Stockport : Swan With Two Necks (Good Beer Guide)
The next pub in my tour of Good Beer Guide pubs in Stockport was the Swan with Two Necks, owned by the local Robinsons Brewery. Robinsons started brewing at the Unicorn Inn in Stockport in 1849 and they’re still going, now owning over 260 pubs and inns in the north-west of England and north Wales.
It’s not common to see a pub now which still has outdoor toilets, but I thought it added to the authenticity of the place. Who needs expensive renovations? There has been a pub with this name since the late eighteenth century, but the brewery notes that it was rebuilt in 1926 which makes it an interesting inter-war survival. CAMRA are able to provide a useful background to the heritage of the pub:
“A long, narrow pub which has changed little since its rebuilding in 1926, just before it was bought by local brewers Robinsons. The interior is simply organised and the extensive use of wall panelling is typical of inter-war pubs. To the left of the tiled and panelled entrance lobby is the vault, with plentiful panelling, although much of it was actually added as recently as about 2009 (and now covers over a fireplace). The other door from the entrance leads into a drinking lobby, which is essentially an expansion of the corridor and faces the servery. Beyond this is the delightful smoke room which, with its Tudor-style fireplace and oak panelling, has a particularly warm and comfortable atmosphere. From the central lobby one can see the unusual feature of roller shutters which can be brought down to safeguard the contents of the bar-back shelves and, above the servery entrance, a notice saying ‘waiters’ from the days when waiter service was a regular feature in north-western pubs. A small room at the back came into pub use during the 1960s.”
As for the pub name, it’s all about swans. The historical significance of swans in England is closely tied to the monarchy and, for centuries, unmarked swans in open waters were considered the property of the King or Queen. This ownership was formalised through a practice called ‘swan upping’ where young swans were marked with notches on their beaks to indicate ownership. In the sixteenth century, Queen Elizabeth I granted ownership of some swans to two organisations, namely the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Worshipful Company of Dyers. To keep track of ownership, these organisations marked the beaks of their swans. The Dyers’ Company marked their swans with one nick on the beak, while the Vintners’ Company used two nicks to identify their birds. Over time, the term ‘two nicks’ was misinterpreted and mispronounced as ‘two necks’. And that’s how a pub name was born…
The real ale selection. There were two staff members, both of whom were friendly and welcoming. A customer later on asked for a gluten free beer and there was rather a debate with the publican suggesting that the customer was wrong on numerous matters, it was an exciting conversation to listen to.
My first half was the Unicorn from Robinsons Brewery, which is better than the reviews on Untappd suggested. A traditional beer with a malty edge and some caramel flavour, actually rather decent.
My second half was the Old Tom Original, also from Robinsons Brewery. I liked this, a complex beer which was boozy, rich, slightly sweet and a chocolate edge. It had a fruit flavour that I couldn’t identify and it felt like a well-rounded beer.
The separate front bar has remained, a survivor of how pubs have been opened up over recent decades.
Wood panelling, I had this room to myself. There was another room at the rear with a couple of people in, but it was a quiet pub when I visited. Anyway, I enjoyed this pub and I liked how it hadn’t been knocked around and ‘modernised’. It feels old fashioned, but that’s to the good as not every pub needs to be modern and shiny.
