Coopers at 13 Cases St, Liverpool has a long history in the city and The Liverpool Record Office contains the license records for the original pub, The Sefton which shows only two licensees - Ada Wilson, wife of Jon Wilson, listed from 1905 with yearly license renewals through to 1924, when it shows Ada Cooper became landlady in 1925. Ada Cooper was born in 1870 and started the story when she took over, not Coopers, but what was then known as The Sefton. Incredibly, Ada had re-married Robert Cooper on the 5th of January 1925 and took his surname – and just 11 days later she was granted the license. The patrons swiftly adopted Ada's surname rather than the official title for their beloved watering hole, an affectionate, 'Scouse' way of showing their love for Ada, taking over what was to become one of the city’s most iconic locations. Ada then had her licence renewed every year until the 16th of January 1930 but then there is no further record of her. Fast-forward to the 1980s, and from Ada's original stewardship and other licencees, The Sefton continued to see great trade. During this decade Tetley Walker was part of Allied Breweries and dominated the pub scene in Liverpool having acquired pubs through the acquisitions of Tetley's, Walkers, Ind Coope and Allsopp's. Prior to the 1980s, pubs in Liverpool were mainly brewery-owned but this period saw the rapid development of free houses. To counter this, in 1985 The Sefton was developed to look like a free house by the brewery and the name was changed to Coopers, bringing the story back to Ada herself.
Coopers has seen life in the city centre change around it and remains one of a handful of historic buildings that still stand on Cases Street. In 1986, much of Cases Street was demolished to make way for the Clayton Square development. With that, the first iteration of Coopers struggled as it adjoined what was then the huge building site. In late 1987 John Hodges, a tenant of Tetley Walker who successfully ran the Empire in Hanover Street, was asked to take an additional tenancy at Coopers rent free to preserve the licence. To begin with, trade came mostly from the nearby building workers, but when John began live music on Sundays, new life was breathed into the pub. Once Clayton Square opened in 1989, John recognised the footfall opportunity and as a result, sold his tenancy in the Empire to concentrate on developing Coopers as a unique music venue, moving into the pub with his wife Maria and their family. In January 2025 Coopers reached a special centenary, celebrating when Ada Cooper's licence was endorsed on the 16th of January, 1925 which is displayed on a plaque next to the bar.
Coopers is one of those let-your-hair-down places where anything goes and as long as you don't stare too long or look too horrified, you're welcomed with open arms. When someone terrible gets up to do karaoke, they're invited to do an encore, and everyone sings along at the top of their voices. When someone is actually good, everyone still sings along, but when they attempt to make their way back to their seat, they're besieged with people telling them to audition for X Factor. Definitely not for the faint hearted, but a good old slice of genuine Liverpool culture.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2026/02/liverpool-pub-crawl-lisbon.html
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