Owner John Mitchell writes about the history of his family business
You could say beer runs through my veins and a drop of wine! I have been retailing and wholesaling in Sheffield for over 50 years. It all started when my dad Dennis opened his Butchers shop at Meadowhead in 1935, in 1963 we became licensed which saw me leave Jordanthorpe school in 1967 to join the Off-Licence / Beer-off.
My dad was born at the Wagon & Horses in Millhouses in 1917 which was part of The Sheffield Free Brewery. My Grandfather Harry Mitchell went on to run the George IV on Infirmary Road after the Wagon & Horses. In the 1920’s this was a very busy public house selling over 60 hogsheads a week, these quenched the thirst of all the Kelvin & St Phillips hard working steel workers. He was also there during the infamous Sheffield gang wars between the Mooney and Park Hill gangs. The family also ran The Rising Sun on Nethergreen, The Peacock at Baslow which is now the Cavedish Hotel and the Middlewood Tavern which is now sadly derelict.
Other members of the family were also in the trade, notably Henry Sampson who not only played cricket for England but also ran the Adelphi which was knocked down in 1970 to build the Crucible Theatre. The Adelphi was a stones house and he was landlord when Sheffield Wednesday were founded there in 1867 and Yorkshire Cricket in 1863
William Brightmore Mitchell married Louise Hodgson in 1834, her father John Hodgson built the Bell Hag on Manchester Road, this used to be known as the Hodgsons Folly. Going back as far as 1695 Joseph Mitchell my 5th Great Grandfather had the Yorkshire Bridge at Calver.
Last but not least another Joseph Mitchell 1727-1788 married Mary Bolsover in 1760, her father was the inventor of the Sheffield Plate.
Well me I kept the Old Sidings with my Brother in law Phil and my late wife Diana in the 80’s, it is now the Dronfield Arms. I also had Trippets Wine & Champagne Bar on Trippet Lane in Sheffield 2007-2011 which was formally The Red Lion and was used a mortuary in the great Sheffield flood.
So when the restaurant we rented out vacated last December, we saw opportunity and decided to open a Micro-brewery. The brewery is a 5 barrel plant which give scope to brew enough bottles for our shop Mitchells and sell the rest in cask to some of the great Sheffield pubs I have come to know and enjoy a pint in.
Cheers, John
My dad was born at the Wagon & Horses in Millhouses in 1917 which was part of The Sheffield Free Brewery. My Grandfather Harry Mitchell went on to run the George IV on Infirmary Road after the Wagon & Horses. In the 1920’s this was a very busy public house selling over 60 hogsheads a week, these quenched the thirst of all the Kelvin & St Phillips hard working steel workers. He was also there during the infamous Sheffield gang wars between the Mooney and Park Hill gangs. The family also ran The Rising Sun on Nethergreen, The Peacock at Baslow which is now the Cavedish Hotel and the Middlewood Tavern which is now sadly derelict.
Other members of the family were also in the trade, notably Henry Sampson who not only played cricket for England but also ran the Adelphi which was knocked down in 1970 to build the Crucible Theatre. The Adelphi was a stones house and he was landlord when Sheffield Wednesday were founded there in 1867 and Yorkshire Cricket in 1863
William Brightmore Mitchell married Louise Hodgson in 1834, her father John Hodgson built the Bell Hag on Manchester Road, this used to be known as the Hodgsons Folly. Going back as far as 1695 Joseph Mitchell my 5th Great Grandfather had the Yorkshire Bridge at Calver.
Last but not least another Joseph Mitchell 1727-1788 married Mary Bolsover in 1760, her father was the inventor of the Sheffield Plate.
Well me I kept the Old Sidings with my Brother in law Phil and my late wife Diana in the 80’s, it is now the Dronfield Arms. I also had Trippets Wine & Champagne Bar on Trippet Lane in Sheffield 2007-2011 which was formally The Red Lion and was used a mortuary in the great Sheffield flood.
So when the restaurant we rented out vacated last December, we saw opportunity and decided to open a Micro-brewery. The brewery is a 5 barrel plant which give scope to brew enough bottles for our shop Mitchells and sell the rest in cask to some of the great Sheffield pubs I have come to know and enjoy a pint in.
Cheers, John