North Derbyshire Pub of the Year

Four CAMRA branches that include North Derbyshire put forward pubs for judging in this entry round of the national competition (we in Sheffield & District enter one in North Derbyshire and one in Yorkshire) and as part of the deal all four branches have to go out and objectively judge all the pubs! The one that comes out on top is then judged against other East Midlands winners.

Here are the runners and riders!

Sheffield & District: The Old Hall Hotel in Hope

Dronfield & District: The Cross Daggers in Coal Aston

Chesterfield & District: The Rose & Crown in Brampton

Matlock & Dales: Bod Cafe Bar in Matlock

We went out and judged the Dronfield, Chesterfield and Matlock pubs using buses X17 and 44 on 12 April and had an enjoyable day, if you fancy recreating the trip an all day Derbyshire Wayfarer bus pass costs just £9.

Ahead of our visit, Dronfield & District branch presented their Pub of the Month award certificate to the Cross Daggers on the evening of Monday 7 April, this also saw a good turn out of branch members and pub regulars enjoying some well kept ale and conversation!

Pub of the Year 2025 (South Sheffield)

The winner of this year’s award for Pub of the Year for Sheffield South is Heeley-based Brothers Arms. Originally named Ye Olde Shakespeare Inn, which can still be seen in embossed letters on the front of the pub, it was taken over in 2014 by 5 members of well-known local ukelele legends the Everley Pregnant Brothers. 11 years on and it is still run by the same 5 people, with one of them, Richard Bailes, acting as Manager.

As well as a good range of well-kept real ales the judging panel for the award particularly liked the community focus within the pub. Regular quiz nights, music nights, and art events cover a range of interests, providing a great meeting point for local customers. And of course there’s a few prints on the walls from local artist, and one of the original five “Brothers”,  Pete Mckee.

Visitors from further afield are also encouraged with the Brothers Arms being part of the “Heeley Triangle”, along with the Sheaf View and White Lion. The three pubs are starting to promote themselves collectively, and we can certainly confirm it’s a great pub crawl for real ale fans.

As a nod to the past the pub has some new artwork about to adorn their walls. As well as a number of old photos of the pub, there’s a list of all the landlords who have run the pub for the last 200 years, along with the name of the reigning monarch during their tenure. Originally put together by the Fox family who ran the pub through the 50’s and 60’s, it has been brought bang up to date, and a new version printed ready to hang on the wall.

Our presentation takes place on Tuesday 13th May, during the half time break in the quiz, so why not pop along to lend your support and maybe join the quiz, which starts at 7.30. See you there!

GETTING THERE: 106 Well Rd, Heeley, Sheffield S8 9TZ

Buses 10, 10a, 20, 24, 25, 42, 43, 44, X17 to London Road (by Ponsfords)

Buses 18, 18a, 73 to Spencer Road / Richards Road (near Heeley City Farm).

Bus timetables, maps and live tracking visit travelsouthyorkshire.com or bustimes.org.

Pub of the Year 2025 (Central Sheffield)

A careful restoration of the original Ind Coope 1930s interior gave this two roomed pub a conservation award in 2002 and acknowledgement by CAMRA as one of Britain’s pubs with a three star pub interior of exceptional national historic importance. The bar lies between the tiled lounge, a small corridor drinking area and the cosy well-upholstered snug. The owners, Brian and Ruth Johnson, have been on the Sheffield pub scene for many years – although not necessarily high profile – and after about 10 years of the pub being leased to Thornbridge Brewery, Brian is back running the pub with a team of staff. The Bath is a simple drinkers pub with friendly service and is somewhere to sit with a nice pint of local ale and enjoy conversation or perhaps a game of darts. It also has some community focus with occasional music events and the smaller of the two rooms being available to hire for meetings etc. 

The Bath is one of the more atmospheric of Sheffield’s pubs. They always offer a wide range of excellent well-kept real ales from both local and further afield breweries as well as several keg beers.

Join us from 8pm on Thursday 29th May as we present the well earned certificate.

Pub of the Year 2025 (East Sheffield)

The Oxbow Micropub opened its doors in January 2020, taking over what was once a kitchen showroom. It was founded by a group of friends who had long dreamed of running their own pub. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, they successfully navigated those early years and are now open every day – thanks in no small part to a brilliant team who help make the Oxbow such a welcoming place to enjoy a drink.

The Oxbow offers a relaxed and friendly environment where everyone is welcome. It features three cask lines and seven keg lines (often including a cider), along with a varied selection of bottled and canned beers and ciders. The beer is sourced from both local breweries and further afield, ensuring there’s something to suit every taste.

