The Manor House pub, one of Otley’s famous traditional locals, is on the market and available to buy freehold. And Otley Pub Club is calling for new owners to come in and buy it.
The Manor, which dates back to the 19th century, is named after Thomas Constable’s impressive grade II listed home. It’s an attractive mid-terrace pub and a proper community local, situated opposite the maypole on Manchester Square.
The current owner, Thwaites, has decided to sell the pub, and this creates the opportunity for a local brewery, a small pub company, or an individual publican to buy the pub and own it and operate it. Prospective new owners can take a 3D tour of the pub on Otley Pub Club’s website, thanks to the work of Apollo3D.
The Manor has Asset of Community Value (ACV) status, meaning that there is a six-week moratorium. During this time, interested parties (community group or charity) can register an interest in bidding to purchase the pub. This has to be done by 24th June, in writing to Leeds City Council. Otley Pub Club has all the details of who to contact and how.
Although Otley Pub Club itself can’t trigger this, it is happy to advise and work with others if there is an organisation that wishes to do this. Following the registration of intent to bid, the prospective organisation then has a further six months to come up with the actual bid.
The current tenants, David and Eileen Stephan, have run the pub for the last nine years, bringing an Irish twist to the Yorkshire mid-terrace local. Otley Pub Club thanked them for their service to the town and for being popular local licensees and friends to many.
The Manor has a reputation for folk music, with sessions and open mic evenings, and it has long been the post-concert venue of choice for musicians at the annual Otley Folk Festival. The pub has an historic late 1am licence, meaning that many people, often including other pub and hospitality staff, gather there at weekends.
A proper community local
There are separate areas, giving a traditional and cosy feel, and in the winter there is an impressive open fire. In the warmer months, the surprisingly large outdoor terrace is a pleasant place to enjoy the weather, along with a marquee for music and an impressive seated smoking shelter.
Rob Skinner, chair of Otley Pub Club, said: “The Manor House is one of Otley’s famous historic pubs, and with the news that the freehold is up for sale, we hope that a new owner will buy the pub and look forward to working with them. It is a lovely welcoming pub, a proper community local, with huge history and a great ambiance.
“We thank David and Eileen and their family for their years of service to the Otley community and are sad to see them go. We now hope that new a new operator will take up the reins and continue to make this one of Otley’s proper locals.
“There is the opportunity also for this to become a community or co-operative pub and we would also be happy to work with any group with an interest, if they contact us.”
• Otley Pub Club is a non-profit organisation run by volunteers who want to maintain the reputation of Otley as a ‘famous pub town’, by promoting and supporting the town’s pubs. Otley was once regarded as the town with the most pubs per head of population in England, and still has 24 pubs and bars serving a population of around 15,000. Otley Pub Club has a current mailing list of more than 650 members and over 2,120 followers on Twitter. It puts on projects that help to raise the profile of Otley in the media, as well as bringing visitors and tourists into the town.
