A 17TH Century pub which has undergone extensive renovation has opened to the public selling real ales brewed on site.

The Rose & Crown, in Westgate, Cleckheaton, has been taken over by Andy Gascoigne who set up Haworth Steam Brewery in 2011.

He spotted the Cleckheaton site and saw the opportunity to turn a building at the back into the firm's brewery.

Work to create the microbrewery and move the operations there took precedence and he now brews around 200 gallons of beer at the premises.

Then around 18 months ago Mr Gascoigne, a former professional rugby player and builder, began renovating the pub in what became a labour of love.

After months of hard work the pub opened last week serving real ale from Yorkshire micro-brewers and the Haworth Steam Brewery ales too - including a new Whitechapel brew marking the Cleckheaton move.

Mr Gascoigne said: "The opening went really well and we've been really busy. People seem to like what we have done with the place.

"There was a massive amount of anticipation before we opened, so when we did there were so many people through the doors.

"We've also had a lot of positive comments and people saying there isn't another pub like this in Cleckheaton."

He added that the work at the pub had turned the clock back 200 years, giving it a traditional feel with flagged floors. He has also added some old photographs to the walls, including some of him in his rugby-playing days.

Once things have settled down, they hope to start serving food at lunchtime too.

Mr Gascoigne had intended to open the pub earlier this year, but fue to a "few last minute details" and staff holidays the opening was delayed to late September.

A statement on the firm’s website said at the time: “We will be opening serving great beer, great home cooked food from a KOPA grill, and of course with the same family welcome you have become used to in Haworth.”

Paul Dixey, secretary of the Heavy Woollen CAMRA branch, said of the new-look pub: "What they have done with it is beautiful. They have taken a lot of time and trouble to get it just right. They have six hand pulls for beer and one for cider.

"It's a bit different to anything else in the town, but its good to have different types of pubs in Cleckheaton, so there is something to satisfy everyone's tastes."