Cross Pipes Tavern and Rooms: First look as historic Otley pub dating back to 1762 reopens after major refurbishment

The Cross Pipes pub in Otley – now the Cross Pipes Tavern and Rooms - will reopen today (Wednesday) after being saved from closure by two local businessmen in 2023.

Located on Westgate in the centre of town, the Cross Pipes has been lovingly brought back to life as a warm, welcoming local and a freehouse with a focus on quality drinks and community spirit.

The Cross Pipes will also be a genuine inn again, offering seven bedrooms for visitors and tourists to stay, each of which is named after one of Otley’s lost pubs as a tribute to its history as a famous pub town.

The pub, which dates back to 1762, was bought and saved by local businessmen Kevin Daphne and Philip Lister in 2023 when it was nearly sold to a developer.

Many original features have been restored, including fireplaces, and the pub now boasts a wooden bar and a brand new three-tiered courtyard beer garden, complete with monitors to watch big sporting occasions.

The extensive refurbishment works have also uncovered an ancient well, which is now a feature of the courtyard and is illuminated. It may well have been the well that served the Cross Pipes brewhouse, with it being reputably the last pub in Otley to brew its own beer.

Phil Lister, one of the owners said he was “absolutely thrilled” to see the pub opening, adding: “This really has been a labour of love.

“As pub lovers, we bought the historic Cross Pipes to save it from being turned into housing. We knew with the right investment and the right owners, it could be a wonderful and thriving pub, as well as offering more much-needed overnight accommodation.

“We look forward to welcoming locals, visitors and tourists and celebrating a new exciting chapter for the Cross Pipes and Otley.”

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Greg Mulholland, President of Otley Pub Club and Campaign Director of the national Campaign for Pubs said: “It’s wonderful what Kevin, Phil and the team have achieved, saving and beautifully renovating the Cross Pipes, so it can continue to serve the community of Otley for generations.

“It’s a such a good news story. When this unique pub, the only Cross Pipes in the country, could so easily have been sold off to developers who would have destroyed it. Instead, Kevin, Phil and the team have saved the Cross Pipes and invested a huge amount repairing, rebuilding and refurbishing it.

“They have the thanks of Otley Pub Club, the Campaign for Pubs and the community of Otley and I hope they are nominated for awards for saving and restoring historic pubs.”