Cleckheaton pub named area's best

The Rose and Crown on Westgate won the Pub of the Season award from the local branch of CAMRA following its refurbishment and re-opening last autumn.

Landlord Andy Gascoigne, a former Keighley rugby league player, has created a traditional Yorkshire hostelry themed around the sport and the town, and he was delighted to received his award from branch chair Andy Kassube alongside wife Mandy and daughter Kelly. The 17th-century inn has been given a major revamp by the family, who have installed stone-flagged floors, loose panels and added wood-burning stoves.

Entreprenurial Andy has also opened a micro-brewery on his premises, now the permanent home of his company Haworth Steam Brewery. Its latest range of beers is named after the Whitechapel area of Cleckheaton.

In the six months since re-opening, the pub has gained a reputation as a real ale haven, with six beers on draught. The Gascogines are also keen for their pub to be a social hub, and do not have a jukebox or live sport. They have also introduced a food menu.

“As a branch Heavy Woollen are delighted at the rebirth of the Rose and Crown as it was a regular in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide up until 1991. The success it is now enjoying is testament to the hard work that the Gascoigne family and their staff are putting in and we look forward to the continued rise from the ashes for this pub,” said Andy Kassube.