IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Swan Bank, CONGLETON, CW12 1AN

Please note that the lower case 't' in the title is intentional, it is mimicking the pub sign. Situated on Swan Bank, the Maskery is a Smith and Jones owned pub. For more information and a close up of the sign see Image

The pub is owned by the Smith and Jones chain and is located on Swan Bank (Image). The name Maskery comes from the original owners of the building from 1831 to the 1950's who were bakers and confectioners well known for their gingerbread, hence the gingerbread man on the sign; during a royal visit to Congleton in 1913 a packet of gingerbread was presented to King George and Queen Mary. After this the premises became the first supermarket to open in Congleton, since when it has also traded as a DIY shop called Handi Cabin and latterly an Italian Restaurant. My grateful thanks to former Congleton resident Martin Tomlinson for the above information.

At the western end of the pedestrianised street, a sort of ziggurat of different sized planters. "Hanging gardens of Congleton" would be going too far.

A pedestrianised street, only the first short section is Duke Street; beyond Congleton Mobiles (right) it becomes Bridge Street.

Little Street runs from near the Lion and Swan Hotel to Bridge Street. It is a short and narrow lane that seems to have Tudor buildings on one side.

This old sign for Image is set high up on the brickwork of one of the buildings at the top of the street.

A J D Wetherspoon pub and restaurant.

The pub, formerly the National Westminster Bank (hence the name), is grade II listed (list entry 1106298) but is not as old as the half-timbering may suggest, being of 19th century date. It is currently part of the J D Wetherspoon chain.

Built in the late 19th century, this Grade II listed ( http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-55921-national-westminster-bank-congleton ) Tudor style building used to be the premises for the National Westminster Bank (NatWest) and is now a J D Wetherspoon's Free House. Wetherspoon's have obviously played on the building's former status to produce its present name. It is located on Swan Bank opposite the end of Bridge Street, there is a bench mark on the corner by the arched gateway (Image). For a close-up of the sign see Image

Image was formerly the premises for the National Westminster Bank, a status that J D Wetherspoon's have obviously used when they renamed it. The building was erected in the late 19th century in a Tudor style and is Grade II listed ( http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-55921-national-westminster-bank-congleton ).