Category: Pub of the Month Winners

I was one of the first people through the door of Shakespeares when it re-opened in July 2011 and it has been a firm favourite ever since. Back then it was very much a cask-led pub, which was the style at the time, but also had one of the best malt whisky ranges I’ve seen outside Scotland.

Times change, and since then craft keg from abroad was added, followed later by craft keg from the UK, but never losing sight of keeping an excellent ever-changing range of well-kept cask.

I gave up beer ticking for the sake of it in 2017 but by that stage had drunk over 2,000 different cask beers at the Shakey, my second highest pub of all time and only 300 behind the Cask & Cutler/Wellington that I’d been going to for twice as long. For those who prefer to ‘stick to what they know’ Abbeydale Deception and Red Willow Feckless are permanent fixtures, while the other lines all change every few days, the pub keeps a tally and has so far served 6,700 different cask ales and around 1,400 different craft kegs.

While fully embracing the exponential growth of craft keg beer, beer manager Lucienne remains a huge cask fan and has persuaded many a craft brewery to supply her a cask of a beer otherwise only to be seen in keg and small-pack, particularly for the epic beer festivals held annually in the upstairs function room. ‘15% chocolate tonka maple barrel aged stout? Yeah we’ll have a cask please’. In the unlikely event you can’t find anything you want on the seven handpumps and nine craft keg taps, there’s also an extensive range of cans and bottles covering everything from Lambic to IPA to imperial stout…

The pub itself recently celebrated its 200^th birthday, having started life as a coaching inn. The building features some impressive stained glass windows, and is decorated with breweryania ranging from historic through to some rather more modern pumpclips. Wooden barrels serve as tables in the area behind the bar, along with a new sofa (note: this is my ‘spot’, so people who aren’t me shouldn’t sit there), while the small ‘clock room’ features more traditional tables and chairs, and the long room has long tables and benches along with a dart board. Outside is a large beer garden/courtyard. Live bands are a regular feature in the upstairs function room, as well as musicians in the long room. The pub has deservedly won Pub of the Month several times, and in 2012 won the overall Pub of the Year for Sheffield & District.

Dave Szwejkowski

All are invited to join us there for a beer or two at the certificate presentation night on Wednesday 22 June from 8pm.

Shakespeares can be found at 146-148 Gibraltar Street, Sheffield S3 8UB. Buses 57, 81, 82 and 86 stop outside, alternatively it is a short walk from the City Centre or Shalesmoor tram stop.

As I nominated Bar Stewards as a Pub of the Month I think  I should, at least, write an article about this outstanding micro-pub.

Yet it’s a pub I’ve only visited once – on a damp, cold Saturday afternoon last December as, despite the weather, we continued on a city centre pub crawl and called in. The overwhelming feeling for all of us, as we stumbled through the door, was of being made very welcome.

There was a great choice of cask ales on the bar, along with a choice of keg beers for those who prefer them and some more in cans in the nearby fridge, all served by friendly and knowledgable staff.

As well as a few tables inside, there is a large yard at the rear with outdoor seating, some of which is under cover.

Bar Stewards was set up by a couple of beer enthusiasts, Alan and Charlie, initially as a pop-up for a couple nights a week and their project has progressed to being open every day of the week, mostly in the evenings but longer at the weekend. The venue is available for private hire and even offers a mobile bar service.

It’s our Pub of the Month award winner for May 2022. Give it a try. Join us for the certificate presentation (and a beer or two) on Tuesday 10 May from 8pm.

Bar Stewards can be found at 163 Gibraltar Street, Sheffield S3 8UA, between West Bar and Kelham Island. Buses 57, 81, 82 and 86 pass the front door or it is walkable from the City Centre.

Our Pub of the Month award scheme, designed to celebrate all the pubs around our area serving well kept real ale in a friendly and comfortable atmosphere across Sheffield & District, has been on a little bit of a back-burner through the Coronavirus pandemic with pubs unable to operate in a normal fashion if at all at times, however it is now back and our members are nominating and voting for their favourite local pubs!

