The Arabian Horse, Aberford: Couple save last pub remaining in Yorkshire village famed for its coaching inns

New landlord and landlady Mark and Gemma Hodgson opened the doors of The Arabian Horse for its first time for nearly a year not knowing quite what the response would be but hopeful that the effort they had already made in providing much needed TLC would add to the warmth of both their real fires and their bonhomie.

“We were absolutely overwhelmed,” says Gemma. “The business development manager with the pub group had told us that he had never been rung so much about a pub being shut, but Mark and I were certainly not expecting the number that came to our first day. The pub was full from 2 o’clock until last orders.

“We had friends and family who came to support but they all ended up working, because there were so many here. My daughter Jaymee Leigh has been an amazing help, just back from university.”

Mark says that while they are not expecting that kind of turnout, except for perhaps special occasions, it was great to see.

“What we saw and heard that day and have heard many times is that nobody wants the pub shut again and a lot of people have already said they will support it by coming regularly. We just want to make sure that when people are here it is the way they want it to be, warm and welcoming.

“We just want through our custodianship to create memories, have good times, nice functions and give that warm welcome. The village pub should be the heart of a village, and that’s what we’re about.

“That first night tested the efficiency of running the bar area,” says Mark. “We know it is unlikely we will have that same number in very often, but at least it showed us what we need to do. It was a very good lesson.

Tractors and farm machinery roll through the village and past The Arabian Horse daily as Aberford has always had a number of farms. Becca Estate is to its north and Parlington Estate to its south and there’s even still a small farm right in the centre of the village alongside the Cock Beck, but like many villages in the Leeds-York-Wetherby triangle it has become a sought-after area for those who enjoy the countryside and is particularly popular with walkers and cyclists.

“We are here for everyone,” says Gemma. “We have friends who live close by and we already liked Aberford. Mark and I came to the Christmas Lights on the village green just outside the pub a couple of years ago. We came in for a drink and, because we’d thought about taking on a pub not far from where our parents live, we liked the idea of giving it a go if the chance came. We’d looked at others, but we already knew the people here just seemed so nice.

“The pub was in need of some TLC and we’ve worked like crazy since we were handed the keys in November. We’ve renewed carpets, curtains, upholstery, furniture, refreshed everywhere and given the pub a thorough deep clean.

One of the immediate impacts on entering the Arabian Horse is the sparkling wine and beer glasses that gleam at you from above the bar, part of the new, clean, fresh appeal of this traditional village pub. Gemma says that this is as important to her as it is to her village custom.

“We have nice wines and a good selection of those, and good beers. People want nice drinks served in sparkling glasses.

Mark had a pub some years ago in Hebden Bridge and came out of the pub game while he had young children.

“I had the iconic Stubbing Wharf pub where poet Ted Hughes of Mytholmroyd once wrote one of his most famous poems, and who knows, we may have a poem written about The Arabian Horse yet as one of the groups who meet here are the Aberford Authors.

“We want this to be a traditional community pub, where people come, meet and get to know each other, with a roaring fire on at this time of year. We only got in just over a month ago and it has been full-on getting it open. In February we’re going to add informal dining, we’re not going down the restaurant route because this is primarily a village pub and sometimes if you go the dining route locals can often get shooed away in a corner. We want the villagers to want to come here.

“We just want to provide something that’s a bite to eat, but with the right service and we hope to do carvery on a Sunday. The proximity of the kitchen and back room lend themselves to that.

Having been shut for such a long period and having no other regularly open public facilities other than the well-frequented and volunteer-run Village Hall Community Café on Fridays, there had been concern among villagers over the pub’s future.

Aberford & District Parish Council had successfully bid for The Arabian Horse to be registered as an Asset of Community Value, which would have allowed the right for the local community to bid for the land and facilities should that opportunity have arisen, and which perhaps would have led it to being a community-owned pub.

Gemma is happy to set the village’s mind at rest on that score.

“The village has got its pub back and Mark and I want it to work. We are already loving it. We are community people, this may not be community-owned, but we are very much community spirited.