Whitelock's Ale House, Leeds: History of the oldest pub in the city that had a royal seal of approval in the early 1900s

Whitelock’s Ale House is located on Turk’s Head Yard, a narrow burgage plot off Briggate.

Its building was built in the year 1700 as a row of cottages.

The street of Briggate dates as far back to the 1200s when it was considered the main street in Leeds where tradespeople would sell their wares.

History of Whitelock’s Ale House

The pub first opened in 1715 as the Turk’s Head, an ode to the yard in which Whitelock’s is located.

At that time, the space was used by merchants and market traders and it was particularly busy on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

In 1867, the pub was bought by John Lupton Whitelock, the namesake of the current pub, and in the 1880s he purchased the cottage, which was renamed Whitelock’s First City Luncheon Bar.

His son, William Henry Whitelock, commissioned Wait and Sons to renovate the pub in 1895 and it was extended into the next cottage. At the time, a new kitchen was built, and the whole building was redecorated with a style that continues to exist today.

Part of the refurbishment included installing electric lighting and an electric clock. It was considered the first building in the city to have these additions. It was later further expanded to encompass the rest of the terrace of cottages.

In the early 1900s, the landlord was Lupton Whitelock, a well known flautist, and under his management, the pub grew in popularity with musicians, artists, journalists and academics.

One of the pub’s regulars was John Betjeman, who described it as “the very heart of Leeds” and other regulars included Peter O’Toole, Len Hutton and Keith Waterhouse.

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Another famous guest was Prince George, later Duke of Kent, as it was a favourite rendezvous with stage stars.

He entertained a party in a curtained-off section of the restaurant and the pub received royal approval due to the success of the event.

At the time men were conditioned to wear dinner jackets and, as women were not allowed at the bar, the waiters served drinks where female customers sat.

The pub was sold by the Whitelocks to Scottish Brewers in 1944 and it was listed as a Grade II building in 1963 and is now listed on the Campaign for Real Ale’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors.

The western side of the pub was converted into a separate pub named The Turks Head in 2015.