Bury town centre fell to a near silence yesterday, Monday, as the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II took place in London.
Residents steered clear from a very sombre and quiet town centre as most high street businesses shut their doors for the bank holiday.
A number of pubs in the centre opened their doors slightly earlier for those wishing to watch the funeral.
Sky Bar, The Robert Peel and The Two Tubs were just three of the main pubs that opened early to those paying their respects.
At almost 400-years old, The Two Tubs at The Wylde has seen around 20 monarchs take the throne and has now paid tribute to the longest reigning of these.
A military veteran of 24 years, Steven Lafferty, 61, had been at the funeral of a comrade earlier in the morning and came into the pub to catch the last bit of live footage from his "boss's" funeral.
He said: “She was my boss for 24 years, that's whom we served, so it's very sombre to sit and watch it… it's a sad day, a very sad day.”
One pub-goer, who came from Salford, said: "It made me think a lot about the changes in society, I think that's the last time we will see that sort of pomp and pageantry because the world is changing so quickly.
"There isn't much time for that kind of thing anymore, it makes you think what's been, what's gone, and what is now to come."
Inside the pub, although quiet, it was a monumental moment, one that royalists and those who are not, appreciated the enormity of.
Assistant manager at The Two Tubs, Sam Hutchinson, 32, said he wouldn’t call himself a royalist but believes it was a very important occasion.
He said: “It's definitely something that we needed to do because we have lots of proud military connections and our owner has many years of active service under his belt, so we wanted to honour this.
“The mood has been pretty sombre, but we had a lot of soldiers in yesterday (Sunday) after a short service at the parish church across the road.
“The mood wasn't so sombre then, it felt a bit more like awake even though it was before the state funeral.
“I wouldn't say that I myself I'm a royalist, but I do think it's so important to honour everyone's beliefs and opinions and to witness this occasion.”
The pub served up sausage or bacon butties as well as hot drinks for anyone coming in to watch the funeral.
Shops across the borough showed respect with many placing tributes to the Queen in window displays.
Flowers have also been left at the Bury Parish Church memorial and at the Kay Gardens memorial.
VUE cinema in Bury sold out of tickets before the funeral as they offered seats to those who wanted to watch the big screen for free.
No refreshments were on offer.
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