29/04/2023
'Best pub on the Lane' pulling pints for over 140 years. The institution is still going strong over a century later 🍻
An iconic pub where "you never know who’s coming through the door" has been at the heart of one of the city's most popular streets for generations
Many will remember The Albert for a long time being one of the only drinking places on Lark Lane, before it became a haven of shops, pubs, restaurants and more that we know today. Commissioned by Thomas Gibson, Edward Jones and Robert Cains on June 12, 1879, the listed Victorian pub boasts a Gothic exterior and an even more fascinating history.
Newspaper reports from the late 1800s suggest The Albert, like the former Masonic pub nearby, was once used as a mortuary. Once owned by the pub, the bowling green behind The Albert also dates back to 1884, with the club running up until the 1970s.
Customers will also remember the days of the snooker tables on the first floor, pre-world championship matches being held there and the famous snooker players who were regulars. Mick Muldoon, 42, has been manager of The Albert since January 2019 and said the popular pub is "very much cemented within the community."
He told the ECHO: "The regulars are very good at educating you and that information has been drip fed over the last four years. I know upstairs was used for Pot Black and the likes of Hurricane Higgins and John Parrot being a scouser and Dennis Taylor, those sorts of fellas, all played here back in the 80s.
"I've heard stories that during World War Two the building or indeed the outhouse was used as a mortuary - whether or not there's any truth in that I'm not 100% sure. The room we call the back snug used to be the ladies room at one point and it was also the smoking room at another stage and we had a cocktail bar in the back room at another stage too."
Welcoming generations through its doors, The Albert has many loyal and regular customers, as well as people who've moved away and returned to visit.
Mick said The Albert's customer base is everyone from families and groups of friends to students, real ale drinkers and now craft beer lovers.
Long may it continue ❤️