The interior is cosy, and there’s also an outdoor seating area. The canopy roof was damaged during the storm in early 2025 but is due to be repaired soon. Please note the pub is a cashless venue.

There are regular tap takeovers and specialist beer events, alongside visiting food vans and a pub quiz every other Wednesday.

The pub is easy to reach via Stagecoach bus 52 or First bus X5, both of which stop nearby. If you’re travelling on the 52, do allow a bit of extra time as the pub is at the very end of the route.

We’re looking forward to presenting the award on Tuesday 10th June at around 8.15pm – please do come along and join the celebration!

On the night the Oxbow will be offering 15% off their normal drinks prices (excluding cans) and Smith’s fish & chip van will be coming along and serving outside. Note the bar shuts at 9pm due to its residential location so get down early!

The team at the Oxbow receiving a Pub of the Month award in March 2024 during Sheffield Beer Week

Pub of the Year

Following your member votes and the judging panel visits we are pleased to announce the following awards for 2025:

Overall Pub of the Year & Kelham Island/Neepsend area pub of year winner: Kelham Island Tavern (presentation to be made 8 July)

City centre pub of the year: Bath Hotel (presentation to be made 29 May, 8:30pm).

East Sheffield pub of the year: Oxbow micro pub, Woodhouse Mill (presentation to be made 10 June)

West Sheffield pub of the year: Rising Sun, Nethergreen (presentation to be made Wednesday 16 April, 7pm).

South Sheffield pub of the year: Brothers Arms, Heeley (presentation to be made Tuesday 13 May)

North Sheffield pub of the year: Commercial, Chapeltown (presentation to be made during the branch meeting there on Tuesday 3 June)

District pub of the year: Old Hall Hotel, Hope

Congratulations to all our winners. We will be arranging award presentations at all the venues where you can join us to celebrate with them. Please keep an eye on the branch diary on-line and in future Beer Matters for further details

Both the Kelham Island Tavern and the Old Hall at Hope now go forwards to represent the branch in the Yorkshire and North Derbyshire regional pub of the year judging respectively.

Finally thank you to all our members who voted and to our judging panel.

We will also be presenting the Old Shoe with Cider Pub of the Year and Crookes Social Club with Club of the Year following the members vote.

Pub of the Year 2025 (West Sheffield)

Congratulations to Garry and the team at the Rising Sun (471 Fulwood Road, S10 3QA), winners of the Sheffield and District CAMRA, Sheffield (West) Pub of the Year 2025.

Owned by Sheffield Beerworks EOT Ltd., the Employee Owned Trust which also includes Abbeydale Brewery, the Riding Sun has been an Abbeydale community pub and dining room since 19th December 2005 when the brewery took over from the University of Sheffield Union of Students. The Union had run the building for just over 23 years. Previous management includes the Sheffield & District Public House Trust Co.Ltd. and John Smiths Tadcaster Brewery.

The original pub opened around 1860. The name refers to pubs which face east and receive early-morning sun, as did the earlier Rising Sun. The current pub opened when the, then, owners, the Sheffield Town Trustees agreed to provide land for the widening of Fulwood Road to Sheffield Corporation in return for the demolition and reconstruction of the original pub. The current building opened in July 1904. Abbeydale carried out an extensive refurbishment in 2014.

There are two comfortably furnished rooms with a log burning fire between the main bar and the glass roofed extension. The large beer garden includes covered, heated areas. The pub is also both child and dog friendly. Quizzes are on Sunday evenings.

In 1914, the Sheffield and Rotherham Red Book and Almanac (p.407) stated that: ‘many pleasure seekers finding this suburban house very convenient for the supply of general refreshments.’ To-day, the situation is similar: the pub provides 13 cask beers, including a large Abbeydale range, together with several rotating guest specials across both cask and keg. There is also an ever-changing cider selection, a carefully curated wine list, a large range of quality spirits and plenty of non-alcoholic options. In addition, the creative, seasonal food menu aims to showcase the best of British produce and sees the pub working with a host of local suppliers. 

We hope you can join us for the presentation on Wednesday 16th April at 19:00. 

Pub of the Year 2025 (District)

The “District” bit of Sheffield & District branch is the part in Derbyshire which includes Killamarsh, Ridgeway and a big chunk of the Peak District National Park, predominantly the Hope Valley, out as far as Millers Dale and Edale. As with the Yorkshire pubs in Sheffield, a number of judges go out and score the two pubs that came out top in the members vote to pick an overall winner, which gets put forward into the North Derbyshire entry round of the national competition. Our District winner is the Old Hall Hotel in Hope. The venue combines a pub, restaurant, tea room and bed & breakfast accommodation with the bar offering a range of cask ales plus an extensive selection of scotch single malt whiskies.

