Our focus this week is on pubs after a reader asked: Which is Huddersfield’s oldest public house?
This question got the most votes in our #AskExaminer feature, which gives readers the chance to ask a question on a topic of local interest.
Pub historian Dave Green of Paddock, a former landlord at The Slubbers Arms in Bradford Road, says the oldest pub still in existence is the Parish Pump, Kirkgate, although its name has changed over the years.
He says it was operating in 1720 and has seen life as The Fleece Inn and the Horse and Jockey.
Our knowledge of Huddersfield’s inns before 1778 is very limited, according to historian Dr George Redmonds, but there are fleeting references to them.
For instance, in 1734, John Walker, landlord of the White Boar, was fined five shillings at the manor court for giving short measure.
A comprehensive survey of inns is not possible until 1778 when there were about 24 or 25 beerhouses and inns in the town, almost all of them in Westgate, the Market Place and Kirkgate, according to Dr Redmonds.
In The Making of Huddersfield (2003), Dr Redmonds referred to a survey of 1778 which mentions the George on John William Street which dates from 1687 at least, making it the town’s oldest hostelry.
A 1951 Examiner cutting, entitled The Oldest Pub, refers to a 1716 survey of Huddersfield which lists five public houses dating from that year, though it is not possible to say which was the oldest.
The five on the list are: the Swan Inn, the Plough, the Golden Fleece, the Bull’s Head, and the Merchants and Clothiers Arms, Bradley Street.
The article continues: “It is also possible that the Spread Eagle, Manchester Street, and the Pack Horse were then in existence, but this cannot be definitely confirmed from the 1716 plan.”
Looking further back in history, it’s clear that Huddersfield has always been well served by inns, long before it became a town.
In 1686, an account was prepared of all the inns and ale houses in England with details of stabling for horses and guest beds. These were located in villages from Almondbury to Quarmby, Bradley to Colne Bridge and many more besides.
Further back there is a historical reference in 1545 to a Huddersfield innkeeper called Roger Brooke, although there is no mention of the inn’s name.
Mr Green, author of Huddersfield Pubs, warns against confidently naming Huddersfield’s oldest/earliest pub, as there are plenty of people who like to argue the point.
“I tried to avoid it (the oldest pub issue) in the book as people want to contradict you.”
