AN Otley pub with a rich history will feature in the Hairy Bikers' new television series.

The Black Bull, in Market Square, will appear in the very first episode of The Pubs That Built Britain on BBC 2 at 6.30pm on Monday.

Hairy Bikers Si King and Dave Myers interviewed staff and customers at the inn, along with members of Otley Pub Club, during filming last year.

The show turns the spotlight on inns that have fascinating historical tales to tell, and the Black Bull has a cracker.

The pub is believed to have been drunk dry by Cromwell’s Roundheads on the eve of the battle of Marston Moor in 1644, during the English Civil War.

To celebrate its imminent TV appearance, the Pub Club arranged for the Black Bull to be 'taken over' by Roundheads once again – this time in a re-enactment courtesy of the Roundhead Association. Members of the association travelled to Otley for the occasion, at the invitation of Pub Club secretary, Bob Brook, who organised the event.

Club chairman, Andy FitzGerald, said: "Otley’s pubs are part of the town’s history and play an important part in the social, as well as the economic, life of the town.

"It is important to value their historic associations and it’s great that, once again, Otley is gaining national recognition and being featured on television."

The new TV series also shows Dave Myers taking a lesson in battlefield fighting, while Si hears stories about Ripley Castle's famous Lady, Trooper Jane.

And while in York, the Hairy Bikers uncover the gruesome history of a pub that once doubled-up as a hospital.

lWhat do you think? We welcome letters on this or any other subject. E-mail richard.parker@nqyne.co.uk or write to the Content Editor, Ilkley Gazette and Wharfedale Observer, 38 High Street, Skipton BD23 1JU. Please include your full name, address and daytime telephone number.