Now my association with the Hillsborough Hotel goes back a long way. From the heady days of Dell Tilling, when the bar only opened Thursday to Sunday and we packed in to drink Brian Hendry’s excellent Crown HPA and Stannington Stout.
Well since then the Hillsborough has gone through some ups and downs and in recent times more downs, culminating in what looked like the end last October (2015). News of its demise was premature as I received a text from Tom and Brigitte Delaney to turn up as usual for my Tuesday Quiz. Tom who has been involved in a previous management along with his now wife, Brigitte, a former barmaid at the Hotel, had taken over and were re-launching,
There had to be changes, the previous owners had dismantled the brewery, so there was no more of the Wood Street Beers which in the latter days had been of poor quality.
Tom set about trying to regain the Hillsborough’s reputation and started with improving the beer quality. Anyone can slap a handpump on the bar and sell it but to sell it in good condition is an art. Throughput is important but cleanliness is paramount. Tom completely deep cleaned the cellar and lines and looked after his beer from day 1 of re-opening. Now a wise landlord friend of mine had said the secret of good ale was ‘Clean lines and Clean glasses’, this certainly was the rule now. Building up the beer range as the trade increased there are now at least 7 handpulls working selling a variety of LocAle and national ales with two regular beers Tapped Mojo and Acorn Barnsley Bitter both priced competitively at £2.60 a pint.
The quality and consistency is there to be tasted and that is reflected in an increase in punters who can always find a warm welcome coupled with a fine glass of beer.
Tom is also a well respected Chef and the kitchen soon started to turn out good home cooked food using fresh locally sourced produce with wonderful Sunday Lunches.
There is a very popular Quiz run by some Scottish bloke on Tuesday night. Live bands perform regularly on Fridays or Saturdays, usually at least once a month. A Pop Music Quiz on the 2nd Thursday. By popular demand the Folk Music Sessions have returned on the 2nd and 4th Sundays. Other events like the Alternative Burns Night and Gin Tasting have also been hosted.
A Year on it has been great to see the Hillsborough filling up again and getting the ‘buzz’ back. With many of the former great members of staff returning behind the bar and also in the kitchen, making a fantastic spirit to Team Hillsborough
Our current Chair Kate Major said about the Hillsborough in a blog about ‘Bars to Visit in Sheffield’ – ‘The Hillsborough Hotel has gone through some lean times but if anyone can revive the place then it is this couple’
Well done Tom, Brigitte and staff on winning this well deserved award.
Jim McDonald
The award will be presented on the evening of Tuesday 8th November, all are welcome.
Buses 57,81,82,85 pass outside, Langsett Primrose View tram stop is just around the corner.
Now and again our branch members put forward a nomination for a special award outside our usual pub and beer awards to recognise people or businesses that have contributed towards the good pub and beer scene in our area.
The latest of these awards presented (after a little delay!) was to Nigel Williams, who retired from the pub trade as licencee of the Ranmoor Inn. Previously he ran a group of iconic Sheffield pubs including the Three Tuns, White Lion and others under the ‘Just William’ pub company, all of which were successful real ale pubs under his watch. During this time he also headed the Licenced Victuallers Association in our area, an organisation designed to represent the interests of self employed licencees.
Previous to Just William, Nigel has worked for breweries and pub companies as area manager.
Following retirement from the pub trade, Nigel hasn’t simply hung up his handpump and enjoyed well deserved rest, he is now involved with the Sheffield Brewery Company and has been very instrumental in getting their programme of special events going and we caught up with him at their May Beer Club to present the certificate.
This proved easier said than done! The event was incredibly popular, beer club is now on the same time as the Peddlers Night Market across the road which also attracts a crowd to the area and Nigel was helping out behind the bar which was coping with rather a large queue. However we did manage to grab him for a couple of minutes for a photograph of him receiving the certificate from Beer Matters editor Andy Cullen.