The winner for March 2022 is the Brothers Arms at Heeley. It is a classic old pub building, previously known as Ye Olde Shakespeare Inn, that perches on a slope at the top of a hill. The location leads the pub to have the oddity of the front door requiring you to climb a staircase to enter the pub whilst the side door is level access, however this also means if you are sat out in the beer garden you have an absolutely amazing view over the city! Although the pub was opened out internally back in 1981 and has had refurbishments since, it still retains a fairly traditional layout and style inside whilst the exterior still retains some distinctive carvings and signage. The change of name came with the current management who are associated with the Everley Pregnant Brothers ukulele parody band!

During the more recent Covid restrictions where table service and ventilation were the order of the day, the Brothers made much bigger use of their outdoor space and the fact they delivered good table service reflects the great team of staff there. Things are of course back to normal now so they are back behind the bar to deliver friendly service and a good range of beers including up to eight cask options. This also means things like the darts board and quiz night are also back!

We’ll be heading up to the Brothers Arms to present the winners certificate and enjoy a few beers on Tuesday 8 March from 8pm, we’ll also be sticking around to have a go at the quiz, all are welcome to join us!

You can find the Brothers Arms at 106 Well Road, Heeley, S8 9TZ. Getting there by bus: Alight on Chesterfield Road outside Ponsfords on routes 10, 10a, 20, 24, 25, 43, 44 and X17 or alight on Spencer Road near the Peoples Park on routes 1a, 18 and 252, timetables and route maps at travelsouthyorkshire.com.

The Chantry Inn has been voted as Sheffield and District CAMRA Pub of the Month for October 2021.

This historic pub which was built around 1250 is uniquely one of only four pubs in the UK set in consecrated grounds being within the grounds of St Mary’s parish church in Handsworth.

It comprises of three different rooms each with some original and unique features including real fireplaces, beamed low ceilings and even the bell pushes used in previous days to order the ale. There are also claims of various tunnels and passageways from the cellar to the church. 

It has had a chequered past originally being a chantry and safe house for nuns, a washouse and a school before being a pub for much of the later years from the early 1800’s.

Chantry Brewery acquired the pub in early 2019 and undertook a tasteful restoration and deliver real quality beers. There are always 5 cask ales on tap from Chantry brewery with a rotating special including Steelos, Kaldos, Full Moon, Wentworth Red, Cashmere Time alongside the regulars of New York pale, Iron and Steel bitter, Special Reserve and Diamond Stout. There are also changing craft beers available often from Tiny Rebel or Beavertown as well as real cider. 

Congratulations to all involved with the Chantry Inn including the brewery and the pub manager Terry and his partner Alison. The pub of the month award presentation is planned for the evening of Tuesday 12th October and all are welcome to join the celebration.  

Paul Manning

You can find the Chantry Inn at 400 Handsworth Road, S13 9BZ. Buses 30, 30a, 52, 52a, 73, X5 and X55 stop almost outside.

The Crow Inn (33 Scotland Street, S3 7BS) has been voted as Sheffield and District CAMRA Pub of the Month for July 2021: our first Pub of the Month for a considerable period.

Originally opened in 1797 by Sheffield brewer, Thomas Rawson, the C20th saw many changes. These resulted in closure in 2010: the building becoming The Sleep Hotel. Previous pub names included: The Crown Inn, The Old Crown Inn and R & B’s Uptown Bar.

Two years ago, on Thursday 6 June 2019, under the same management as the Rutland Arms, the Crow was reborn. The logo cleverly links the new to the old: a crow is pictured holding an ‘N’ in its mouth having stolen it from the Crown.

The beer range complements that of the Rutland: five handpumps (gluten-free, Abbeydale Heather (4.3%) is the only permanent resident) and fourteen keg lines, together with a large choice of spirits, including forty malt whiskies. The beer range is innovative, including hard-to-find limited edition beers and obscure imports. In addition, Kev’s Pies are available, and there are seven en-suite hotel rooms. This is all expertly managed by the multi-talented and personable team: Adam Griffiths, Adam Swithenbank, Charlotte Walker, Chris Bamford, Kate Major and Lizzie Dabner.

