
Following a £1m interior renovation, the Fargate opened on 22nd October 2025. The venue brings together the storied elegance of a large former bank with a carefully designed pub interior (SCC planning application: 24/02165/FUL). Located in the Sheffield City Centre Conservation Area, this new pub is part of the regeneration of Fargate: the road was pedestrianised back in 1973, revitalisation commencing in 2022.

On the ground floor (2680 ft.2), brass accents, chandeliers, curated artwork, dark polished wood, elegant leather seating and herringbone floors create the impression of a bar that could have been built in Victorian times. This level also features screened booths, a snug, banquette seating, and full-height glazing to the front, offering a light and inviting space. The striking horseshoe bar serves ten cask beers and sixteen keg lines. The cask offering tends to be six from the extensive, and well-regarded, Thornbridge range complimented by four interesting guest beers.

The original spiral staircase leads to the first floor (2017 ft.2). Here, a pizza kitchen with an Italian corner oven, is visible through glazed screens. The design combines reclaimed timber walls, decorated ceilings, and original architectural details to create a bright contemporary setting. Now used for storage, the basement includes the original strong rooms.
Branded, ‘Thornbridge & Co,’ the two-storey pub is a joint venture from Peak District-based Thornbridge Brewery and York-based importer and distributor, Pivovar. The other pubs in the chain are:
- Banker’s Cat: Leeds (opened 2019)
- Colmore: Birmingham (2019)
- Market Cat: York (2018)
- Wild Swan: City of London (expected to open in Spring 2026)
In the 1880s, the directors of the Yorkshire Penny Bank (previously the West Riding of Yorkshire Penny Savings Bank) bought the land to erect a new bank. Leeds-based architects Henry Perkin and George Bertram Bulmer took on the task. The corner stones were laid on 18th January 1888 by builders Armitage and Hodgson of Leeds and the building was officially opened by the president of the bank, Lord Lascelles, on 25th July 1889. It is late-Gothic design, with five-storeys and a long curved Holmfirth stone front.

The Bank occupied two floors. The basement contained the strong-room: ground level was the large banking hall, fitted out in polished wainscot oak with a mosaic-tiled floor.
The upper floors became a restaurant and high quality hotel. It was initially leased by Sheffield Café Company, formed in 1877 as part of a growing movement of temperance houses: their Albany Hotel opened in September with electric light throughout, a restaurant, billiard room, coffee and smoking rooms, private dining rooms and 40 bedrooms. By the 1920s, the Company was struggling financially, ceasing trading in 1922. Their assets were bought by Sheffield Refreshment Houses, who operated the hotel until closure in 1958.

In its centenary year, 1959, the Yorkshire Penny Bank became the Yorkshire Bank Ltd. The ex-hotel was converted into offices: Yorkshire Bank Chambers. The bank closed in August 2020. The external appearance remains relatively unchanged, with carved winged lions, medieval figures, shields and gargoyles on the outside of the building. Gabled dormers, lofty chimneys and a crenelated parapet were sacrificed during the 1960s.
As for the pub, following a pre-Christmas visit, respected beer bloggers Boak & Bailey stated: ‘the quality of the service, and the presentation of the staff, was impeccable. Despite the scrum at the bar we were served within seconds by a calm, polite, smartly-dressed young man. He was one of many people gliding about behind the counter and we got the sense that our expensive pints were covering the cost of proper levels of staffing for the season.’

I totally agree with their comments: the Fargate is not a cheap pub, but, as always, you get what you pay for. It’s also a welcome addition to local beer attractions.

The pub is located on the corner of Fargate and Surrey Street, Sheffield City Centre, S1 1LL. The nearest tram stop is Cathedral and there are numerous bus routes close by on High Street and Arundel Gate along with the free City Centre Connect bus SC1 on Leopold Street.



























































