Prior to the rebuilding of the front elevation of the Ship Inn, probably after it closed as a licensed house in 1918, the roofline and window lay out was dramatically different.
The Greenall brothers sold the business and all the buildings in the yard behind it in 1847 to Philip Forshaw from the Golden Lion. Extensive building operations were then carried out and a large brewing business was established to the rear of the site.
The Old Ship Inn became the New Ship Inn. Originally a single storey thatched roof building the changes to the business were very dramatic. The story of the Ship Inn, 16 Moor Street, does go back way beyond the 19th Century, with stories of a theatre dating back to the time of Shakespeare. Originally a single storey thatched roof inn, the inn changed hands regularly over the 18th and 19th century.
The greatest change was when Philip Forshaw bought the inn from the Greenall Brewery in the late 1840s and built a brewery, malt house and barrelling room behind it. It was the first step in what should have been an incredible career in brewing for Forshaw but soon after he built the Bath Springs Brewery he died.
The next landlord, Thomas Mercer, made a great success of the Inn and became a respected leader amongst the License Victualler trade. After his death in 1907, John Blundell, from the Commercial Hotel family, took on the Ship. His tenancy was short and he died leaving a widow and grown sons. His widow struggled to run the Inn and Robert Edwin Clear took over. He worked for the Metropolitan Police and was stationed at the Burscough Ordnance Factory, retiring in 1912 to run the Ship.
In 1918 the license renewal was refused and Robert took the license at the Plough, Church Street. The premises were taken over by the boot and shoe manufacturer from the adjacent shop at number 14. The shop had been converted from the old Rye Sheaf Inn several years earlier by