Historic Harrogate district pub handed top rating for levels of hygiene

The Unicorn Hotel was awarded a five-star rating by North Yorkshire Council’s inspectors as part of the Scores on the Doors programme.

Lovingly restored in recent years by J D Wetherspoon, the former coaching inn is the largest building on the Market Place and has featured in many aspects of Ripon’s history since the 17th century.

Manager of The Unicorn Hotel, Jonathan Mahoney, said: “We are delighted that we have gained the top rating and I’m sure our customers will welcome the news too.

“Standards of hygiene at the pub are of paramount importance.

“All of the staff work hard to ensure that the pub offers its customers the highest levels of hygiene at all time and we are delighted that our efforts have been recognised with the five-star rating.”

The Scores on the Doors initiative aims to highlight hygiene standards in pubs, restaurants, take-aways and clubs across the borough.

Inspectors judge outlets on how hygienic and well-managed the food preparation at the premises is and each business is benchmarked against the same criteria namely: hygiene, structural and confidence in management.

Steeped in North Yorkshire history, the earliest known proprietors of the Unicorn date from 1604.

In the 1760s, the Unicorn was famous for a character known as Tom Crudd, also known as Thomas Spence and "Old Boots".

In the 1830s, Conservative candidates would base themselves at the pub at election time.