Originally a timber building and later encased in stone, the inn retains wattle and daub, plank and muntin, a fine cruck frame, and remnants of a bread oven.
1307: the earliest record
Our earliest record of the Old Bridge Inn is from 1307. It was then the home of the early yeoman clothier Robert of Brigge of Soland, whose descendants built Somerset House in George Street, Halifax.
The family owned a small fulling mill on the opposite bank of the River Ryburn. Cicely, wife of Elias the Walker, was fined 3d for brewing contrary to the assize. This was a dual-economy part of the Manor of Wakefield: the land was steep and of little agricultural value, so tenants took to weaving cloth, brewing ale, and other trades to make a living.
A welcome on the road
Situated beside the River Ryburn and on one of the main roads between York and Chester, the inn offered welcome repose to weary travellers. Before there was a bridge, the river was forded and was prone to flooding. What better way to while away a flood than over a flagon of ale?
From the church to Ramsden’s
In 1653 the inn was bequeathed to the Church and remained its property until it was sold to Ramsden’s Brewery for £1,775, with the proceeds invested in Consols.
The Hirstwood family were innkeeper tenants of the Church for almost all of that time. The last of their line was Ruth Schofield, who left in the 1870s to marry Robert Holt, a partner at Chapelfield Mill.
The Beaumont family
In 1963 Daisy and Ian Beaumont, mother and son, purchased the inn from Ramsden’s. They stripped away the 19th- and 20th-century partitions, restoring the building to the form we see today.
Furnished with antiques and a few tasteful prints, it was one of the first pubs of its time to offer food as well as drink.
A family tradition continues
In 2001 Ian’s niece Lindsay and her husband Tim purchased the inn when Ian retired. Tim had managed the pub since 1984, maintaining a tradition of generations of ownership.
Their daughter Carly and her husband Paul also play major roles in the daily running of the inn, while their son Sam can be found behind the bar.
The Pork Pie Appreciation Society
In order to maintain our identity as a pub, rather than a restaurant masquerading as a pub, food was not served on Saturday or Sunday evenings in those days. Out of this eccentricity was born the Pork Pie Appreciation Society in 1983.
On Saturday afternoons, a group of young men attended the local gym. One of them always brought a snack, causing the rest to salivate as he ate it in front of them. Eventually they could tolerate it no more and asked Tim if they could bring in a pork pie for each of them. Rather than lose a dozen thirsty lads, Tim acquiesced. The boys soon learned that some pork pies were more equal than others. The rest, as they say, is history.
Visit the Pork Pie Club website
Our identity today
Today the Old Bridge Inn is featured in many leading independent food and pub guides. Authenticity is our byword. We serve home-prepared food, fine ales from Timothy Taylor’s, Vocation, and other truly independent brewers, along with genuine imported beers from around the world.
There is a good, often-changing wine list with many wines served by the glass; around thirty malt whiskies from independent distillers; a wide range of spirits and soft drinks; Colombian coffee; and Yorkshire Tea. Real fires and fresh flowers add the finishing touches.