When I lived in Liverpool I often used to frequent the Villiers when in town. A street corner Higsons pub, it was cosy and welcoming with good beer. My old mate RedNev and I, among many others, stopped a lot of Higgies going sour in there.
There was a fearsomely steep set of stairs down to the toilet, so much so, that after a few pints, it looked like a ladder. You needed these pints to have the courage to tackle it.
Like Higsons, I wish it was still there, but it made way for a shopping centre over 20 years ago.
I am grateful to RedNev for the photo and the memories.
I heard last year there were plans to re-launch Higsons brewery, though on a smaller scale.
ReplyDeleteIt is there already and not bad, but it aint what it used to be.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the new Higson's since last September and the website has no recent entries, so I don't know what's happening; scouring the internet has provided no answers.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Villiers, the last pint I had in there was with you TM in May 1985, after we had travelled back from union conference in Eastbourne. It was demolished later that year ~ another example of municipal vandalism.
I think I was in a few times after that, but I lived nearer. Do you remember the stairs?
ReplyDeleteYes, I do. I wonder how they would stand up to modern health & safety regulations?
ReplyDelete