Apart from the opening-out of the room on the right, the basic layout of the interior is unchanged. The fittings are of varying ages, with some recent renovation and modern art-work. The bar appears early/mid C20th. The porch has internal leaded windows and an impressive ceramic floor which features an image of a crown. Unusually, the off-sales was approached via the entrance to the rear yard, purchasers entering through a small door. This entrance was removed in 1972.

Historically, the pub is mentioned as a key player in the 1840s Chartist protests, the Sheffield Outrages and the 1920s Sheffield Gang Wars. The outrages saw the 1859 murder of James Linley: ‘saw-grinder, was sitting at the Crown Inn, Scotland Street’ (Caledonian Mercury, 3rd August 1859).

Congratulations to all involved with the Crow on this award: recognition of a recent excellent addition to the ground-breaking and innovative pubs of Sheffield. Covid permitting, we originally planned to hold the award ceremony on the evening of Tuesday 13 July. However, due to Covid restrictions, this was changed to Tuesday 10th August 2021.

Our Pub of the Month award winner, postponed from April, is the Wisewood Inn.

The Wisewood Inn re-opened their doors under the current ownership in October 2015, relaunching a pub that had struggled for at least ten years under various pub companies , it is now well supported by the local community. Since previously winning Pub of the Month in July 2017, they have expanded and made lots of positive changes to create an even better environment and the pub now has its very own on-site microbrewery – Loxley Brewery. The Wisewood Inn has four cask pumps serving Loxley Brewery ales, there are also two guest pumps which are rotated frequently, these pumps have seen many fine local breweries and many more from further afield. The ‘Cellar Bar’ has also been refurbished to an exceptional standard and is the perfect place to grab a pint in the winter months with the real log fire and candlelight. In the summer months, the roller blinds are opened up on to one of the largest beer gardens in Sheffield and the spectacular views of the Loxley Valley surround. The Cellar Bar is also the perfect place to have a function of any kind. The pub has also undergone a kitchen extension, serving delicious homemade food every day of the week but the Sunday Roasts are particularly popular! The Wisewood Inn had been planning on hosting their second beer festival in June which obviously hasn’t been possible, instead  advantage has been taken of the closure forced by the Covid-19 lockdown to start work early on the pub refurbishment that was originally planned for later in the year, so the pub will reopen looking great! The refurbishment has given the pub a new bar and and bar back. They’ve increased the hand-pumps from 5 to 6 and have a new set of keg lines. Their brewery has now started brewing keg beer and they are about to add new fermenters doubling their production capacity. Their beer range has now been rebranded to match their bottle branding with named beers replacing the previous numbered beers and to top it off they have a portable beer bar converted from a vintage Citroen van which in a former life delivered bread in France, so it has moved from selling one yeast product to another. The pub will be reopening on Monday 6th July operating under the government Covid-19 secure guidelines with table service, contactless payments and reservations required for food. Check out their Facebook page for more information.

