Bradford & District | Archive | 2003 | July | 19
From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Saturday 19th Jul 2003.
A historic Bradford pub has received a national award for its amazing interior - which no one can see.
The Cock and Bottle was re-opened in 1999 as a Christian pub by the Reverend Robin Gamble after its owners, Enterprise Inns, agreed to accept a peppercorn rent of £1 a week for the property on Barkerend Road.
But in March last year the brewery chain received an offer from a tenant willing to pay the full rent.
The pub re-opened under the new tenant, but shut again shortly after and has not been opened since. And now the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has highlighted the pub for its stunning interior and decor.
Together with the New Beehive Inn, Westgate, the Cock and Bottle is one of only 250 pubs across the country to be classed as having an interior of outstanding historic interest.
Both pubs have been presented with a certificate and listed in a book detailing all the winners.
Kerr Kennedy, chairman of Bradford CAMRA, said he was concerned the pub had remained closed for so long.
"When this award came along we thought it would highlight the fact that it was a historic pub and that nothing seems to be done to get it open again," he said.
"We are worried it could get vandalised. The windows have been broken and they put up shutters. But at the end of the day it is still a pub and someone needs to run it."
A spokesman for Enterprise Inns said that all efforts were being made to find a suitable tenant for the pub.
The pub's history dates back to the seventeenth century, with claims that Sir Thomas Fairfax's wife was captured by Royalist forces in 1643, during the Civil War, on the spot where it now stands.
An inn was first reported to be licensed on or near the site of the present pub in 1747. It appears to have been completely rebuilt in about 1820 at the time of the building of Otley Road and the name Cock and Bottle was first used in 1822.
Mr Kennedy said it is a travesty that Bradford drinkers are no longer able to sample its delights.
"Here is a pub with historic value, it's wonderful inside," he said. "The mirrors and decoration are phenomenal and it is a shame that the customer can't appreciate that. Pictured with the certificate outside the pub are John Bell and Malcolm Tott of CAMRA.
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