A city centre pub with a village feel

These words, on the website WhatPub, perfectly describe The Lord Clyde, a traditional inn at the bottom of Thornton Road - our T&A Pub of the Week.

“We’ve got locals who have been drinking here for more than 50 years,” says landlady Julie Yeadon. “It’s a good old-fashioned pub with a real community feel.”

Appropriately for a pub on the junction of Tetley Street, the pub serves Tetley on hand pull as a permanent ale.

“We always have a blonde too,” says Julie, who has been at the helm of the real ale pub for two decades.

Kirkby Lonsdale’s Tiffin Gold goes down a treat with customers. “And we have two or three others - at present we’ve got black stout, Barnsley Bitter and a stronger blonde called Conversion.”

Other popular drinks include Jaegermeister, sambuca and Tequila. “We get a lot of students coming in who like shots and the bottled ales like Desperados, Sol Budweiser and Beck’s.”

The Lord Clyde sits close to the University of Bradford “This is their local,” says Julie. “The students have a club called ABC - Ale, Beer and Cider which does a pub crawl every fortnight, starting here and finishing at North Parade. We make them feel very welcome.”

A pool table, dart board and dominoes add to the appeal of the pub to people of all ages. “Everyone loves the games, and we have karaoke on the first and last Saturdays of the month which is a good laugh,” says Julie, who runs the pub with daughter Marlie.

With Sky Sports and BT Sport, the pub is great spot to catch a match, be it football, rugby or cricket.

And being not far from Valley Parade, Bradford City’s home games always see a healthy crowd. “We make free sandwiches for customers when there is a game, which go down really well. There’s always a great atmosphere,” says Julie.

Within sight of the landmark dome of the former Odeon cinema, Julie is excited about the opening of the venue Bradford Live at the venue, which will bring in even more punters.

The Lord Clyde is named after Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, a British Army officer born in 1792, who was a key figure in the 19th century Opium wars and became a hero of the Indian mutiny. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.

The dog-friendly inn - “there’s always a drink and biscuits for dogs” - has a large patch of land to the rear which is being developed into a beer garden, opening in around six months time.

“We will have tables and canopies where people can sit in the shade if they want to, and an outside TV - it will be lovely,” says Julie.

Inside, the pub had a revamp three years ago.

Music nights and Live bands occasionally provide added entertainment.

Mum and daughter work well together. “We are chalk and cheese but we complement each other. We both love working front of house and meeting people,” says Julie.

People still come in who have only just discovered the Lord Clyde after years living in Bradford. “We have been here for a long time, yet they say they didn’t know about us - and then they come back, which is really nice.”

*The Lord Clyde, 86 Thornton Rd, Bradford BD1 2DG