The Brooklyn, Bolton
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Public house (?–2019)
Independent school (2019–present)
| The Brooklyn | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2017 | |
  Location within Greater Manchester | |
| Former names | Brooklyn Hotel |
| Alternative names | Lord's Independent School |
| General information | |
| Type | House (1859–?) Public house (?–2019) Independent school (2019–present) |
| Architectural style | Gothic |
| Location | Green Lane, Great Lever, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England |
| Coordinates | 53°33′33″N 2°25′24″W / 53.5592°N 2.4234°W |
| Year built | 1859 |
| Client | Thomas Walmsley |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | George Woodhouse |
| Designations | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | The Brooklyn |
| Designated | 26 April 1974 |
| Reference no. | 1388046 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Former gatehouse to the Brooklyn |
| Designated | 26 April 1974 |
| Reference no. | 1388047 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Gate piers to the Brooklyn |
| Designated | 26 April 1974 |
| Reference no. | 1388048 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Brooklyn is a Grade II listed former public house on Green Lane in Great Lever, a suburb of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Designed by George Woodhouse in a Gothic style as a house and built in 1859, it was later converted into a pub and traded until 2019, after which it became an independent school.
The building was designed by George Woodhouse for Thomas Walmsley in a Gothic style and was completed in 1859 as a private house.[1][2]
The Ordnance Survey map published in 1895 labels the property as "Brooklyn",[3] showing that the name was established by that date. By 1929 it had expanded its role and was operating as the Brooklyn Hotel,[4] and the 1939 edition of the map also records a bowling green on the site.[5]
On 26 April 1974, the Brooklyn was designated a Grade II listed building.[2]
The pub was recorded in 1979 as one of several Bolton houses that still retained bowling greens,[6] and by 1981 it had become part of the Greenall Whitley estate. It stayed under that ownership until around 1996, when it was acquired by Holts.[7]
In 2007 and 2008, the Brooklyn was included in the Good Beer Guide.[7]
The pub closed in May 2019, reportedly as a result of declining sales, and the property was subsequently bought by KYK Holdings, a company based in Wigan.[8] It was later leased to the principal of Lord's Independent School and converted for educational use.[9]
Architecture
The building is constructed in brick with stone detailing and has a graded slate roof. It is designed in a Gothic style with an asymmetrical plan and has two storeys. The main entrance is on the side that forms part of the garden front.[10] The doorway is set slightly off‑centre beneath a gabled porch with a tall arched opening. Above it is a small two‑part window, and to the right are two narrow pointed windows in a slim bay topped with battlements and a small stone spire.[10]
The dormer gable rises over the right‑hand bay, which has a wide four‑part window on the ground floor and a three‑part window above. Prominent chimneys stand to the right and on the left‑hand gable, each with octagonal stone shafts.[2] The garden front has a projecting square with renewed French windows and two two‑part windows to the right. On the upper floor there is a central oriel window, a pair of pointed windows to one side, and a renewed four‑part window to the other.[10]
The west side is also irregular, forming a four‑window range. The wide gabled end of the garden front is on the right, with two and three‑part windows. A recessed bay next to it has a doorway aligned with the main entrance, with small pointed openings in the door and decorative carved panels above.[2] A stepped window sits above the doorway, and the parapet has battlements with a stone and iron spire. To the left is a full‑height bay window, square below and angled above, with a four‑part lower window and carved stone divisions. Further left is a narrow bay with a two‑part pointed window on each floor and a steep gable with decorative bargeboards.[2]
At the rear, two uneven gables flank a central tower with a battlemented top and a pyramidal roof. The tower carries raised lettering with the initials "T. S. W." below the parapet.[10]
Single‑storey service additions, likely from the early 20th century, stand to one side.[2]
Some original features survive internally, including the Jacobean‑style plaster ceilings and the staircase.[10]