Incidentally, if you enjoy Sheffield Brewery beer, we’d reccommend their Beer Club, which takes place the first Friday of the month, featuring their latest monthly special as well as some of their regular beers plus food and live music. You can also meet the brewery team and ask any questions about their beer. Beer Club membership is available to buy, which gets you discounted prices at the bar as well as other benefits, however the event is open to all.
The White Lion has not only been a constant fixture on London Road since 1781, it has been a constant favourite on the Sheffield beer scene, appearing in 28 editions of the Good Beer Guide. Its 28th appearance is in 2017. The architectural history of this one pub alone could fill an entire issue of Beer Matters. It has earned Grade II listing (1999), one of a select group of Tetley’s ‘Heritage Inns’ (1989) and, more recently, recognised by CAMRA as having an interior of outstanding historic interest, appearing in CAMRA’s Yorkshire Pub Heritage publication. For visitors to the White Lion it is the beautiful tiles, seemingly eccentric collection of rooms, and the famous reversed ‘N’ in the stained-glass that make it an endearing and comfortably atmospheric place to enjoy a few ales.
Over the years it must have had dozens of licensees but the current incumbents, Jon and Mandy, have not only been running the White Lion for as little as 18 months, but had never managed a pub before. Their story is a fairy-tale. Long-time customers of the White Lion, Jon and Mandy gave-up their public-sector careers to take on the pub they loved, worried that it was in danger of going into a terminal decline. And what a job they’ve done! As well as four regular ales – Abbeydale Moonshine, Kelham Island Lion’s Main, Tetley Bitter, and Wychwood Hobgoblin – there is always a fascinating (and often unusual) selection of up to seven excellently kept guest ales. The pub also has real cider (Weston’s Old Rosie and one guest), and an impressive selection of malt whisky.
The White Lion is a champion music venue, winning the title of best music pub in Yorkshire and the north-east in 2015. Free live music is a feature nearly every night, apart from Wednesdays when it hosts a popular pub quiz.
And given Jon and Mandy’s story, it is hardly surprising that they have made the White Lion a true community pub. It gives rooms over to clubs, groups and the local community, hosts regular charity events, supports local community events and neighbouring businesses. For all these reasons an unincorporated body, consisting of members of the local community and with the support of CAMRA, has just submitted an application to list the White Lion as an asset of community value (ACV) – fingers-crossed!
We’ll be presenting this much-deserved ‘Pub of the Month’ award on Tuesday 11 October from 8pm onwards, so come along (615 London Road, Heeley (next to Ponsford, at the heart of the Heeley Triangle) – on bus routes 10, 10A, 20, 24, 25, 43, 43A, 44, X17), and enjoy a celebration with some fine ales in one of Sheffield’s most fascinating pubs. Normal opening hours are 4pm to midnight Monday to Thursday, 4pm to 1am on Fridays, noon to 1am on Saturdays, and 2pm to midnight on Sundays.
Richard Short
Three Stags Head, Wardlow Mires
Our District Pub of the Season award is a programme that recognises the good ale pubs in the Derbyshire part of our branch area, some of which is rural parts of the Peak District National Park. Pubs are nominated and voted for by our members who drink in those pubs.
The winner of our inaugural award, which has been voted for over the summer, is the Three Stags Head at Wardlow Mires. Words like legendary and personality are often used and either word could apply to both the pub and landlord here.
Jeff and Pat bought the pub originally when they were looking for premises to conduct their pottery business – which is in stables behind the pub – and ran the pub as something of a sideline, open just at the weekend catering for locals including farm workers, walkers and others in the area.
The draught beer choice consists of 4 handpulled ales from Abbeydale including the special, quite strong, house beer called Black Lurcher, named in memory of the pub dogs that used to be resident in the bar area. These days there are still plenty of dogs and sometimes even a hawk to keep you company.
The beer range and Jeff’s attitude to it once made it into the Sheffield Star newspaper thanks to the sign above the bar that read ‘please do not ask for lager as a smack in the gob often offends’. A range of quality European bottled beers is however available!
