Best pubs in England named - and Manchester institution makes the list

The new list has singled out the best pub for every county in England

A new list of the best pubs in England has been published - and a Manchester icon makes the list. National newspaper The Telegraph has come up with the list of the best pubs across the country, listing one for every county.

The list aims to celebrate the pubs that offer the best in hospitality across the country as well as the quirky hostelries that have been serving punters for centuries. It is compiled based on "years of assidious research" as well as local intel, according to the report.

There's a total of 48 pubs on the list, one for each of England's ceremonial counties. Those listed for the northern counties include a 400-year-old coaching inn and intriguing tiny pubs.

Greater Manchester is represented by one of Manchester city centre's best-loved pubs - The Briton's Protection. It is hailed in the list for its extraordinary atmopshere and decor.

The entry says: "Come for the tiled corridor, with its vivid images of the Peterloo Massacre, stay for the atmosphere."

It adds: "Manchester has changed a lot in recent years, but happily The Britons Protection hasn’t - yet."

The nod comes amid a time of change though for the pub on Great Bridgewater Street. As the MEN reported last week, the current licensee of the Britons Protection will be handing the running of the legendary boozer back to the landlord Star Pubs - a subsidiary of brewing giant Heineken - this week.

From January 8, Star Pubs, which already owns the Britons Protection building, will take back control of the pub from the current licensee, it has been confirmed, after a long-running legal battle. The pub will also be closed until January 16 for 'infrastructure' upgrades.

The pub, which is said to have served as a refuge for the injured during the Peterloo Massacre and was used as an army recruitment centre during the Napoleonic Wars, is one of Manchester's oldest dating back to 1811.

Other historic venues making the list for the north include The Castle in Macclesfield, which is praised as "one of the cosiest pubs in England". It is found down a winding cobbled street in the town's Castle Quarter and is named the best in Cheshire on the list.

The Black Bull in Coniston, a 400-year-old coaching inn, makes the list for Cumbria, which boasts a dramatic setting at the foot of Cumbrian mountain the Old Man of Coniston.

The Roscoe Head, which was saved from closure ten years ago by landlady Carol Ross, is listed as the best for Merseyside. The listing states: "The Roscoe is small but wonderful, with four rooms, good beer and pies, and, invariably, excellent conversation."

Making the list for Lancashire is The Black Horse in Preston is praised for its "exuberant decoration" and "Hall of Mirrors".

In Derbyshire, "eccentric" village pub Barley Mow at Bonsall makes the grade. It is praised for holding the "World Championship Hen Races" every August.

Other pubs making the list for the north are The Ship Inn at Low Newton for Northumberland, The Blue Bell in York for North Yorkshire, the Kelham Island Tavern in Sheffield for South Yorkshire, The Rose and Crown in Ludlow for Shropshire and The Corn Dolly in Bradford for West Yorkshire. For the full list see The Telegraph here.