[NorthMancBeds]

Just too damn funky not to post. The Polish Club in Cheetham Hill, like many, was set up in the aftermath of WWII as many exiled Poles had made their lives here and many more families were reconciled and joined them. You would think that following Poland joining the EU and the influx of Polish workers a few years ago that this place would have undergone something of a Renaissance. This is not the case, I think it ceased being the Polish Club about a year ago, maybe more, I stand to be corrected. At the moment it is being converted into a banquet hall for Asian weddings (these seem to be big business in C’Hill and Strangeways right now). I bumbled in on a tip off that there might be a 1960s interior and a massive wooden eagle, not knowing of the lack of Polish people or the active conversion which was in fairly early stages of strip out. The builders seemed only too happy to let me have a roam around and in the basement at the back I found what I was after…

All was cool on my permission granted trip until it turned out that the people who granted me permission didn’t have the right to do so. The site manager turned up and was very suspicious and then called the owner whose offices happened to be next door and he turned up with two other chaps in tow. Only two of this bunch were speaking in English and there was hurried and lively chatter between them about what I was up to. I managed to convince them of my innocent interest in 1960s interiors and showed them the photos I had taken. They seemed slightly bewildered and couldn’t really work out my angle on things, but ‘let me go’…. All very entertaining.


Photograph from Manchester Local Image Collection


Exterior now. The extension is probably contemporary to that at the back.


Restaurant sign


Timber lining and switches


Funky bar


Funky wallpaper behind funky bar


View from funky bar


Funky curtains next to funky bar


Handle


Funky bar from afar

Sadly the massive 1960s wooden eagle had been removed about 12 months ago.

peace
NMB

[Ojay]

Looks good does this one

[Gibbo]

Digging that retro bar!

[The-Village-Idiot]

Sounds like a fun visit

[misterjk]

Brill! Wyborowa actually means 'sniper', wonder who came up with that!

[Snake Oil]

nice! I was always getting called out to this place years back when I worked on the recovery trucks, I suspect most breakdowns were 'intentionally knobbled' so the owner could get a free ride home without driving