The Scabby Taps or the Scarborough Hotel
The Scarborough Hotel was called a “salubrious gastropub” by the Guardian, and the Guardian should know better!
Its eight decadent pies are a long cry from the 1970s, when it was Leeds City Center’s top football bar for the first
part of the decade and a packet of cheese and onion was a unique culinary treat.
The Scabby Taps would be packed to the rafters by hundreds of young people wearing butcher jackets, sheepskins,
Docs, and denim and white skinners. It was a pub meet-and-greet. Unaware that their path would pass Leeds
United’s most infamous supporters, opposition supporters would arrive at Leeds Train Station on their football
specials.
The pursuit would begin when supporters spilt out onto the pavement outside to warn those inside that the opponent
had arrived. In vain, the cops would attempt to barricade the door, but the weight of irate humanity would prevail.
With their battle cries terrified by the Dark Arches, a phalanx of Leeds supporters would chase after them, eventually
fading away as they arrived at the Dragonara Hotel to engage the escaping fans.
With the exception of the few typical Yorkshiremen who had just purchased a round, the Taps would be dead silent,
like a station after a train has left.
It served as a gathering spot for Leeds fans from all around the United Kingdom as well as those who had travelled to
Leeds. It was not uncommon to witness Glasgow Leeds supporters being misinterpreted by Lincoln, Derby and
Nottingham Leeds supporters mingling with their ‘uh up me ducks’ or Cockney Whites discussing investments with
Harehills boys.
In the post-war diaspora, many people had left Leeds or their families had, but Leeds United was the one thing that
brought people back to Yorkshire. Leeds supporters were notorious by the middle of the 1970s as well, and they were
always the toughest student in any school or college. They were dazzling with their YRA and Gelderd End badges and
covered in silk scarves.
Cockney Reds arriving the night before a game expecting the run of the city but were surprised that Harehills and
Seacroft lads had been tipped off and the Taps emptied on their arrival.
The Landlord, Jack Senior, didn’t seem to be interested in the age restrictions. It was all money to him. He would
claim to anybody that would listen, and there weren’t many, that there was a phantom in one of the rooms upstairs.
Many supporters drifted away in the latter part of the 70s to nearby pubs and by the time punk was in full swing it
was regarded as an NF (National Front) pub.
Although known colloquially as the Scabby Taps or the Taps, it is correctly called the Scarborough Hotel and was run
by the Scarborough family from 1823 to 1847. An advert from 1884 extols the harmonica evenings and the aptly
named Pablo the Magician once performed there too. You could water and stable your horses at the Hotel, but
despite Leeds green credentials it is a facility little called for now.
It had a wild reputation even in the 19th century, and because they maintained a “better house,” landladies, in an
unprecedented move, ran it from 1875 to 1920.
From the 1930s through the 1950s, it was a part of the Leeds jazz scene, housing the renowned Bob Barkley’s Jazz
Band, which was based in Leeds and featured the tuba player of the same name.
The Scabby Taps has long drawn football fans because to its close proximity to the train station, though it has grown
more genteel over time. These days, it occasionally just serves as a venue for opposition “firms,” such as the
notorious ICF, to have their “lunch” across the street at Dinos.
In 2003 the ever-youthful Toby Flint became the landlord. Toby must have been 12 when he took on the pub. The
pub is now part of the Nicholson chain, and has moved decidedly up market, but so have football fans. At the side by
the gents’ toilets, you will find the Mavericks congregating. A fiercely independent group of supporters that have
travelled for years to virtually every game, home, away and in Europe.
On the other side a collection of supporters who at the core sit in the North East Lower, once affectionately called by
a senior steward at Elland Road as the ‘naughty boys corner’.
In the middle , supporters four deep struggle to catch the eye of the bar staff mixing with the occasional scantily
dressed hen party with the chief bridesmaid looking bemused that her carefully researched Trip Adviser descriptive
of a traditional pub with ‘great ambience and character’ had seemingly metamorphized into a bacchanalian party.
Despite the fact that it is now referred to as a “gastro,” not much food is eaten on match days. There isn’t time or
room because the tables are filled and the pumps are constantly serving one of the several draft beers. Despite the
staff’s efficiency, the queue can get so long that even football fans have been observed purchasing a ‘good bottle of
red’ to continue having friendly conversations. This could be a reflection of one of the challenges of ageing, which is a
weak bladder.
In spite of this upmarket image, it will still be visited by the match constabulary who with a cursory glance withdraw,
as inconspicuously as they can in near riot gear, disappointed that a free sweet potato and goats cheese pie has not
been passed in their direction.
The Taps adopts a different character on days when they don’t play and top Leeds pubs on Trip Advisor, but that’s an
other tale. Customers are then given time to contemplate the ceramic tiling, and the Scabby Taps transforms into the
Scarborough Hotel, gaining a refined and architectural appearance.
Leeds fans who arrive at the Station should stop at this classic football pub, which is located down “the steps” or “the
turret,” to reflect on the past and perhaps speak with individuals who “were there, back in the day.”
Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply