Historic Wakefield pub Henry Boons will shut down this weekend

Henry Boons on Westgate was put up for sale earlier this year but it has not been possible to make a deal that would have saved the traditional inn.

The site has hosted a pub for the last 200 years and the final pint will be pulled on Sunday.

Wakefield Pub Company director Paul Garthwaite said: “With much regret we have had to make the decision to cease trading at Henry Boons as of Sunday, July 30.

“After 40 years in the same ownership this was not an easy decision to make but the economic pressures facing both the pub itself and the licensed trade in general, has meant that unfortunately the business has been left with no other option but to come to this sad outcome.

“We have been in receipt of several expressions of interest since marketing commenced earlier this year, both for continued pub use as well as for alternative uses but unfortunately these have not led to any sale being completed at this time.”

The pub was marketed with a guide price of £300,000.

Mr Garthwaite said there was still interest in the property but it would now be used for something other than licenced premises.

Commercial property firm Sanderson Weatherall is handling the sale.

Wakefield Civic Society said the loss of the pub was due to people’s changing habits and hoped the building would not fall into disrepair.

Society president Kevin Trickett said: “We were sorry to learn of the impending closure of Henry Boons.

"This is a public house that goes back a long way in various guises. It was previously known as The Green Dragon although there was a period after the Green Dragon closed and before Henry Boon’s opened when the premises were used for a hardware shop.

"There has been a pub on that site, although not the current building, for over 200 years.

"The closure is, sadly, a sign of the changing times – people’s habits and behaviours are changing, people have less money to spend and have other calls on their time.

"As a civic society, we will be concerned to see what happens next to the building and hope that a new owner can be found quickly as it doesn’t take empty buildings to deteriorate and become a blight on their surroundings.”

The property is situated on the fringe of the Upper Westgate Heritage Action Zone, a partnership between Wakefield Council and Historic England.

The area has received investment in the region of £4m in the regeneration of buildings in the Upper Westgate Conservation Area.

That includes the proposed redevelopment of the old Westgate station site for a commercial scheme including a 120-bed hotel.

HB Clark brewery was established 1905 and Henry Boon Clark was from Hertfordshire.

He began brewing in Kent, staying in the south for most of his life before settling in Yorkshire at the age of 60.

Beer-making ceased on the site in 1960 but started again in 1982.

Barnsley-based JW Boylin Group took over the brewery last July, promising to breathe new life into the site by turning it into a mixed business centre, small units or workshops and office space.