Pub of the week: Stubbers Arms, Huddersfield

IF you are in a hurry and just fancy a quick pint, the Slubbers Arms in Huddersfield is definitely not the pub for you. This is a place to take your time and relax in – more a case of slumbers than slubbers. Even long-time regulars find they have yet to exhaust its many historical treasures, including an impressive collection of ancient beer bottles, antique brass fire extinguishers and photographs of bygone Huddersfield.

And don’t think you will be the first to comment on a certain museum-type feel to the place – it’s been said before. The sense of history is marked on almost every wall though these days, though, sadly, much of the memorabilia has been whittled away.

But at least the old Slubbers cistern is still proudly on display in the main bar inscribed “In memory of the Slubbers’ Loos 1952-1992”, while clocking in cards on one wall betrays the pub’s historic textile associations.

Slubbers refers to the traditional skill of slubbing, the drawing out and twisting of fibre in preparation for spinning.

Patience is a necessity when visiting this popular pub with its cramped bar serving area, especially on match days when Huddersfield Town are at home just a few minutes walk away.

Pub traditionalists will enjoy the flagstone floors, warm glow of a real fire, low, nicotine-stained ceilings and proper snugs.

New owner John Brogan has been involved in the pub trade for more than four decades.

He and his wife Kathleen were quick to pounce when the pub at the junction of Halifax Old Road and Willow Lane, Hillhouse, was put up for sale by brewer Timothy Taylor with a £195,000 price tag.

THE VERDICT

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