A historic pub in Oldham town centre which suddenly closed its doors last year is appearing worse for wear in footage captured by an urban explorer while residents call for its restoration.
The Royal Oak on Union Street was alive with the sound of folk music and the buzz of residents' chatter just six months ago.
The alehouse, which had been serving pints for more than 200 years, was considered a pub with real character and charm, being the 'birthplace' of folk in the town and providing shelter to dozens of community groups over the years.
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However, despite its revered status in the community, the pub was forced to close in November last year as its former landlord, Dave Sweeney, revealed it had been sold.
The future of the Grade-II listed building has been hanging in the balance ever since and reportedly suffered a 'flood' and then a gas leak at the start of this year.
A committee group called Folks of the Oak then formed to try and 'save' the premises from a potentially tragic end - and successfully campaigned to have the building listed as an asset of community value with Oldham Council.
Now, an urban explorer has documented the current state of the building in a visit to the pub earlier this week.
Several photographs and footage captured by Exploring with Jake show The Royal Oak looks barren and in need of some repairs as most of its interior appears to have been removed.
However, the explorer says the pub remains "beautiful" and "grand" as the video shows it boasts many of its original features.
The footage shows one room is covered in black soot and debris, but still has its old fireplace and an old copper cooker.
The pool room has also retained its iconic stained-glass windows as well as its green leather benches that hug around the edges.
The old bar, a circular wooden structure in the centre of the pub, also appears intact.
Meanwhile, photographs have captured an old typewriter, a bookshelf with several books, a flyer referring to the pub's former Folk at the Oak night, an empty Jack Daniel's bottle and a cracked framed photograph of a social club outing at the pub.
While many of the rooms have exposed wooden floorboards and look covered in dust, debris and plasterboard, the lounge looks much better with its patterned flooring, block colours of green and red paint and fireplace.
Exploring with Jake commented: "It's beautiful to be fair.
"This would have been the smoking area."
The footage then pans to another room which has an "old Victorian bar" with a "beautiful grand fireplace" still standing strong.
The urban explorer added: "Very grand public house this one."
The stained-glass window and patterned carpet in the stairwell also appear in good condition.
However, one room can be seen with a sagging ceiling and exposed bricks coming through the plaster on the walls, suggesting some damage.
Still, the fascinating exploration has left many reminiscing on their good times at the pub.
Anthony McKenzie said he remembers sipping his first pint in The Royal Oak while Jamie Deakin said he used to go in the late 80s.
Kath Hartley added the photographs "bring back some good memories".
Others commented that they were still sad to see it closed, writing it was "such a shame" while describing the building as "stunning" and with "beautiful character".
One resident said the pub "looks in quite good nick really" while Paul Dean added: "It has some amazing original features."
Yvonne Mcmahon also said: "It's so sad that all these old buildings with such beautiful character are left to just rot."
If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.
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