The Gardener’s Rest on Neepsend Lane has been voted Pub of The Year for Sheffield North by the Sheffield & District branch of CAMRA. This is the third time this friendly well-run community-owned pub has won the award and in 2019 they were also Sheffield & District CAMRA’s overall Pub of The Year.
The pub has been through many changes in the last couple of decades. After extensive flood damage in 2007, the pub finally reopened in 2009, and steadily built back it’s reputation and customer base under the guidance of previous owner Eddy Munnelly, who sadly died earlier this year. A tribute to Eddy appears on the News page of the Sheffield CAMRA website.
A turning point in the Gardeners’ history came when Eddy decided to retire in 2016. Keen to keep the pub in all its glory, a group of regulars formed the Gardeners Rest Community Society and took over the running of it. A subsequent share issue saw nearly 400 investors raise enough money to buy the pub outright in 2017. As they say – “more than a pub, a community hub”.
8 handpulls on the bar serve a regularly changing line up of great real ales, as well as real ciders, often from small independent breweries and producers.
Regular live music has been a feature of the pub for some time, featuring local musicians as well as drop-in sessions for anyone who wants to join in. There are also occasional art exhibitions in the main bar; frequent beer festivals; a bar billiards table in the snug; and possibly the quirkiest beer garden in Sheffield.
We will be presenting the award on Tuesday 20th June at 9pm. Everyone is welcome to join us to celebrate and the pub has kindly agreed to provide sandwiches!