Layers of history 'peeled back' in pub restoration

There has been a public house on the site in Preston Street since the mid-19th Century

One of Bradford's oldest pubs has undergone a restoration for the first time in 40 years - and the work has revealed relics from its past.

The Fighting Cock's landlady, Sue Turner, said the Victorian inn had a mixed clientele that ranged from "businessmen to builders".

There has been a public house on the junction of Preston Street and Handel Street since 1868 and it was first known as the Preston Hotel.

The current name was adopted in the early 1980s and Ms Turner said the wooden exterior of the Yorkshire stone building to be "refreshed".

The restoration work revealed old brewery signs on both sides of the pub

She said: "It became the Fighting Cock in 1983 and the exterior's not been touched since then.

"We do have an old photograph in the other room from, we think, the 1940s, and if you look it's exactly the same."

Ms Turner contracted self-taught restorer Rob Garner to strip back the original paintwork before repairing what he found underneath.

The 59-year-old licensee added: "On both sides there were the original Webster's (an old Halifax brewery) signs.

"Underneath them you could see the original Stock's ales signs which probably date back to the the 1940s, maybe earlier."

Landlady Sue Turner has worked at the pub on-and-off since 1986

Mr Garner took up woodwork after a serious back injury meant he had to give up his job as a long-distance lorry driver.

The 44-year-old said: "It is challenging at times, but the satisfaction that you get from seeing the original wood and being able to restore it and keep as much of it as possible is a really good feeling."

He said there were anywhere from 20 to 30 layers of mostly lead paint and he had already worn out one heat gun carrying out the work.

Mr Garner added: "A lot of people have said the wood will have been repurposed from mills around the era when the pub first opened.

"You get the odd one or two that say 'why don't you just cover it up, why don't you clad it?'

"The wood's lasted this long, why cover it up? It's good looking and a feature."

A serious back injury meant Rob Garner changed jobs from being a long-distance lorry driver to a wood restorer

Ms Turner said there would be event to mark the completion of the work before Christmas.

The pub has remained open throughout its renovation.

She said: "Basically it's the real ale that has saved us. If we didn't do that we wouldn't have the different customers that we have.

"We have a big mix, from students to businessmen to builders to anything really.

"They come in to listen to some music, have a conversation, and have a really nice drink of real ale."

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