Baaa 38

Name: Baaa 38

Address: 38 Market Street, Chorley

Baaa 38 opened on 2nd February 2023 and is managed by Meg Robinson. The story behind the pub really starts with the building, no.38 Market Street, one of the oldest retail properties in the town centre, which dates back to at least the 1700s, and is one that’s packed with character and history. 

1861 Census - John Blackledge Silk Draper

1871 Henry Cooke Professor of Music

1872 Worrall's Directory Henry Cooke Professor of Music

1874 Mannex Directory John Halliwell Bootmaker

1879 Slater's Directory Henry Critchley Boot Maker

1881 Census Henry Critchley Boot Maker

1882 Barrett's Directory Henry Critchley Boot and Shoe Maker

1885 Slater's Directory Henry Critchley Boot and Shoe Maker

1889 Post Office Directory Henry Critchley Boot and Shoe Maker

1891 Census Henry Critchley Boot Manufacturer

1895 Kelly's Directory Henry Critchley Boot & Shoe Maker

1900 Electoral Register Thomas Livesey Alker 

1901 Census Thomas Livesey Alker Watchmaker

1905 Kelly's Directory Thomas L Alker Watch Maker

1911 Census Harold & Margaret Stansfield nee Alston

1936 Barrett's Directory E.M.Postlewhite Milliner

1939 Register Elizabeth M Postlewhite Ladies Outfitter

1954 Town & Country Directory Miss Postlewhite Milliner

As you can see above, over the years the building played host to a wide range of businesses, and during the 19th and early 20th century was home to various clothing businesses, including a silk draper, boot and shoemaker, milliner, ladies’ outfitter and a wool and knitwear shop, and it’s from there that the pub’s name is derived. 

Below is a photo of the building when it was home to ‘M Alston’ in the early 1900s. 

Margaret Alston was born in Chorley on Eaves Lane in 1882 and was something of an entrepreneur, setting up her own business as a hatter and milliner in the early 1900s. 

She married Harold Stansfield in 1910, a surveyor who worked for Chorley Council but it’s her own family history that makes her such a good omen for Baaa 38. In 1891 she was living at the Red Lion Hotel at 8, Market Street, one of Chorley’s most important coaching inns where her father William was the landlord; her brother James followed in his father’s footsteps and went on to run the Horse & Jockey Hotel in Mansfield.

More recently the building has tended to lean toward the catering and hospitality sector and over the past 50 years has been the Thai Smile Restaurant (1970s), Pickwick Coffee House (1980s), Parmesan & Pepper Restaurant (2000s), Skewers Restaurant (2015) and finally Cakes by Ruth, so it seems rather fitting that it's now become a bar for the very first time.

Clive, Michaela & Meg Robinson,
Ruth & Andy Poar (left to rght)