Last Orders, Denton

Image: © Gerald England Taken: 10 May 2010

The "Last Orders" pub on the corner of Stockport Road and Manchester Road in the centre of Denton was previously known as "The Crown Point" which was also the name of the busy crossroads. Before that it was the King's Head Hotel which can be traced back to the late 18th century. Pigot's Trade Directory for 1824 lists it as the George III Inn, the new landlord at this time being Mark Cooke, who had replaced Gabriel Lupton during the course of the year. This suggests that the original premises were built sometime during the reign of King George III, which was from 1760 until 1820. In 1791, Gabriel Lupton purchased a plot of land on the east side of Ashton Road adjoining Crown Point on which he built shops and houses. It is possible that around this time he purchased the George III Inn and became its landlord. He was the landlord until 1824 when he was succeeded by Mark Cooke. The Manchester & Salford Trade Directory for 1832 lists Mark Cooke as the victualler of the King's Head and Gabriel Lupton as a retailer of beer but does not give the address of his premises. A reference to the King's Head in 1832 establishes that at some point between 1824 and 1832 the name of the inn was changed from George III to King’s Head. By 1865 the inn and three adjoining cottages had been leased to Timothy Harrison and in that year, when the lease expired, there was an auction at the inn to sell the land and properties. Thomas Chesters made the successful bid and by 1869 he had demolished the old buildings and erected much larger licensed premises on the corner of Manchester Road and Stockport Road. Henceforth, the premises were known as the King's Head Hotel. The King’s Head Hotel was built integral with a block of mostly shops called Victoria Buildings bounded by Manchester Road, Stockport Road, Victoria Street and Market Street. An entrance to the back of the hotel was provided on Victoria Street and the stone lintel over the opening bears the date, "1869". The first landlord of the new premises was George Kirkpatrick who was also notable for his other business interest, the Denton Omnibus Company, which he operated from the King's Head. In 1874 George Kirkpatrick bought the Bowling Green Hotel on Manchester Road and moved there, taking his omnibus business with him, leaving his son, Robert, as the landlord of the King's Head. Robert remained landlord of the King's Head until 1900 and the next landlord was George Edward Savage. In the 1970s the name King's Head came to be associated with Denis Law, the "King of Football" and the inn sign displayed a portrait of him. In 1982 the premises were modernised and the name was changed to Kings Inn. Subsequently, there were two further name changes, these being Crown Point Inn and Last Orders Inn respectively. http://www.pittdixon.go-plus.net/denton/kings-head.htm

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