Author: Dave Pickersgill

A disused Sheffield city centre pub is set to be re-opened as a live arts and community media centre following acquisition for Sheffield Live!, the city’s community radio and television operation. The neighbourhood is undergoing major renovation including plans for a new urban park to open next year.

The plan is for the former Tap and Barrel, (42 Waingate S3 8LB), to be renovated to accommodate radio, TV and podcasting studios, a public cafe and bar, and performance space for local artists and promoters. Sheffield Community Media, which hosts Sheffield Live! radio and TV, has purchased the former public house with the support of social investment lender, The Key Fund. It plans to raise further investment from a community shares issue to refurbish the bar and performance spaces.

Steve Buckley of Sheffield Community Media said: “Acquisition meets our long held ambition to find a space for live performance, community arts and social enterprise that can integrate with our broadcast media facilities. We are inviting people to get involved and we welcome expressions of interest in use of the space and contributing to the project.”

Sangita Basudev, co-founder of Sheffield Live! said: “We are excited to be moving to this iconic location, on the site of Sheffield’s former castle and opposite Lady’s Bridge, the first bridge across the River Don. With Castlegate now part of the city centre conservation area we look forward to developing our role in promoting local heritage and connecting communities.”

Sheffield Community Media has benefitted from support with concept design from the University of Sheffield School of Architecture and has been assisted by Co-ops UK in developing the investment model. It looks to build on these and other partnerships as the project progresses.

The pub has had several previous names: Boulogne Mouth, Bull and Mouth, Boulogne, Tap and Spile. Opened in 1790, it is believed that the original name was a reference to the town and harbour of Boulogne which was besieged by Henry VIII in 1544–1546. Over time, the name became the Bull and Mouth.

In March 1854 it was acquired by Sheffield brewery, Thomas Marrian & Co. Ltd. It was rebuilt in 1914, as the brewery tap for local brewery Duncan Gilmours. Plans show a multi-roomed pub with a Central Bar. The building retains a Gilmours doorstep and has the name, ‘Bull and Mouth,’ in the mosaic floor of the vestibule adjacent to Waingate. 1973 saw an opening out of the pub: the servery was moved to the right side, with the Hall, Public Bar and Smoke Room becoming a large Lounge. The Concert Room remains at the rear of the pub. The pub was refurbished in the early 1980s and again in 2015. It was renamed the Tap & Spile in early 1992. The Tap & Spile brand was launched in the mid 1980s by Allied Lyons (later Allied Domecq) as a traditional-style concept, focusing on cask ales. Interiors often had bare floorboards, sawdust on the floor and wooden benches. The pub became the Tap & Barrel in 1998, closing on 4 July 2023.

In early May, employee-owned Abbeydale, the oldest brewery in Sheffield, opened Abbeydale Beerworks, their long-awaited tap, a mere 200 paces from the brewery. Using the same space as the ex-Turners Bottle & Tap (Abbeydale Road, S7 1FL), covered outside seating leads you into a cosy space. The bar is on your left, with seating on the right and to the rear. Decor includes brewery-inspired imagery on the walls and a selection of trinkets, many obtained locally or from the brewery.

Beer-wise, there are four cask beers from Abbeydale and six keg selections. Opening night saw the permanent cask, Moonshine, joined by Black Mass, Daily Bread and Through the Hopback Cascade.

On preview evening, the first award presentation at this new venue was made – no doubt, the first of many. The certificate, for a finalist in the Barley Wines & Strong Ales category in the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain Award 2026 was for one of the Abbeydale core beers: Black Mass.

This was first brewed almost 30 years ago, on 6 November 1996. The 26th brew from the then new brewery was developed from a beer which the co-founder of Abbeydale, Pat Morton, had previously brewed: Kelham Island Brewery Bête Noire, a 5.5% stout.

Over time, the recipe for Black Mass has evolved. The first brew was single hopped with Cascade, and had oats and mixed cereals in the grist. The malt bill remains complex, currently featuring crystal malt, both chocolate and pale chocolate malts, black malt, and roasted barley.

Some say Black Mass is a stout, others say it’s a well-hopped dark beer: suffice to say Black Mass was one the first black IPAs. It has an IBU of over 150. IBU (International Bitterness Units) is a measure of the bitterness of beer based on the amount of bittering compounds from hops, the iso-alpha acids. The scale typically ranges from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating a more bitter taste. For example, a Pilsner would be 15-30 and a West Coast IPA would be 50-70. With an IBU of over 150, there are a lot of hops in Black Mass: Columbus, Cascade, and Green Bullet. Rich and smooth on the palate, with flavours reminiscent of bitter chocolate, fruitcake and raisins, and aromas of coffee, dark chocolate, and just a hint of burnt toast: it’s classic and familiar yet also unique and boundary defying.

It is also the only beer listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide with an ABV to two decimal places: 6.66%.

Black Mass is one of Abbeydale’s many multi-award winning beers. It also recently won a major Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) award: Gold in the Bottle/Can Speciality IPA category at their flagship BeerX UK event in Liverpool, the Indie Beer Awards 2026. This is an indication of it’s quality, and yet another acknowledgment of the outstanding beers produced by Team Abbeydale. We wish them well with Abbeydale Beerworks.