Liverpool Pub Crawl - McCartneys Bar

  

 

 

62 Hanover Street was once the town house of a Mr Earle, a prosperous Liverpool merchant and ship owner who significantly contributed to the city's rise as a major port, particularly in the transatlantic slave trade. It was one of possibly only two remaining houses in the city built at an angle to the street so that the merchants who resided there could see what ships were arriving at the port without the inconvenience of leaving their houses. In Kelly's Directory of Liverpool & Birkenhead 1894 however, it is the Hanover Hotel with the address as 62, Seel Street, Proprieter Thos Wheeler. It is not known when the house was converted into a hotel, but in about 1923 Mrs Margaret Blackler, the wife of Richard Blackler, the founder of Blacklers store in Elliot Street, purchased the hotel as a going concern for Mrs Child’s husband James who was a Liverpool dentist. Being a bit of a philanderer he was ejected from the family house and lived in Room 17 at the hotel from where he tried to run the hotel but without a great deal of success. On Mr Child’s death, Mrs Child approached her daughter, May McMillan, to see whether her husband would agree to take over the management of the hotel. At the time John McMillan was the Traffic Manager for P & O Shipping in Liverpool and he did manage to get the Hotel running efficiently but was hampered by Mrs Child continually breathing down his neck.  He was not allowed to spend money on refurbishment until 1951 for the Festival of Britain when the Festival Cocktail bar and the Lounge Bar were created. Mrs Child died in 1962 leaving the hotel to her daughter May McMillan. John McMillan died in 1966 leaving his widow to struggle on with running the hotel with the help of accountants. After a year Ian McMillan took over the management of the hotel and switched the emphasis from the accommodation and food sales to bar sales. He created four new bars, the Cavalry Bar in the cellar, the Shire Bar on the right as you entered the hotel, and the Tartan Bar on the left where the reception area and stairs now are and finally the Portcullis Bar. Geoffrey Stringer was the designer and panelling taken from Oxford colleges was used for the woodwork. During the 60’s and 70’s they were without doubt the most popular watering hotels in Liverpool and Ian McMillan says that Friday and Saturday nights where memorable occasions. In 1970 Mrs May McMillan died and Ian & Maureen McMillan and their family (daughters Samantha and Fiona) went to live in Painswick in Gloucestershire. Soon after Ian McMillan decided to put the hotel up for sale and move his family to the Channel Islands. Mrs Egan the manageress ran the hotel for three years until it was sold to Ernie Williams the owner of the Lord Nelson Hotel and The Shaftesbury Hotel. 

The bar area in the hotel is now 'McCartney's Bar', and as such has the usual trappings of the Beatles era, photo's etc. It used to proclaim that it was the longest bar in Liverpool, but since it's refurbishment, that title has gone, as the bar itself is pretty regular in size. Renamed McCartney's Bar, a Beatles-themed bar, it opened on the 27th of April 2012. This atmospheric pub is a mecca for great live music just a short walk away from the Jacaranda and The Cavern. As you would expect it has extensive displays of Beatles and Merseybeat era photographs and prints, and is a great place to stop for a drink and soak in the atmosphere for any music tour. It is a great little bar underneath Hanover Hotel and the music system has every chart hit since 1952 - an extensive collection to say the least! The hotel and bar were refurbished not too long ago, the seating is really comfortable and sets a relaxing atmosphere. The bar is lively in the evenings, with a chilled out ambience where you can get a few drinks and catch up with friends before heading out to the clubs. The food is homemade and pretty good, served between 12pm and 7pm every day. There is a variety of real ales as well as the usual spirits and wines, which means the bar will have something to suit everyone's tastes. The sports events are shown on a big screen, and there is live entertainment at the weekends.

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2026/04/liverpool-pub-crawl-newington-temple.html