Harrogate's Coach & Horses to stay true to its heritage when it reopens this year

Well-known Harrogate food & drink indie's £250,000 expansion

New owners Provenance Inns, who also own the West Park Hotel, say the aim of the current refurbishment is to retain the popular pub’s traditional feel as well as expand and make a number of improvements at this prime location on West Park.

Chief among these is an emphasis on the food offer with the upstairs area set to be opened for the first time for diners in decades, promising glorious views of the Stray.

Often dubbed the last traditional pub in Harrogate, the North Yorkshire-based owners intend to retain the individual character of the Coach & Horses in a natural way with a low key reopening once the sensitive refurbishment is completed, which could be as early as June.

Talking to the Harrogate Advertiser, Anthony Blundell, the West Park Hotel’s commercial manager, said: “Everyone is eagerly awaiting the reopening of the Coach and no one is more excited than us to get to know some of the previous patrons and, hopefully, some new ones too.

"Rest assured the Coach will be a proper pub for everyone with real ales, tasty home made food and of course our warm Yorkshire welcome.”

With a respected heritage going back to the early 19th century, the Coach & Horses is one of Harrogate’s oldest surviving traditional inns.

So historic is the Coach & Horses, the date of its opening is itself lost in the mists of time.

Some say the pub first welcomed revellers and passing travellers in 1830.

The hostelry makes an appearance in 1840 as part of one of Harrogate’s first published guides.

Such was its popularity in the 19th century, the Coach & Horses at one point could boasts to having seven front doors!

Before it closed in May 2020, the pub was popular for its warm lighting and wood, its pork pie nights and Sunday roasts, its lack of piped music or TV screens, the relaxed buzz and natural atmosphere.

After winning numerous awards in recent years for its portfolio of seven pub/hotels in North Yorkshire, Provenance Inns says it is keen to maintain the pub’s unique status, individual character and proud history in an understated way.

Despite a renewed emphasis on food and the changes involved in the extensive refurbishment, including a revamp of the bar, front door and kitchen area, the new owners say the new-look Coach & Horses will remain a ‘proper pub’ and simply reopen without a fuss.

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