A BUILDING that once housed a former working man’s pub in Pocket Nook is going up for auction with a starting price of £75,000.

The ex-Furnacemans Arms, on Pocket Nook Street, dates back to Victorian times and is going under the hammer in Bond Wolfe’s next live-streamed auction on Thursday, September 14 with a guide price of £75,000.

Ian Tudor, commercial auctions director, at Bond Wolfe, explained that the freehold property was once a classic backstreet working man’s pub that was first built next to a gasworks in the mid to late 1800s.

'Pub was once a haunt for workers'

Mr Tudor said: “This former pub lies in the intriguingly named Pocket Nook district, a name which local historians say was derived from the immense quantity of material placed here when the Sankey Canal was constructed in the late 18th century.

“What was once a rural area was swiftly industrialised by the canal, which later became the St Helens Canal, and when a gasworks was erected in the 1850s The Furnacemans Pub was built and became a popular haunt for local workers.”

The detached property fronts the northern side of Pocket Nook Street, near to its junction with Wood Street, a mixed commercial and residential area approximately 1.5 miles north-east of St Helens town centre.

The building is currently configured to provide two trading areas on the ground floor, along with stores, male and female toilets and a large basement.

Two self-contained, partly refurbished flats are on the first floor, each offering two bedrooms, lounge, bathroom and kitchen, with parking to the side of the property and the former beer garden to the rear.

'Vacant and in need of refurbishment'

Mr Tudor added: “The property is now vacant and requires refurbishment to be completed, but it is considered suitable for a variety of alternative uses, subject to planning permission.”

The former pub is among a total of 180 lots that are appearing in Bond Wolfe’s next auction, which will start at 9am on Thursday, September 14.

For more information, go to bondwolfe.com or email auctions@bondwolfe.com or call 0121 312 1212 or 01902 928 510 for advice.