In Haworth, The Royal Oak, a historic favourite among locals and Brontë Country visitors, has reopened, as of 30 April 2026, following the pub’s 2024 closure.

Now under the ownership of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, it enters a new phase as a community-run pub. Formerly part of Webster’s Brewery, the building later passed into private hands and survived a significant flood before shutting without notice, leaving concerns over its future.

Railway intervention has secured its role at the village’s centre going into the future. Since the Keighley and Worth line reopened in 1968, the pub has been a regular social gathering space for staff, volunteers, and passengers.

Plans include seeing the former upstairs accommodation converted into railway office space, while the ground-floor bar reopens as a volunteer-led local, restoring a historic hub for staff, passengers, and residents alike. 

“Ever since our railway reopened in 1968, The Royal Oak was a favourite watering hole. We were all dismayed when it closed so suddenly.

We see our railway as part of Haworth and the wider Worth Valley community. Reopening The Royal Oak as a community pub is our way of giving something back to the village that has supported us for so long.”

Sam MacDougall, one of the volunteers involved in the reopening.