Great number right inside city pub? (8)
I believe the answer is:
hostelry
'pub?' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'great number right inside city' is the wordplay.
'great number' becomes 'host'.
'right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'inside' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'city' becomes 'ely' (I've seen this before).
'r' inserted into 'ely' is 'elry'.
'host'+'elry'='HOSTELRY'
(Other definitions for hostelry that I've seen before include "Old name for inn" , "Inn - tavern" , "Old word for an inn" , "Inn, pub" , "Holy rest (anag.)" .)