A landmark south Manchester pub decorated with a trailblazing piece of work from a renowned poet has closed its doors.

Lemn Sissay now fears for the site of his poem, named after the Hardy’s Well pub where it has adorned the wall for more than twenty years.

Formerly the Birch Villa, the pub, at the bottom of the Curry Mile, opposite Platt Fields Park has been a popular Rusholme watering hole for decades.

It was popular with Manchester City fans during the club’s time at nearby Maine Road, as well as locals and students living on the Oxford Road corridor.

(Image: Andy Lambert)

However it closed its doors and was boarded up in the middle of last month and now faces an uncertain future.

A letter from Enterprise Inns, who own the pub, seen by the M.E.N, confirms it has “ceased trading and will remain closed for the foreseeable future.”

“At this stage we are reviewing all viable options with regards to the future of the pub” it adds.

That has sparked rumours, acknowledged by Mr Sissay in a blog post this morning, that it could be sold off and demolished.

Last year, the Rusholme & Fallowfield Civic Society successfully applied for the 200 year-old building, named after Hardy’s, the Hulme-based Crown Brewery, to be listed as an Asset of Community Value.

That means community groups will be given a window to bid for it should it be made available for rent or sale.

However Mr Sissay, 49, who is of Ethiopian descent, moved to Manchester from Wigan when he was 18 and often drank and played pool in the pub, says he fears for its future.

During a conversation with a pal and the then landlord in 1994 in which he said poetry should be more widely seen, he was challenged to write a piece for the side of the building.

And after writing a special piece, the landlord had it painted in full onto gable wall, instantly making it a landmark and the first piece of public poetry in what became a UK-wide project for Mr Sissay.

Legend has it traffic claiming measures had to he introduced near the junction with Dickenson Road to prevent crashes as so many people were slowly down to read it.

Today Mr Sissay, now chancellor of Manchester University, said the pub’s demise was “distressing” and that he would write a new poem on a new building should it be lost.

Speaking to the M.E.N from Washington DC, he said: “Growth does mean buildings are lost and new ones appear.

“But we will never ever get that space back if it goes.

“It is a building with all sorts of historical significance to Rusholme and that entire area.

“Landmarks are democratic as it is the people who choose them and this has become one entirely on its own,

“What started as a pub chat has taken me to Desmond Tutu unveiling a piece of poetry in the city of London.

“So I very much hope it stays.”

Sue Devlin, secretary of the civic society said: “The Birch Villa Inn/Hardys Well has been a prominent building in Rusholme for more than 175 years and has been frequented by many generations of people.

“We would urge the owner to fully refurbish the building and Lemn Sissay’s landmark poem, and to find a viable, sustainable, public use for this historic, much loved community venue.”

A spokesperson from Enterprise Inns said: “We are currently reviewing options for the premises, as yet no decisions have been made.”