The pub is listed in CAMRA’s national inventory of unspoilt historic pubs – it has changed little since the 16th century – featuring two rooms with stone flagged floors, low ceilings and proper open fires.
Home cooked, locally sourced food is available at meal times with game often a speciality – especially if the landlord or one of the regulars has been shooting recently! There are also some excellent jumbo pork pies available as bar snacks.
This is a pub run the old fashioned way – embrace the character of the pub and behave accordingly (starting by not leaving the front door wide open!) and you will be made welcome and enjoy yourself. Landlord and staff are all equally straight talking people who have no qualms about encouraging people they don’t like to sling their hook!
We’ll be running a minibus trip from Sheffield out to the Three Stags Head to present their Pub of the Season winners certificate on Saturday 12th November, departing from the Old Queens Head by Sheffield Bus Interchange at 1pm and stopping off at some other pubs along the way (potential future winners?).
If you live in the area and fancy meeting us for a pint the rough schedule is:
Anglers Rest, Bamford 13:30hrs; Queen Anne, Great Hucklow 14:25hrs; Barrel Inn, Bretton 15:15hrs and Bulls Head, Foolow at 15:55hrs with 30-40 minutes at each.
We intend to be at the Three Stags Head from 16:40 to 18:10, returning direct to Sheffield, arriving back by 7pm.
The Wortley Men’s Club in Wortley has been named ‘Yorkshire Club of the Year 2016’ and is now celebrating a hat-trick of wins after also taking the prestigious title in 2014 and 2015.
The club’s run of success actually started four years’ ago when it finished runner-up in 2013. It was particularly successful in 2015 when it went on to win the title of National Club of the Year 2015. The club is situated in a village that is just over 8 miles away from Barnsley in South Yorkshire. It is run by Nigel & Teresa Pickering, who said they were delighted to have won again.
The club is described in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2016 as: “Originally the estate reading rooms, the opulent interior and exterior feature exposed timber frames, ornate ceilings, wooden panelling and a real fire.” Timothy Taylor Landlord is on sale regularly, and two guest ales are obtained from local and national breweries. A changing real cider is always available.
CAMRA’s Yorkshire Regional Director, Kevin Keaveny, said “This third win in a row shows the club’s continued commitment to high standards. It also shows that a club in a village can thrive if the management offer the members the products, facilities, and level of service that they require.”
The Tap Room in York was the Runner–up in the competition. The Tap Room is nestled inside the York Brewery in Toft Green, which is only 10 minutes walk from the railway station. It is managed by Matthew Moore, and sells a good selection of the brewery’s award winning beers.
The Licensees of both clubs will be presented with framed certificates on dates to be arranged in October. Peter Goddard, CAMRA’a Deputy Regional Director, will do the presentation to the Wortley Men’s Club. Kevin Keaveny, CAMRA’s Regional Director, will do the presentation to The Brewery Tap Room.
The eleven clubs nominated for this year’s prestigious title were visited by five judges over a four month period. Each nomination was scored against strict criteria that included an emphasis on the Quality of Real Ale. Also considered were Atmosphere, Style/Decor, Service and Welcome, Value for Money, and Alignment with CAMRA’s Principles,
The other nominations for the title were: Guiseley Factory Workers’ Club, Guiseley; Armitage Bridge Club, Armitage Bridge; Crookes Social Club, Sheffield; Alverthorpe Working Men’s Club, Alverthorpe; Concertina Band Club, Mexborough; Hanging Heaton Cricket Club, Batley; Three Links Club, Skipton; Wickersley Old Village Cricket Club, Wickersley; Crossing Club, Grosmont.
The George & Dragon, Hudswell, North Yorkshire, has been named CAMRA’S ‘Yorkshire Pub of the Year 2016’.
The pub is located 3 miles west of Richmond, on the border of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. It is owned by Hudswell Community Pub Limited, which was formed in 2010 to buy, refurbish, and re-open the only pub in the village. It has achieved this and gone on to develop the pub as a hub for a wide range of activities and services.
