THE mystery of the so-called Leather Hill brewery may have been solved for us by publican and former police sergeant Tony Biggs.

It had popped up in the frothy researches of pub author Brian Tarry of Rainford, being mentioned in an 1800s trade directory as the brewery of James Cross whose address was given as Leather Hill, Sutton.

Brian had no idea where this location might have been.

But now Tony Biggs, of the re-vamped Sutton Oak pub - formerly the Boundary Vaults - suggests that whoever recorded the directory details must have mis-heard the address which was likely to have been Pecker's (rather than Leather) Hill.

Explains Tony: "The old Royle's shop premises in that area was formerly the Taylor Street brewery."

SO, thanks to our pint-pulling ex-copper, the clues now all seem to fit together nicely.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.