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The Market Tavern was situated on George Street. This pub has now been demolished.

Source: Shaun Redman

On January 16, 1995, when The Market Tavern, served its last pint there was a mixture of relief and sadness. The pub had long been known as the "Mad House" and according to some, the "Bucket of Blood" such was the kind of evening, or afternoon, you could expect in there. The Market Tavern stood on the corner of George Street and Harewood Street. Across the road from Kirkgate Market, it was popular with market traders but it was also a haunt of less savoury characters and misfits. David Oluwale, a Nigerian immigrant "hounded to his death" by racist Leeds police, drank at the Market Tavern although according to regulars, he did it alone. The Market Tavern was originally a dwelling but was converted into a pub in 1850. By 1914, when four of five of the photos below were taken, the pub, then run by landlord Job Dixon, was looking worse for wear. When plans were unveiled to demolish the pub, Leeds Civic Trust led a campaign to save it. The plan went ahead and the Tavern was pulled down to make way for an open car park. On its last night, landlords John and Margaret Jackson sold the pub's remaining drinks at cost price. It is now the site of the upmarket Victoria Gate shopping centre. The irony probably isn't lost on some of the Mad House's old customers.

Leedslive, 2022

Anyone visiting the Market for the first time would be unlikely to forget the experience. Known as “the madhouse”, it was basic and not for the faint-hearted. It had a rough reputation, although I suspect its notoriety had been earned in former times. The pub was a Tetley’s house situated at the corner of Harewood Street, opposite Kirkgate Market and was originally a private house, prior to conversion to a pub in 1850. I called there on several occasions in the seventies and remember several small rooms full of character and characters. A single bar served all. The pub attracted a regular cliental, including market traders and I always felt welcome. The key to acceptance was communication and the willingness to laugh and swear with the regulars. The Market closed in January 1995 and was demolished initially to create parking space. The John Lewis Victoria Centre now occupies the site.

David Jameson, Beer Leeds magazine, Spring 2025

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