Jolly Carter Gutted to Make Way for Housing Estate
Once a school, this land will finally be put to good use
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November 2004
For some time now it has been known that an estate of close to 60 new houses is to be built on the site of the old St. Wilfred's (formerly Royle Green) Infants school between Royle Green Road and Weston Grove.
Work on the site behind the Jolly Carter Pub has been progressing extremely well, and the clearing is now complete. A recent picture of the site taken from Weston Grove, with the pub still standing, is shown here. Plans for the new estate show that the land where the public house is situated will form part of the access route to the housing. This is the reason for the demolition of the pub. Trading ceased earlier in the year and in the months up to October the internal fittings were stripped out leaving just the shell of the building.
News that the pub would be demolished was greeted with mixed reactions by the locals. Vera O'Toole has lived in Royle Green for over sixty years. She told us, "Ever since that business a couple of years back a lot of the locals have been worried about it in there and some stopped going so much".
In 2001 the Jolly Carter received some adverse publicity following the murder of a local man who had been drinking there.
One person who didn't stop going so much is local patron Ernest Reid, who is extremely disappointed that the pub will have to go: "I've been regular in that bloody pub since I was a lad. Now what happens? I've got to drink in the Legion or the Spread. Two hundred grand a semi with walls you could spit through? I'm livid mate, livid."
Further intrigue has recently been added to the story. At the end of October, the shell of the pub was set on fire. Police and Fire services quickly attended the scene but no sign of perpetrators, or indeed any foul play was discovered despite extensive investigations on the part of the police. The building has been made safe and secure pending its demolition which is due to take place next month as work on the new estate is started.