THE manager of a city centre pub is harking back to years gone by while breathing new life in to the venue.

Donna Bird opened the doors to the Old Greyhound pub on New Street on May 22, around seven months after Charlstons, which occupied the building previously, closed its doors.

Miss Bird said it was important to her to keep a bit of the pub's history, as the venue had previously been called the Greyhound in 1766 and then the Old Greyhound some years later.

"Although you always seem to see pubs closing and you rarely see a pub actually opening its doors, I feel really good about doing this. It's so sad to see so many close," she said.

"When we opened the pub I knew I wanted to keep it more of a traditional pub, so we kept the old name and redecorated the inside. Since we opened we have had so much good feedback from customers who really appreciate us keeping the old name. I run the Blackpole Inn and the Horn and Trumpet, and some of our customers used to actually run the Old Greyhound, so they are really pleased about this."

Miss Bird is the leaseholder of the Old Greyhound, leasing the pub from Marston's Brewery.

"We serve food and the regular drinks that people like," she said.

"We want to keep it traditional but we are a pub for everyone. In a pub you'll get the regulars who come in for a chat, because often they don't have anyone else to talk to. And you will get the tourists, and we expect it to be especially crazy around the time of the Victorian Fair. But we have already been very busy. It's nice to have the support of the locals."

Records show that in 1789, John Ranford, the landlord of the Greyhound, gave up the inn and built himself a new house, the New Greyhound, next door. The old inn continued to trade but took the name the Old Greyhound.

Mick Teague, who has lived in Worcester all his life, said it was nice to see the pub take the old name.

The 80-year-old said: "It's lovely. I had some good times in the Old Greyhound years ago, so it brings back happy memories. It's nice to see the city centre coming back more and more to what it was."

The pub will host regular live music events, and local bands are invited to email theoldgreyhound@mail.com.