Forgotten moments inside a historic Liverpool building show its early years as a pub decades ago.
Continuing to attract locals and tourists alike year on year, The Pump House on the Albert Dock first opened as a pub back in the 1980s. That same decade, the building gained Grade II listed status and has since seen generations pass through its doors.
Part of Liverpool’s proud maritime heritage, The Pump House was originally built in the 1870s, with its first-of-a-kind hydraulic pumping system added to the historic docks to provide a power supply. Decades later, the site fell into disuse.
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But today, the tower remains a landmark in the city. In January 1987, the ECHO reported how a development was completed by Whitbread Bowland Inns at a cost of more than half a million.
The site was restored and renovated, with the distinctive tall brick chimney being "painstakingly retained." The article reads: "The exterior brick has been repointed, cleaned and extended using blending bricks and glass.
"The theme continues inside, where all walls feature exposed brickwork. The feeling at once is one of charm and warmth.
"Although the pub features a high ceiling with exposed beams and boarded cladding on the ceiling itself, it still retains a warm and welcoming atmosphere. This is achieved partly through the use of natural materials – mature pine complementing the brickwork beautifully – and also by a number of Victorian booths and the imaginative blending of heavy leather Chesterfields and old church pews."
Do these images awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
At the time, the pub served a selection of cheese or pate platters and no modern day perspex or chrome but, instead, "beautifully detailed and ornate porcelain units for each of the Whitbread beers on draught." Norman Jepson, director and general manager of Whitbread Bowland Inns, previously said: "The Merseyside Development Corporation has set tremendously high standards for conservation with flair in its development of the Albert Dock Village.
"We knew that The Pumphouse would have to be pretty special to live up to that standard – and we have been delighted by the reaction from early customers, who have said that the pub is in itself a good reason to visit the Village." These brilliant photos, courtesy of our archives Mirrorpix, offer a glimpse into what life was like inside the popular venue back in the 1980s.
Unseen for years, many will remember what life was like in the pub as it has been captured in these photographs. Images show customers inside The Pump House at the time enjoying a drink.
You can also see what the interior and the bar looked like at the time. For many, these photos will stir memories of the pub in years gone by and what life was like in the city centre back in the 1980s, from fashion to how we socialised and more.
Another image also shows licensees Paul and Joan Hall in front of The Pump House. In the ECHO article from 1987, Paul said: "The Pumphouse may be a new pub, but it has a lovely, lived-in feel about it."
Through the years, many generations of customers have continued to visit The Pump House. But these old images rediscovered from the archives are bound to stir some memories.
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