The Manchester, Grey Mare Lane, Bradford, Manchester. M11 3DG
The Crossroads was a typical looking 70’s built estate pub that was just off the busy Ashton New Road. There were two rooms inside a decent sized bar and a smart lounge, the pub was very busy on my visit with a good mix of locals. The pub was a Bass tied house and there were no real ales on here I had a drink of keg Stones Bitter this was far too cold and a very poor drink. This pub is still standing with a part of it trading as a training centre, the side of the pub says The Manchester but I am not sure what this is.
Alan Winfield Pubs Galore 1993
February 2016 I cycled by – stopped at the crossroads – The Manchester now sits in Eastlands, even though you are in Bradford, you are now in the shadow of the Etihad Stadium, which is owned by Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, commonly known as Sheikh Mansour, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, minister of presidential affairs and member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. The ghost of Alan Turing runs away to your right – heading off at a pace for Phillips Park and Openshaw, simultaneously.
The pub was open yet quiet, as you may expect on a cold, quiet mid week winter’s day, match days would see it spring to life. The building is a delightful mix of flat roofed brick and glass volumes, strong verticals and staggered windows, typical of its type.
Surrounded on one side by a large estate of 70’s social housing and on the other newer developments associated with the arrival of the football stadium, training ground, trams, retail park and roads.
Quite literally, but not nominally a crossroads – a collision of wealth and want.
As JK Galbraith said:
“Private affluence and public squalor”.
“We need, and surely will have, an end to freedom from regulation and at least some of the oratory of the magic of free enterprise”
Have a drink on me.
Manchester's Estate Pubs 
When i did the pub it was called The Crossroads and was a great looking estate pub.
I have always enjoyed going in estate pubs and have done loads in the Manchester area,which i did on day pub crawls travelling up from Nottingham.
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I learned through your post that it had been the Crossroads Alan, hope you don’t mind me including your quote.
I took these pictures last year when The Manchester as is was still open it close later in 2016.
Still closed when I visited today, but work underway to reopen, I love estate pubs too, and try to get around to most of those in Manchester and beyond, have never explore Nottingham though – maybe a day out in order!
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