A nostalgic pub crawl down memory lane
A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THE GREAT PUBS FROM THE AREA’S PAST
HUDDERSFIELD has been denuded of many of its pubs over the years.
We take a look back at some of our once glorious pubs destined never to serve ale again.
The Grey Horse in Birchencliffe was a popular watering hole for decades with a strong cast of regulars.
I remember walking in long after the smoking ban with my brother Joe for a late-night pint and was amused to see a group of middleaged men enjoying a game of cards and puffing away long after closing time.
Although I was far from being a regular the pub had that unmistakable air of demise and it was little surprise that not long afterwards the pub was demolished and turned into a Tesco Express and a Greggs.
Paddock used to have a thriving pub scene. The Angel on the roundabout was once of the most popular pubs in the area in the 1980s and 90s under landlord Brian Hayhurst.
It was famed for its zany contests including, a memorable maggoteating one. There’s still a sign saying The Angel but the site is now used for housing.
Also lost to housing were The Greyhound on Manchester Rd and
The Rose and Crown at Longwood.
Across the road was an equally popular pub, The Royal Oak, which served an excellent pint of Tetley’s and was welcoming and friendly.
Quaffing pints in the sunshine was bliss itself.
The pharmacy next door bought it years ago but it has stood undeveloped and unloved.
Likewise, further down Church Street, The Commercial, has not sold ale for years but has remained undeveloped.
At Paddock Foot The Ship Inn stopped serving beer years ago and is now an accountants though I understand it may become housing.
Pubs are few and far between in Birkby these days with only The Spinks Nest and The Armitage Arms still in business.
Only readers over 50 will remember The Terrace, a Wilsons house in the centre which was subsumed into an Asian supermarket.
And The Horseshoe is also a distant memory. It was turned long ago into a restaurant.
Further afield The Travellers Rest, a Tetley’s pub at Kitchenroyd, a hamlet between Scissett and Denby Dale was a popular hostelry for many years and I have many happy memories of playing chess there.
It has since become a wellrenowned Thai restaurant.
The Marsh House on Westbourne Road, Marsh, was another popular Tetley’s house, a classic tea-time pub. It shut years ago and is nowadays two shop units.
Kirkburton has lost two of its pubs, The Royal is now a Co-op and plans have recently been submitted to Kirklees Council to turn The George into an Indian restaurant.
The Somerset Arms, at Aspley, was popular enough in its day but is two takeaway units and The Red Lion at Lockwood, once one of the few places to open on Christmas Day, is no more.
A local businessman in 2009 applied to the council for permission to turn it into shops and apartments but it is now Valli optometrists.
The New Inn, Marsden, is now an accountants while The Swan in Station Road, Marsden, which had served ale as long ago as 1839, shut a couple of years ago and local builders SB Homes Ltd, decided to turn it into four commercial units.
The Rose and Crown, in Meltham is now a Lloyd’s pharmacy.
The Chartist pub on Commercial Street, Skelmanthorpe, was another popular pub for many years but it has been boarded up for a long time now.
And who can possibly forget The Spotted Cow at Salendine Nook? Although it was demolished years ago its name is still kept alive thanks to the Lidl supermarket chain wanting, until recently, to build a store there.
But it’s not all one-way traffic. Mark Robertson who owns The Plumbers Arms in Huddersfield town centre bought the adjacent property, Armitage Sykes, a solicitors practice for 40 years in 2017 and it has been redeveloped into a plush, upmarket wine bar which is due to open in June.