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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Phoebe Barton

Memories of 'iconic' Liverpool pub where locals had 'times of their lives'

A lost Liverpool pub where many had the “best times of their lives” is fondly remembered by those who frequently visited it.

The Green Man was located on Vauxhall Road and welcomed many locals over the years before it was sadly reduced to rubble. The pub was particularly popular in the 1970s and 1980s, with people enjoying a weekly pint or two at the venue with friends and family.

As well as a selection of drinks, the pub also offered live music, discos and darts. In 1982, a BAFTA award-winning TV show helped the venue to gain popularity outside of Liverpool.

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The ECHO recently wrote an article about The Green Man featuring in the BBC series Boys From the Blackstuff. The show used various Merseyside locations, but it was the “shake hands” scene that took place in the pub that fans of the show remember clearly.

Many readers got in touch to share their memories of the pub, proving that it was “iconic” for various reasons, not just for its television appearance. In the comments section underneath the original article, one person wrote: “I visited relatives in that area many moons ago and ended up in The Green Man for the first time.

“We had a great night, a really good laugh with great people - salt of the earth they were. It was such a good night that when we decided to go home and the door was opened, it was daylight and the milkman was on his rounds!

The Green Man before it was demolished (Liverpool Echo)

“Something tells me there were many good nights like that there over the years. Such a shame all these great little pubs are being closed or knocked down.”

Another reader commented: “Some of the best times of my life in that pub, [I was] sad to see it go. As it was for the old Portland/Vauxhall/Burlington Gardens, this place used to be thriving with life night and day. Now it's a ghost town during the day and a no-go area at night.”

Underneath the post on the Liverpool Echo Facebook page sharing the original article, Andy said: “Criminal knocking The Green Man down. Remember how upset I was at the time.”

Angela wrote: “My Dad’s local for many years. I remember the excitement when we heard filming was going to happen, back in the spring of 1982. It was a hive of activity around there, I remember walking past it on my way to college.

“[Boys From the Backstuff] reflected the Thatcher years so well. The despair, the desperation, the darkness. Much similar to what is happening at this very moment, really. Sad to hear that [the pub] has gone though. Vauxhall Road was always a lively place back in those days. A pub on every corner etc.”

The flats that now occupy the site on Vauxhall Road where The Green Man pub was (Google Street View)

Alishia commented: “My nan drank in here. My mates and I used to ask her if we could go with her - we were only about 10!” David said: “Played darts in here. Should never have knocked it down.” Vicky added: “I used to go in there as a kid with my parents and sisters.”

DJ David did a disco at the pub one night. He said: “I met Shake Hands [the character from the show]. They didn't want me to leave at the end, so every 30 mins they paid me more to stay. Think I got out at about 1am.”

A block of flats now stands on the site where The Green Man once stood. Reader Jim wrote: “Cracking series and so sad no thought has gone into the design of the flats that replaced the pub.”

Did you ever visit The Green Man? Share your memories in the comments section below.

For more nostalgia stories, sign up to our Liverpool Echo newsletter here.

Join our Liverpool memories and history Facebook group here.

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