The Anchor Inn was located at 77, 79, and 81 Cathcart Street, Birkenhead. The landlady in 1927 was Mrs Elizabeth Annie Davies.
Lowry refers to the pub in his novel Ultramarine as Dana is preparing to go to sea on the Oedipus Tyrannus; "A pale-faced fireman told him where he could get his clothes, and the two of them whiled away an hour lounging against the swimming bar of the Anchor." (Pg. 19)
We must assume that Lowry drank at the pub before his voyage to the Far East in 1927. The pub is about 400m from the berth in Birkenhead from which Lowry sailed aboard the Blue Funnel Line ship Pyrrhus in 1927. This may have been after Lowry got kitted out for the voyage at the Mutual Aid Society Booth also in Cathcart Street.
The pub no longer exists having been demolished in the 1970s and replaced by public housing.
Elizabeth Davies was my great grandmother. She gave up the pub when her son Sidney was called up during the Second World War - it was interesting to read this post - thank-you!
ReplyDeleteMy Grandparents, Bill & Kit O'Reilly had the pub in the 1950's and it is where my older brother was born. After that they moved to the Hedley Arms in Athol Street.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather was the licensee in the mid 50s; my family lived there when I was born and we emigrated to New Zealand 10 years later. In the late 90s I owned my own bar in Auckland, which I naturally called The Anchor Bar
ReplyDeleteMy Grandparents were the publicans in the late 50's before they moved across the Mersey - after that they had The Hedley Arms in Athol Street, The Boundary Arms in Boundary Street and finally The Neptune in Old Hall Street.
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