Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral Pubs Past & Present 441 Brown Cow, Wirral Bromborough Road Lower Bebi

441 Brown Cow, Wirral Bromborough Road Lower Bebington

This has a closing weekend 30th sign by pub signpost
Indexed

The original Brown Cow, pictured here in the 1890s

The Cow was the local lunchtime watering hole for us Port Sunlight workers.

my friend used to live there (dad ran it 1982?) so on a weekend she'd help herself to a few bottles of beer to bring to the park! oh happy days ha

This pub was run by Ernie Benn in the 60's and 70's. My mum used to be the cleaner there when I was in Church Drive Infants! Ernie had three children Marion, Anne & Tom. Tom & Anne were twins but Tom sadly died about 1975 from Leukemia! He and I used to go to Anfield together to watch LFC play. I used Ernie's season ticket which gave us access to the main stand and Tom & I used to leg it across the pitch at half-time into the Kop. Sgt Walrus never caught us. Happy days!

Gladstones, better known as The Brown Cow, in Lower Bebington, in 2003.

That surprised me
There used to be a Gladstone Inn nearly opposite it many years ago

Hi Derek, are you having a cyber pub crawl tonight hun? X

They are currently knocking down this pub. Has been there for decades, always liked the modern 60's/70's look, and has a nice open front car parking area.

Could have been converted into a fabulous house , don't you think. Very modern inside if I remember it right and the building seems in great nick.

Another one bites the dust. It is a shame.

I remember when it was called Gladstones - think it was the last time I went in there (about 2004). Pubs are empty nowadays, I don't drink so I haven't been in one for years.
It was one of those iconic buildings in this area, like the Civic Centre and Maher Hall. Will be sad to see it go.
Developers tried to acquire the petrol station next door for a nursing home development - it looks like they will be doing it here.
They do put a notice up for neighbouring residents, but the notice is so small, it doesn't get any objections - the petrol station got 2 registrations from neighbours (all objecting) out of the whole neighbourhood.

The Gladstone Arms and the Brown Cow were separate pubs but the Brown Cow was temporarily called Gladstone's.

The real Gladstone Arms was damaged by a bomb in WW2 but I don't know when it was closed.

The old Brown Cow was there until at least 1960 and was in front of the more recent one.

At one stage a few years ago, its name was changed from The Brown Cow to just Cow. Possibly this was to give it a trendier image. But Cow didn't last long. I think it then became Gladstone's, then reverted to The Brown Cow. It's a shame it has gone. As well as being a nice pub in its day, it was a local landmark. Many years ago, it was one of a few pubs that had its own attached off-licence section.