Bradford & District | Archive | 2000 | June | 1
From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Thursday 1st Jun 2000.
Britain's first-ever Christian pub is set to mark its birthday with a host of celebrations in Bradford.
The Cock and Bottle - one of the city's most historic pubs - was taken over a year ago by a group of committed Christians determined to bring their faith back into the community.
And now after their first year the group is to hold a service at nearby Bradford Cathedral to give thanks for the pub.
One of the key members of the Christian consortium, the Reverend Robin Gamble, said the project had been a huge success.
He said: "I've been an evangelist for 20 years but this pub is one of the most exciting and moving pieces of work that I've ever been involved in.
"A lot of people thought we would close down within a month.
"But here we are 12 months later and the pub is still growing.
"It's been a controversial scheme and a lot of people have been unhappy about it, but for every unhappy person we've had ten who are happy with the pub."
The birthday celebrations will begin on Saturday when a party will be held at the pub in Barkerend Road, Bradford, featuring bands, a bouncy castle and a free barbecue.
And on Sunday, June 18, a service of thanksgiving will be held at Bradford Cathedral - believed to be the first thanksgiving service ever held for a pub.
Mr Gamble said he believed the pub had succeeded in its role of bringing Christianity back into the parts of Bradford.
He said: "There are people who have become Christians and been baptised through coming to the pub.
"I think the Cock and Bottle has become the bridge that is missing between the church and the community.
"We've had people coming in here who wouldn't have dreamt of going to church.
"Time and time again people are coming in to have a look around and staying.
"There's a real sense of family building up here. Lots of community groups have meetings here.
"It's been a hard year but I've lost count of the number of times I've come away from the pub late at night thinking this is exactly the sort of thing we should be doing."
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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