Skip to main content

Barbary's: New Bar With Echoes of The Past....

A new bar has just opened in the Upper Calder Valley village of Mytholmroyd, its name recalling an infamous inn in a dubious period in the area's history....


Last Saturday, Northern Rail was all over the place again, so my visit to Mytholmroyd was undertaken by bus via Halifax rather than my initial preference of train from Brighouse. I had primarily come to visit Barbary's, a new bar opened up in the spot previously occupied by Libertine, a bar which had opened and shut several times over the years. I decided to check out the village's two other pubs, the Shoulder of Mutton and the Dusty Miller whilst I was in the area. I hadn't visited either since the Boxing Day floods of 2015, since when there has been a series of flood defence works undertaken, the latest of which have led to many months of temporary traffic lights and frustration.

Mytholmroyd Floods, 2015 (Image courtesy of  The Telegraph)

Ironically, the Calder Valley is at one of its widest points at Mytholmroyd, but it is the site of the confluence of the lively Elphin Brook with the River Calder. The Elphin Brook flows beside the road to the Shoulder of Mutton, a minute or two's walk from the A646 Burnley Road. It is a solid-looking building on a corner, beside a road junction, one arm of which heads up the picturesque valley of Cragg Vale, about which more later. The Shoulder, which at one time had the longest-serving publican in the area, is a pleasant enough village local which serves food and provides Sky Sports for its customers. There are 4 hand pumps on the bar, offering a safe choice of popular beers. I opted for a pint of Saltaire Blonde, and went and sat with it at one of the few empty tables in the pub, and chilled out for a pleasant half-hour.

The Shoulder of Mutton, Mytholmroyd.

Dusk was falling as I left the Shoulder and made my way back to the main road. Crossing the bridge over the River Calder, I crossed the main road and approached the Dusty Miller. Another solid-looking pub, it was badly-affected by the floods. Significant changes have been made to the internal layout, with the bar, which used to be on the left as you went in, now occupying a large space slightly to the left opposite where you go in. It really is spacious round the back of the bar; it can't be much smaller than the main space in Calan's Micropub up the road in Hebden Bridge! The beer choice, like the Shoulder of Mutton, was fairly safe, and here I opted for a pint of Wainwright. I was feeling hungry, and the friendly lady behind the bar reeled off all the flavours of Yorkshire Crisps they had. I opted for Henderson's Relish flavour, which seemed to meet with her approval. I grabbed a table and proceeded to enjoy my pint and crisps. Like the Shoulder, the pub was quite busy with Saturday afternoon customers, and there was a nice friendly atmosphere about the place.

The Dusty Miller, Mytholmroyd

Diagonally across the road is Barbary's, which is a new project for Ben Adey of the Alexandra, Lantern, and Glor in Halifax. It consists of a low building with a small room with seating as you go in, which leads into another, larger room with further seating. The bar has been moved from the old Libertine days, where it was tucked into a recess on the right, and now faces you as you go in. There is a choice of three beers on cask - Kirkstall Black Band Porter, Wishbone Blonde, and Vocation Pride and Joy when I called in - and six taps that were dispensing Paulaner, a sparkling wine, a wheat beer, Hallet's Dry Cider, and two craft beers, a Kernel Pale Ale, and one from Polly's Brew Co in Mold, North Wales. 

The bar at Barbary's

I asked Ben where the name came from, and he reminded me that The Barbary was the pub frequented by the notorious Cragg Vale Coiners, an 18th Century gang of counterfeiters. They based their activities at Bell House, the farm on the hills above the valley which was the home of their ringleader, 'King' David Hartley. Learning the skills of iron-working when living in Birmingham, he returned home after getting into trouble, and with his gang of recruits - mainly from other farms in the vicinity - used his skills to counterfeit coins. Genuine coins were clipped, with the shavings collected and cast into fake ones. The authorities eventually got wind of what was happening, and an excise man, William Deighton was sent to investigate. One of the gang betrayed them, Hartley was arrested at an inn in Halifax, and his brother, Isaac, offered £100 to anybody who killed Deighton. The plot was allegedly hatched in the Barbary, which was situated directly opposite the Dusty Miller, and a few weeks later, Deighton was shot dead in Halifax. A reward of £100 was offered by the authorities for information leading to the arrest of the killers, and over 30 people were arrested. 'King' David was subsequently hung in York, bringing with it a close to a murky chapter in the area's history. 

