History[]
The Jolly Butchers public House was situated in Ber Street, famously used as a venue from the 1950s to the 1970s. The landlady Antoinette Hannent or ‘Black Anna', who was the landlady from 1947 until 1976. The pub was a regular spit and sawdust Jazz and blues venue, which often featured the likes of Albert Cooper and Geoffrey Kelly who would perform with Black Anna. The pub was partially run as a gay pub in the late 60's to early 80's with "members" only club in the back room (until the Caribbean Club on Rose Lane went gay and clientelle moved to the larger smarter venue). The Pub went on into the later 1980s to feature an underground reggae club with soul nights, retaining some of its underground appeal. It sadly shut in 1989, and is now offices.