Stuart Miller has been running the pub since 28th July 2014. He is supported by an excellent team including his father Keith and his brother Sam, who are both outstanding chefs.
It is described in the new CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2017 as: “At the heart of the village, this homely multi-roomed country inn has a large beer terrace offering fantastic panoramic views over the Swale Valley.” Copper Dragon Best Bitter and Rudgate Ruby Mild, are the beers that are available on a regular basis. Three regularly changing guest beers, sourced mainly from within the Yorkshire region, are also always available.
To celebrate the pub’s first appearance in the Good Beer Guide since it reopened, a regional launch of the Good Geer Guide 2017 will be held in the pub tomorrow (15th). CAMRA National Director and George & Dragon shareholder Ken Davie will be available for interviews in the pub from 1pm onwards.
The Runner-up in the competition was The Sportsman in Huddersfield, which is run by John Fletcher. The pub is owned by Beerhouses; a small Dewsbury based pub group that owns five pubs. It is described in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2017 as: “This 1930s pub has won a CAMRA English Heritage Conservation Pub design award. Eight handpumps include one serving a Mallinson’s beer.”
CAMRA’s Yorkshire Regional Director, Kevin Keaveny, said “The results of this year’s competition highlight the success that can be achieved by an enthusiastic community company and a small wellmanaged pub group.”
The licensee of the George & Dragon will be presented with a framed certificate at 2.00 pm on Saturday 19th November by Kevin Keaveny, CAMRA’s Regional Director. The licensee of The Sportsman will be presented with a framed certificate at 2.00 pm on Saturday 12th November by Peter Goddard, CAMRA’s Deputy Regional Director.
The eighteen nominations for this year’s prestigious title were visited by individual members of a judging panel over a four month period. Each nomination was scored against strict criteria that included an emphasis on the Quality and Choice of Real Ale, Style/Decor, and Service and Value.
THE FINALISTS
Barnsley – Crown, Elsecar
Bradford – Hop, Saltaire
Cleveland – Downe Arms, Castleton
Darlington – Crown Inn, Manfield
Doncaster – Doncaster Brewery Tap, Doncaster
Halifax & Calderdale – Firehouse, Sowerby Bridge
Harrogate – 10 Devonshire Place, Harrogate
Heavy Woollen – New Inn, Roberttown
Huddersfield – Sportsman, Huddersfield
Hull & East Yorkshire – Butcher’s Dog, Driffield
Keighley & Craven – Talbot Arms, Settle
Leeds – Kirkstall Bridge Inn, Kirkstall
North West Yorkshire – George & Dragon, Hudswell
Rotherham – Beehive, Harthill
Scarborough – Sun Inn, Pickering
Sheffield – Kelham Island Tavern, Sheffield
Wakefield – Robin Hood, Altofts
York – Rook & Gaskill, York
The Beer Engine was opened in its current guise about a year and a half ago, having been through a number of incarnations such as Delaney’s Music Bar since the premises last since carried the current name.
Behind it is Tom Harrington (known as Baz to some of his friends), who has previously worked for others such as Thornbridge and Hillsborough Hotel, this is his first own pub venture, where the focus is almost entirely on serving good beer and simple but quality food that compliments the beer nicely.
The pub is furnished and decorated simply but is laid out to appeal to all – a main open area around the bar and a couple of small, cosy rooms along with an outdoor area. The atmosphere is laid back.
The bar is home to 6 handpumps, one of which often hosts a real cider and one which dispenses the (currently) always available Neepsend Blonde, the remaining four featuring an ever changing range of ales. There are also 4 guest craft keg lines and an extensive selection of spirits. The staff are friendly and knowledgable and if you want to try several beers you can buy tasting flights of 1/3 pints.