Fast-forward to the new bar, and I have to say that I enjoyed my visit. The Wishbone I bought when I went in was spot on, and then I flitted between the Kernel and the Polly's, both of which were excellent. A number of friends popped in whilst I was there, and I also got chatting to a couple of friendly guys at the bar who both lived in the village. It was busy, and seems to have gone down well with the locals. At the moment, it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, as Ben fits it in around his other commitments, and with no other staff apart from Ruby. A few tweaks are planned now its been open a few weeks, and so it will close for a week after New Year for these to be done. 

Ben was telling me that author Ben Myers, whose excellent novel The Gallows Pole tells the story of the Coiners, who now lives in the village, calls in the bar sometimes for a drink. Ben's wife, Adelle Stripe is also an author who wrote the also excellent Black Teeth and A Brilliant Smile, a novel based on the life of Andrea Dunbar, who wrote the play Rita, Sue, and Bob Too, later made into a successful film. And continuing the literary theme, let's not forget that former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes was born in the village, at 1 Aspinall Street, which is marked by a plaque.

Mytholmroyd is sometimes overlooked in favour of its more famous neighbour, Hebden Bridge, but with plenty of history, literary  connections, and attractive countryside on its doorstep, it is well worth a visit in its own right. And now with Barbary's, it has given us an extra reason to visit....

Barbary's is at 19 Burnley Road, Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge HX2 6BH
Hours: Wednesday-Thursday 17.00-22.00, Friday 16.00-23.00, Saturday 12.00-23.00, Sunday 12.00-21.00

Follow me on twitter: @realalemusic


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

1872 And All That....

News has broken over the past few days that Elland Brewery, famous for their 1872 Porter which was voted the Champion Beer Of Britain in 2023 have ceased trading. And with other breweries also struggling, the upheavals I wrote about last month are showing no signs of letting up.... I was out with some friends last Saturday afternoon, celebrating one of our number's birthday. With the drinks and conversation flowing as we enjoyed a most enjoyable catch up, we were joined by another friend who mentioned that he'd been out a little earlier and had heard a story from a good source in one of the local pubs that Elland Brewery who, a mere 6 months ago had won Champion Beer of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival for their flagship 1872 Porter, had gone bust. During a break in the conversation, I scoured Google for news about Elland Brewery. Nothing, apart from that win at the GBBF last year. I mentioned it to a couple of people when I was working at the Meandering Bear in Halif

A Calder Valley Ale Trail - UPDATED December 2023

The essential guide to the pubs and bars that line the railways in the towns and villages of the beautiful Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, an area which has a lot to offer and captivate the visitor. Here's the latest, updated version.... The original Rail Ale Trail heads through the Pennines from Dewsbury through Huddersfield to Stalybridge, or vice versa, depending on your starting point. Made famous by Oz Clarke and James May on a TV drinking trip around Britain several years ago, it reached saturation point on weekends to such an extent that lager and shorts were banned by some pubs and plastic glasses introduced to the hordes of stag dos, hen parties, and fancy-dressed revellers that invaded the trans-Pennine towns and villages. There are some great pubs en route and whilst things have calmed down from a few years ago, they can still get very busy on a summer Saturday in particular. However, only a few miles away to the north, there is another trail possible which takes in s

There Used To Be A Bar There....

Last weekend a little bar in Wesley Court in Halifax, closed its doors for the last time. But unlike the sad fate that has befallen so many pubs and bars in recent times, The Grayston Unity will be re-opening in a few weeks' time in a brand new home on the other side of town. And so this weekend was a chance for a final drink and catch-up at its original home.... It was emotional, it was fun, it was inevitable. The final weekend at the original home of the Grayston Unity occurred this weekend, the last pints being poured around 9pm on Sunday evening with the price of a pint dropping first to £2 and then they were free. The little bar had attracted large numbers over the previous few days; Grayston stalwarts, regulars on the Halifax drinking scene, a host of old faces from over the years, and plenty of bemused first-timers, many here from out of town to see the likes of Orbital, the Charlatans, and Johnny Marr playing down the road at the Piece Hall.  Michael enjoying a quiet chat w