A YORK hostelry has reopened as the city’s latest gay and lesbian pub.

The Yorkshire Hussar, in North Street, has taken on the role after another gay-friendly city centre pub, the Little John in Castlegate, shut down after its landlord’s licence was revoked.

Lenny Harrison, landlord of the Hussar, said he was delighted to provide a new home for York’s gay and lesbian community and pledged the pub would welcome everyone, regardless of their sexuality.

He said: “The Hussar will be lively and fun and we are delighted by the many people already coming through the door of this historic York pub.”

He said every Tuesday from March 13, the Hussar would host a quiz night at 8.30pm to raise funds for York Pride, the city’s annual celebration for York and North Yorkshire’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, while weekend activities included discos, karaoke and drag acts.

Meanwhile, OUTrageous, a gay club night held on Friday nights at Vanity/Blue Fly in New Street, is celebrating its first six months.

With the entrance fee supporting York Pride, OUTrageous DJ Matthew T “fills the floor with a mix of camp disco, club classics and chart dance/R&B and around 200 people party the night away each Friday night,” said a spokesman.

All the takings from the OUTrageous club night on December 2 – £500 – are being donated to North Yorkshire AIDS Action by York Pride.

The Press reported last September how City of York Council had revoked Little John landlord Chris Ransome’s licence after hearing how he had twice been found with cocaine in his flat above the premises, even though he claimed he had only used cocaine personally after suffering from severe depression and said the Little John operated a very strict policy against drugs.

He claimed because he ran a gay-friendly pub, the authorities had treated it differently to other outlets in the city, while pub marshall Lauchlin McCloy described it as “a community, where you can go without being persecuted”. The pub is still closed.