The pub our members have voted for as Pub of the Month for July is Shakespeares, on Gibraltar Street in the north of the city centre.
The building began its life in 1821 as a coaching inn, and retains much of its original layout. There is a central bar with several rooms surrounding it, the newest of which is the converted driveway to the right of the building, now a long room with seating. To the rear is a courtyard paved with stone ‘setts’, and the original stable area provides some undercover seating. Upstairs is a games room and a larger room used for events. Shakespeares is on CAMRA’s local inventory of historic pub interiors.
Shakespeares closed in 2010 and was reopened by its current owner, William Wagstaff, in 2011 following a refurbishment. It made quite an impression on the local pub scene as in 2012 it was awarded Sheffield & District CAMRA’s Pub of the Year award.
The bar always serves Abbeydale’s Deception – rebadged as ‘Dave’s Deception’ after a regular – and around 6 guest ales from around the UK, always in a range of styles. They also always have a wide range of up to nine craft keg lines, alongside ciders, bottled beer, mead and wines and spirits. Since its opening in 2011, Shakespeares has kept track of the number of beers it has served, and as of the time of writing they’ve sold 8830 different cask beers, and 2670 kegs.
The larger upstairs room is regularly host to events, primarily music, and the pub often holds beer festivals. All events are advertised on a board outside the pub and also on social media. At this year’s Sheffield Beer Week the pub brewed a large number of beers in collaboration with local brewers, resulting in their own tap takeover.
Join us on Tuesday 14 July for a drink from 8pm where we’ll present them with their well-earned award (presentation is around 9pm).