Old Peacock

The Old Peacock is a historic public house on Elland Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, standing directly opposite Leeds United's Elland Road stadium. A pub has occupied the same site since 1826, when it opened as the Peacock Inn; it adopted the name Old Peacock in 1842 to distinguish itself from the New Peacock that had appeared further down Elland Road. For its early decades it served the local community and workers from nearby clay mining and brickworks, before the land across the road was flattened by Bentleys Brewery in 1878 to create a company sports ground known as the Old Peacock Ground. That ground evolved through rugby league and early football into the home of Leeds United, binding the pub's identity to the football club. Today the Old Peacock is operated by Ossett Brewery, which presents it as an iconic pub with a unique history and location. It offers traditional and inclusive hospitality with a contemporary twist, opening seven days a week. Facilities include a large, comfortable bar area, an extensive family beer garden, large-screen sports televisions throughout, and a large marquee for special events. The drinks range features a variety of Ossett Brewery real ales alongside other big-name beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks, and food is served as well. The pub's strongest commercial identity is as a matchday destination for Leeds United supporters. It has a long history of welcoming fans before and after matches, a routine that has become part of the cherished matchday experience for thousands of supporters. Its location opposite the stadium, combined with its documented history, makes it one of the most distinctive and celebrated pubs in Leeds.

A pub called The Old Peacock has stood on the same site on Elland Road since 1826, although at first it was called The Peacock Inn. The pub did not need to differentiate itself until 1842, when the New Peacock appeared further down Elland Road towards the area then called Islington. At that time the Old Peacock was a regular pub serving the local community and workers from nearby industries, mainly clay mining and brickworks. There was no football ground across the road to bring weekly trade, only a barren patch of uncultivated empty space. Bentleys Brewery were the major brewers in Leeds at the time, and by 1878 they owned the pub and had flattened land over the road to produce a company sports ground. Naturally they called it the Old Peacock Ground, and a genetic relationship between the pub and that patch of land had begun. The sports ground was originally used privately by Bentleys Brewery, but evolved to host rugby league initially when Holbeck Rugby Club took on the lease in 1897 and started to develop the ground with terracing. Football took over when the rugby club folded and Leeds City was formed in 1904. This was replaced by Leeds United in 1919. Life since then, for the pub and the surrounding area, has never been the same. Gradually the Old Peacock became part of the fabric of the football club and a monument to matchday rituals for generations of football fans. In football's post-war heyday of the 1950s and 60s, crowds would flock in. The pub's own history page frames its later decades as a passage from greatness to uncertainty, before its present chapter under Ossett Brewery, which now operates it as an iconic pub with a unique history and location, offering traditional and inclusive hospitality with a contemporary twist.

• 1950

  In football's post-war heyday of the 1950s and 60s, crowds flock to the pub on matchdays.

• 1919

  Leeds United replaces Leeds City, cementing the pub's link to the football club.

• 1904

  Leeds City is formed and football takes over the ground after the rugby club folds.

• 1897

  Holbeck Rugby Club takes the lease of the sports ground and develops terracing.

• 1878

  Bentleys Brewery owns the pub and flattens land opposite to create the Old Peacock Ground.

• 1842

  The pub becomes known as The Old Peacock after the New Peacock appears further down Elland Road.

• 1826

  A pub opens on the Elland Road site as The Peacock Inn.

An iconic, history-rich community and matchday pub opposite Elland Road, offering traditional and inclusive hospitality with a contemporary twist under Ossett Brewery.

• Ossett Brewery Real Ales

• Other big-name beers

• Wines, spirits and soft drinks

• Food and drink served seven days a week

1. 1The Old Peacocktheoldpeacock.co.uk
2. 2The Old Peacock - Historytheoldpeacock.co.uk
3. 3The Old Peacock - Abouttheoldpeacock.co.uk
4. 4Old Peacockwikidata.org