It had already been boarded up for decades.
Tucked away in a Salford side street near the River Irwell, The Waterloo pub closed in 1984.
But in 2009, despite its ruinous state, it became infamous.
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Just before 1pm on February 12th that year, police hunting the killer of a young mum found a body hanged in the derelict building at the corner of Greengate and Boond Street.
It was that of 40-year-old George Appleton.
Detectives had been searching for him since the badly burned body of 36-year-old Clare Wood was discovered in a bedroom at her home in St Simon Street, Blackfriars, six days earlier.
Appleton had strangled and then set Clare on fire on February 2nd before going on the run.
His body was found half a mile from Clare's home, in the three-storey pub.
The pair had an on-off relationship which began in April 2007 via an internet dating site. Clare ended it in October 2008 when she learned of him having affairs with four other women he had met via the internet. But this triggered a catalogue of threats from Appleton against her, and ultimately her murder.
Clare was unaware that Appleton had a history of violence against women.
Michael Brown, Clare's father, championed new domestic violence legislation after the murder of his daughter. Sadly he died last year after a short illness., aged 76.
Mr Brown - described as a 'powerhouse' whose legacy has saved lives - campaigned in Clare's memory for a change in the law so women and men would be able to find out if a new partner has a history of domestic violence.
The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme - known as Clare's Law after his daughter - first came into force in 2014.
The scheme gives police the discretion to disclose certain information about a partner's past. Within a year of it being introduced police had revealed the abusive pasts of 1,300 violent partners.
A former prison officer, who was originally from Aberdeen, Mr Brown took the campaign to Downing Street alongside former Salford MP Hazel Blears and others to hand in a petition.
Clare's Law is now part of the Domestic Abuse Bill.
It’s not just partners who can ask the police for information under Clare’s Law. Parents; friends or other relatives have the right to ask too.
Infamous pub now to be demolished or refurbished
Now the pub where the final chapter of a murder which shocked the country was played out is set to be either bulldozed or refurbished after developers were chosen to create plans for the site.
As recently as 2016 it was surrounded by scaffolding. But it has remained empty while new tower blocks have been built around it.
At the time Appleton's body was found there office worker Andy Gilmore said he was stunned the grim discovery had been made so close to his firm.
He said: “The building’s been derelict for years. There was some talk of it being repaired or fixed but it’s been like that for ages.”
A worker at a nearby estate agents, said: “We’ve been complaining about that building for ages as we believe it’s a risk.
“Although we understand it was sold quite recently there’s been scaffolding on it for ages but no work has taken place.”
Salford City Council has now chosen developers UK Land & Property in conjunction with a national homes provider to progress “stalled” development in part of Greengate, including the pub site.
The Greengate Regeneration Strategy was set out in May 2018 to transform the area into a new residential and commercial area with “exceptional” public spaces, including a new park.
But two sites – the former Waterloo pub, and King Street carpark, both of which were awarded Brownfield Housing Fund Grant by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority earlier this year, are holding up the plans.
The council is seeking to acquire both sites.
But meanwhile it advertised for a developer partner earlier this year to deliver high quality, housing-led development on the two sites and will now enter into a conditional development agreement with UK Land & Property.
The company will prepare a housing scheme and then seek planning permission.
City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “Greengate is a major brownfield site which is developing into a vibrant new community right on the edge of the city centre, but it is a challenging area to develop because the land is owned by many different parties.
“UK Land & Property has a successful track record of delivering high quality housing-led development in similar urban locations and this agreement will help move towards realising the vision for Greengate through the redevelopment of these brownfield sites.”
The pub's first licence was as The Duke of Wellington in 1815 but it later became The Waterloo Hotel.
In the 1950s it was owned by Wilsons brewery but its isolated location after Greengate was cleared of back to back housing and then redeveloped led to its closure.
