri or a Moretti premium lager and a nice flavoured gin. But a lot of older customers still come in and get the same thing or the older fellas will have the same routine and come in the same time every week."
For more nostalgia stories, sign up to our Liverpool Echo newsletter here.
The refurbishment saw the pub move away from its Irish theme, but for Tom, it "hasn't changed much character wise." He said: "We tend to get a lot of Irish customers still coming in, even without that. They’re people who’ve been coming in for years, way before the refurb.
"We still get people coming back year after year and new people too. We still get busy on Paddy's Day because people still recognise it as an Irish bar and the singer we have on, John O'Connor, he’s been round for years, he’s got a boss following so he'll come in and you wont be able to move in here.
"It's been a while since it's been a Friday so I'm looking forward to it big time. It doesn't matter where you're from, everyone is Irish on Paddy's Day
"We get a lot of fellas we know who've been coming in for years and then their sons come in and they bring their family in. You always see the same faces and they come back here all the time. I wouldn't want to work anywhere else – this place is perfect for me."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
Read Next:
- Liverpool milkman doing the rounds in the city for over 50 years
- Liverpool hotel where Michael Jackson brought monkey and Freddie Mercury 'packed up in a huff'
- Lost nightclub selling Chicken Kiev and lasagne that was replaced by Zanzibar
- Early days and faces of 'the Grand Dame of Liverpool hotels'
- Lost 90s nightclub with 95p drinks that replaced iconic Fallows