Food on Monday to Saturday is pub tapas, with a selection of around 8 dishes on a menu which changes weekly, on a Tuesday. At present every Monday – the last day of the menu rotation – dishes are offered on a two for the price of one basis. On a Sunday the Beer Engine offers home cooked roast dinners with a choice of meat of the week, veggie and vegan options. Food is served 5-8pm Monday to Thursday, 12-8pm Friday and Saturday, 12-5pm on Sundays.
Sheffield & District CAMRA held our branch meeting in the Beer Engine when it first opened and the numbers turned up exceeded the size of the room, such was the interest, the beer and food was enjoyed and now members have voted it as the winner of our August 2016 Pub of the Month. We’ll be presenting the award certificate at the Beer Engine on Tuesday 16th August with the pub holding a bit of a celebration, all are welcome to join us from 8pm onwards.
The Beer Engine is at 17 Cemetery Road, next to Waitrose petrol station off London Road and the Chinese Firework Company.
Closest buses are routes 3,4 and 4a, however the stop on London Road is also very close.
The pub is open from 4pm to 11pm Monday to Thursday, midday to midnight Friday and Saturday, midday to 11pm Sundays.
The Walkley Beer Company in a previous brief and festive life was the Crookes Ale House, a pop up experiment by local lad Kit Challis back in Christmas 2013 to test the market for a micropub in the area. During its brief existence in a former fancy dress shop a range of 3 cask ales and 12 bottled beers were available in basic surroundings.
The idea proved a hit and the Ale House returned in a different shop unit, a former florist shop, in Walkley, naturally renamed given the new location – the Walkley Beer Company.
The Walkley Beer Company opens just at weekends to fit around the owners day job with three cask ales and a craft keg line on the bar on Thursday evening along with an expanding selection of bottled world beers. The Walkley Beer Company also opens Friday evenings and Saturday and the draught beers remain on sale until they run out. A new selection gets put on the following weekend. This means the beer is always served fresh and the selection is usually quite interesting.
Technically the Walkley Beer Company isn’t actually a micropub – it is an off licence shop with a tasting bar. Either way a small, basic and friendly environment is provided to sit and enjoy good beer and the format has proved a success. Bottled beers and cask ales are available to takeaway too and the shop side has started to expand into catering for the requirements of home brewers with malt, hops and yeast available to buy.
Sheffield & District CAMRA members have voted the Walkley Beer Company as the winner of the July Pub of the Month award and they will be opening specially to receive the certificate on the evening of Tuesday 12th July, all are welcome to join us from 8pm for a drink and to show support at the presentation.
You can find the Walkley Beer Company at 362 South Road, Walkley, on bus routes 31, 31a and 95 – bus stops almost right outside the shop. Normal opening hours are Thursday 4pm to 8pm, Friday & Saturday 2pm to 10pm.
Both Sheffield & District and Dronfield & District branches of CAMRA name a pub of the year winner in Derbyshire which gets put forward into the opening round of the national competition, the county round, which in this case is North Derbyshire.
Sheffield’s entry was the Anglers Rest in Millers Dale and Dronfield’s was the Miners Arms in Hundall.
We are pleased to learn that the Miners Arms has been named North Derbyshire Pub of the Year and has gone forward to the next stage of judging – the East Midlands regional round.
The landlady of the Miners Arms, Lauren White, despite being fairly young has a great pedigree of pub experience behind her having held management roles previously at the Tickled Trout at Barlow and Travellers Rest in Apperknowle – both very good pubs. The Miners is the first pub of her own and along with the team working there with her have taken on an already good pub and taken it to even better levels.
The Miners is a cosy country community pub with three distinct areas – an area containing a pool table, an area with Sky Sports TV and a quieter lounge area – plus a beer garden backing onto the village cricket pitch and boasting views across the valley.
A range of real ales are available at reasonable prices with the choice often surprisingly adventurous for a country pub. A huge range of ciders are also available and these are listed on the blackboard above the bar.
The pub attracts a cross section of locals, dog walkers, ramblers plus some who make the effort to visit the pub because of its good reputation, no food is served other than crisps, pork pies etc.
