The Cricketers has left the crease

The Cricketers Arms, Keighley closed down on March 12, 2022. © J. Ashley Nixon

The Cricketers

Your innings is over
Scored more than a ton
You outplayed The Globe
And The Wellington

You stayed in longer
Than The Essoldo and Ritz
Entertaining their way
With big screen hits

But time’s been called
On the Coney Lane ground
Tap room’s emptied
With a final round

Last pints have been poured
Your licence turned in
You were bowled out of beer
By business’s spin

Your door’s shut up
The sign is down
The Cricketers has left the crease
In Keighley Town

The Cricketers Arms began its pub life in the 1840s under the name of The Sportsman. Its name was changed in 1872 when Timothy Taylor’s took over the property. After well over a century with the Keighley brewery well-known for its Landlord beer, it was sold off to Worth Inns. On March 12, 2022, this famous watering hole on the Keighley circuit closed its doors, “with great reluctance” for what could be the final time.

There is a glimmer of hope for its rescue. The demolished former mill site immediately surrounding the pub on Coney Lane has been identified as a future “Aire Valley Shopping Centre” with Aldi supermarket anchoring the location.

Retaining the building is said to be a condition of development. Let’s hope that the planning umpires will keep The Cricketers playing for another season.