About twenty years ago my father, Michael Liversidge, produced a book entitled The A-Z of Sheffield Public Houses. The book was well received by the people of Sheffield and sold reasonably well for a small print run, local interest, book. This book is now a collectors item. Albeit disinterested at the time, I have come to notice that the book which included over 600 images and small profiles or simple addresses has seen closures of around 400 of the hostelries that were still serving when my father was a frequent pub-goer.
Using over 100 of his original colour images (the A-Z book was printed in black and white only, so some of these images will be seen in colour for the first time) I have tried to find the exact locations of some of these now demolished drinking establishments to produce a then-and-now format book. Places like the Broughton Inn which was sited where the corner of the Sheffield Motorpoint Arena car park now stands, The Hole in the Wall now literally, itself, a hole in the wall just before the Wicker, The Hare and Hounds Nursery Street where, at the time just before going to press, I took an image of the rubble of the demolished pub with just the letter H of the pub sign still on view. The Beehive in Wadsley is now a Tesco supermarket which the last landlady stated was the very reason for the closure, cheap alcohol. Other now defunct old pubs are being used as businesses, turned into apartments, flats and houses. A prime example is the Haychatter Inn in Bradfield which is now a private dwelling known as Haychatter House. The Furnival on Verdon Street has been re-launched as a religious establishment The Methodist Church of Sheffield.
I hope you are reminded of some of the good times you had in these old Sheffield public houses and hopefully go out and take some photographs yourself of the places that are there one minute and gone the next. Go on, get your cameras out.
The list within the book is in alphabetical order A to L of Sheffield public houses. List M to Y will be in volume two.
Mark Liversidge