The Miners also saw huge numbers flock to the pub recently when it took part in the annual Three Valleys Beer Festival which saw the pub host an outside real ale bar, outside cider bar, burger stall and live music! On festival day a regular free bus service is laid on.
There is a bus stop right outside the pub served by TM Travel route 14 (Dronfield to Chesterfield), however the service is quite limited – check www.tmtravel.co.uk for timetables.
The certificate presentation evening is planned to take place at the Miners on Friday 29th July with an 8pm start and all are welcome.
The other East Midlands county winners now being judged with the Miners for the regional crown…
DERBYSHIRE SOUTH POTY 2016 – The Old Oak, Horsley Woodhouse. (Amber Valley Branch)
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE POTY 2016 – Beer Headz, Retford. (North Notts Branch)
LINCOLNSHIRE POTY 2016 – White Hart, Ludford. (Louth Branch)
LEICESTERSHIRE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE & RUTLAND POTY 2016 – Coach and Horses, Wellingborough. (Northampton Branch)
Previous to Just William, Nigel has worked for breweries and pub companies as area manager.
Following retirement from the pub trade, Nigel hasn’t simply hung up his handpump and enjoyed well deserved rest, he is now involved with the Sheffield Brewery Company and has been very instrumental in getting their programme of special events going and we caught up with him at their May Beer Club to present the certificate.
This proved easier said than done! The event was incredibly popular, beer club is now on the same time as the Peddlers Night Market across the road which also attracts a crowd to the area and Nigel was helping out behind the bar which was coping with rather a large queue. However we did manage to grab him for a couple of minutes for a photograph of him receiving the certificate from Beer Matters editor Andy Cullen.
Incidentally, if you enjoy Sheffield Brewery beer, we’d reccommend their Beer Club, which takes place the first Friday of the month, featuring their latest monthly special as well as some of their regular beers plus food and live music. You can also meet the brewery team and ask any questions about their beer. Beer Club membership is available to buy, which gets you discounted prices at the bar as well as other benefits, however the event is open to all. 
July Pub of the Month – Walkley Beer Company
The landlady of the Miners Arms, Lauren White, despite being fairly young has a great pedigree of pub experience behind her having held management roles previously at the Tickled Trout at Barlow and Travellers Rest in Apperknowle – both very good pubs. The Miners is the first pub of her own and along with the team working there with her have taken on an already good pub and taken it to even better levels.
The Miners is a cosy country community pub with three distinct areas – an area containing a pool table, an area with Sky Sports TV and a quieter lounge area – plus a beer garden backing onto the village cricket pitch and boasting views across the valley.
A range of real ales are available at reasonable prices with the choice often surprisingly adventurous for a country pub. A huge range of ciders are also available and these are listed on the blackboard above the bar.
The pub attracts a cross section of locals, dog walkers, ramblers plus some who make the effort to visit the pub because of its good reputation, no food is served other than crisps, pork pies etc.
The Miners also saw huge numbers flock to the pub recently when it took part in the annual Three Valleys Beer Festival which saw the pub host an outside real ale bar, outside cider bar, burger stall and live music! On festival day a regular free bus service is laid on.
There is a bus stop right outside the pub served by TM Travel route 14 (Dronfield to Chesterfield), however the service is quite limited – check www.tmtravel.co.uk for timetables.
The certificate presentation evening is planned to take place at the Miners on Friday 29th July with an 8pm start and all are welcome.
The other East Midlands county winners now being judged with the Miners for the regional crown…
DERBYSHIRE SOUTH POTY 2016 – The Old Oak, Horsley Woodhouse. (Amber Valley Branch)
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE POTY 2016 – Beer Headz, Retford. (North Notts Branch)
LINCOLNSHIRE POTY 2016 – White Hart, Ludford. (Louth Branch)
LEICESTERSHIRE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE & RUTLAND POTY 2016 – Coach and Horses, Wellingborough. (Northampton Branch)