Pubs past and present around Brighouse

The Punch Bowl Hotel.

The Punch Bowl Hotel (1813) formally called ‘The Bailiff Bridge Inn’ this large imposing building stands in the heart of the village on the corner of Wakefield Road as it Joins Bradford Road and used to be the focal point of the village with many old photos showing the locals standing outside the pub watching the trams go by. Many workers used to call at the pub for a drink before making their way home after a hard day’s work in the mill.

The Punch Bowl as it was locally known and not many people referred to the Hotel part of the name, originally the Punch Bowl had a large yard at the rear with covered stables to rest the horses and keep them fed and watered on their way to Huddersfield or Bradford while their owners were fed and watered inside the pub before carrying on with their journey many taking loads of products from mills to local towns and markets, long distance travellers could rest themselves and their horses overnight.

Later years saw the removal of the stables for a car park (although you can still see the white washed walls were the stables were), the upstairs were also converted to a function room where many workers from the mills would often hold their wedding reception or parties here. With the closing of Firth’s and other mills in the village, the pub customers were looking towards the more modern and upmarket eating and drinking places along with peoples changing attitudes to go further afield for a night out made the Punch Bowl struggled for many years before finally closing its doors for the last time in 2010, although the pub is no longer a pub the building still stands and is presently used as a Pest Control Training Centre and the Companies office.