01/11/2026
Of all the things you'd expect to survive 125 years, a pub napkin probably isn't one of them.
We reckon it dates back to sometime between 1893 and 1899, when Whitelock's was known as the First City Luncheon Bar.
Back in 1893, William Henry Whitelock renamed the pub, and a couple of years later he was advertising in the local papers to encourage Leeds' businesspeople through the doors.
It was an exciting time, we'd recently introduced electric lighting and even electric bells for customers to call for service (although apparently these didn't last long, much to the relief of the staff).
And by the end of 1899, the pub was being referred to as Whitelock's Luncheon Bar. Making this a rather lovely little piece of history.