Our festival secretary Jess Cawley, reports on his visit:

“Located in the Hope valley the Old Hall public house located in the picturesque village of Hope and nestled below Lose Hill that’s at one end of the famous Lose Hill ridge. The first mention of the current building was a rebuilding in 1703and forms the current “Old Hall” pub that became a listed building in 1984.

Internally the pub has a traditional air with oak panelled walls exhibiting a welcoming and convivial atmosphere. A lunch-time meal was French Onion soup and a beef sandwich, both of which went down well. There were a good half dozen real ales to choose from with Theakston “Old Peculiar” a well known favourite. My Theakston’s Best was very palatable.

The pub runs a beer festival on bank holidays and was frequented by tourists and locals alike. Facilities were fine and there is an extensive menu, reasonably priced”.

Join us for the award presentation on the evening of Tuesday 29 July. Regular trains run from Sheffield to Hope and bus 272 also goes there.

Sheaf View

On Tuesday 11 March, 8pm at the Sheaf View in Heeley was the calm after the storm with the pub having been packed with Sheffield United fans enjoying a pre match pint, they were replaced by a bunch of CAMRA members and locals as we presented Dom and the team with their Pub of the Month award!

Sheffield & District CAMRA’s Phil Ellett presents Dominic Durham with the March 2025 Pub of the Month award with members of staff looking on! Photo: John Beardshaw.

Pub of the Month March 2025

The Sheaf View at Heeley has been voted as Pub of the Month for March 2025 by our members.

The 19th century pub, near Heeley City Farm became a real ale oasis since reopening as a free house in 2000. The walls and shelves are adorned with breweriana and provide an ideal background for good drinking and conversations. Outside there is plenty of seating, with great views across the Sheaf valley and an outside bar.

Garden area with Outside bar at Sheaf View

The pub changed ownership becoming part of the Trust Inns estate (along with the Blake Hotel) in 2022. Day to day management however has remained unchanged. The pub was refurbished both internally and externally in the summer of 2024, ready for its 25th Year of trading.

They provide eight casks ales, 4 from Neepsend Brewery (Celebrating its 10th Birthday this year) and 4 guest ales. A wide range of Belgian and other continental beers, an incredible selection of malt whiskies and traditional cider are also available.

This is a popular local pub and especially so on Wednesday quiz nights and Sheffield United match days. Throughout the year The Sheaf also hosts occasional events such as beer festivals, comedy and live music sessions.

The Sheaf View has now won the Sheffield South – Pub of the Year award 5 times (every time it has been awarded since the area awards were started in 2019)

We are presenting their award on the evening of Tuesday 11th March, all are welcome to join us there from 8pm for a beer or two!

Pub of the Year 2025 (Cider)

Congratulations to Matt Beety, Mike Pomranz and all at the Old Shoe for being voted the 2025 Sheffield and District CAMRA ‘Cider Pub of the Year.’ The Old Shoe (Unit 20, Orchard Square S1 2FB) opened in the summer of 2023 as the new home of Exemption Ciderhouse, when it relocated from its previous home at The Cider Hole.

The Old Shoe is a modern bar serving a variety of drinks from independent producers. In addition to both cask and keg beer from indie breweries, they also serve three draught ciders and a range of bottled options. These are almost invariably from smaller producers. For example: Against the Grain (London), Ascension (Sussex), Iford (Bradford on Avon), Temple (Dorset), Zapiain (Spain) and from Hertfordshire, Little Pomona, Oliver’s and Ross-on-Wye Cider Company. In addition, created on the premises, is Exemption.

The bar has vinyl records spinning all day and also has a well-stocked ‘Shoe Store.’ The latter provides art prints, bags, bottles, cans, chocolate, coffee beans, glasses, local pub heritage books, records and more. The name refers to the previous use of this ex-shop unit.

In 2015, Mike moved from Brooklyn (New York) to Sheffield. In the UK, he continued to produce cider, focusing on using locally-collected garden apples. In 2020, he launched drinks import company, ‘Quality Ferments.’ Then, in September 2021, came The Cider Hole (Shalesmoor), an urban microcidery, bar, and bottle shop – where he made and served his own Exemption Ciderhouse cider along with over 60 other hand-selected canned and bottled ciders, beer and natural wine. The Cider Hole was our 2023 Cider Pub of the Year. It then closed in order to make way for the Old Shoe.

image: Ellie Grace Photography