The Mallard at Moorthorpe Station: Yorkshire real ale pub on railway platform re-opens after weeks of water supply problems

Jolly Boys Brewery, which is known for its taprooms in Wakefield and Barnsley, only opened The Mallard in a former cafe unit at Moorthorpe Station in May, after the building had been vacant for several years.

Yet by June the owners were having to close regularly due to low water pressure in their toilets and sinks, and on July 2 announced they would shut until the issues were resolved.

Although Yorkshire Water were initially blamed, after a site inspection the fault turned out to be with internal plumbing maintained by the landowners, Network Rail, who have declined to comment.

The Mallard re-opened on Friday at 2pm after remedial work was completed following assistance from South Kirkby and Moorthorpe Town Council, who restored the station buildings in 2012.

Jolly Boys Brewery said: “We are so happy to report that we will be open on Friday. To celebrate our return, we will have some live music on Saturday. Details to follow.

“A very big thank you for all your messages of support, solidarity, and advice. Apologies for not replying to every message but we’re sure you’ll understand. Please help us out by calling in if you can this weekend. It’ll be lovely to see you.”

Yorkshire Water added: “We’ve been supporting The Mallard with its water supply issue. We’ve renewed private pipework to the building and are confident water is being supplied the property. We have advised them to contact the building owners or a plumber to investigate any problems with the internal pipework.”

Moorthorpe Station, on the Wakefield Line, has been unstaffed since the 1980s and in the 1990s the main building was converted into a pub. However, the site later became derelict and was described as a ‘disgusting mess’ and prone to vandalism before the town council secured funding to restore the buildings and open office space and a community cafe.