JD Wetherspoon has come a long way since founder, Tim Martin, opened his first pub in Muswell Hill, London in 1979. More than 40 years later the estate boasts over 900 pubs spread the length and breadth of the UK. Success has been built on the provision of great value food and drink in a warm and friendly environment. From a real ale perspective this success is evidenced by the 250 pubs chosen by local branches for inclusion in the 2020 edition of the CAMRA GOOD BEER GUIDE. Sheffield got its first Wetherspoon pub in 1996 when the Bankers Draft opened at 1, Market Place on the site of the old Midland Bank building. This wasn’t a surprising location as the company is well-known for renovating and refurbishing old, and in many cases, historic buildings. The Banker’s soon became a popular place for friends to meet up in town. However, I believe that the pub has actually improved greatly in the last few years, especially since Jonathan Atkinson took charge. Jonathan and his partner, Terrianne McHale have been with the company for 15 years, the last 8 years at the Banker’s Draft. They are keen supporters of CAMRA. Local branch and nation and publications are prominently displayed in the pub. The venue has hosted branch meetings and has been a regular sponsor of the Sheffield Beer Festival. Regular real ales on the bar are Abbot Ale, Ruddles Bitter and Doom Bar. Additionally there are about 7 or 8 guest ales available at any time. These are dispensed from the 14 banks of hand pumps on the 2 floors. They always try to offer a range of styles, ABVs and a mix of local and national brews. There tends to be a regular seasonal ale. Favourite local breweries are Little Critters, Bradfield, Kelham Island, Milestone and Acorn. With the addition of Alex Crowe to the team the Banker’s is one of the few venues stocking Welbeck ales. In any case the pub is a go to venue for any new breweries in Sheffield. I know that Jonathan is very keen to increase the volume of real ale sold. To this end he has extended the normal company offer to CAMRA members by allowing an unlimited discount to card-carrying members. CAMRA is also an organisation that supports real cider. It is therefore very pleasing to find that apart from the Black Dragon on regular offer there are 5 guest still boxed ciders on at any time. These may include Broadoak Moonshine, Snails Bank Rhubarb and Monkey Mango. Given the overall success of JD Wetherspoon it is perhaps surprising that of their 9 pubs in Sheffield, opened at regular intervals since 1996, only one has ever been voted “Pub of the Month.” I am therefore delighted that the branch has chosen the Banker’s Draft as the winner of this prestigious award for February 2020. I know that Jonathan is too, and he hopes that as many branch members as possible come along on Tuesday, 11th February to join him and his team celebrate this success. Andrew Thorpe

A few years ago the Ball Inn, Crookes was refurbished and this included installing a new kitchen in the old stables at the back of the cobbled court yard. Part of the pub is a sports bar with TV screens with a large dining area at the rear but some of the original wooden panelling can still be seen and photos of bygone Crookes are on most walls.  There is stylish decking and surround at the front of the pub and at the back is a beer garden with heated smoking area. It is a Greene King pub with  14 hand pumps and  offers the normal range of Greene King beers and the guest beers are usually from Sheffield breweries and offers  CAMRA members a discount. Open from 10am for breakfasts, tea, coffee and cakes and serves meals throughout the day until 10pm weekdays and 9pm weekends.  There are a range of children’s and senior menus  and Sunday lunches are popular with specials available all week. Live music features on the last Friday of the month. Pub of the Month award will be presented to the manager, Simon Howard and his team on 10th December. The pub is on the 52/52A bus route so come along and join us. JOHN BEARDSHAW

The Old Queen’s Head, next to Sheffield Interchange, is believed to be the oldest domestic building in Sheffield. It began life as a hunting lodge for the nearby Sheffield Castle, and was built in the late 15th century for the Earl of Shrewsbury. A later Earl was the jailer of Mary, Queen of Scots, from whom the pub probably takes its name. It is now the only pub in Sheffield with Grade II* listing by Historic England (the other was the Carbrook Hall, no longer a pub). It is known to have become a beer house by the 1840’s and additions were made to the building later in that century. The pub passed through the hands of several breweries before being acquired by Thwaites in the 1990’s. The current interior format dates from a 1992 refurbishment and consists of three distinct areas. The front lounge, occupying the half-timbered older part of the building has an original fireplace and carved bay window overlooking the outside seating area. To the rear are two further seating areas around the central bar, and there is an upstairs function room. Mike and Suzana took on the pub seven years ago, and serve the core range of beers from the new Thwaites brewery, including Mild, Amber, Gold and IPA, together with up to three rotating guest beers usually with one from a local brewery. The pub opens from 10am to 11pm every day and food is available 12 to 9pm (4pm Sundays). The menu covers the usual pub favourites as well as pizzas, burgers, grills and roasts together with a selection of Czech specialities reflecting Mike and Suzana’s home town, Prague. The pub offers a cosy welcoming environment for weary travellers, shoppers and after work drinkers. We have arranged a social on Tuesday 12 November from 8.00pm to present the well- deserved award.

Hidden away off the bustle of Glossop Road and behind the former swimming baths is a gem of a traditional pub, the Bath Hotel on the corner of Victoria Street and Convent Walk. Formed from two cottages built in the late 1860’s, part was a grocers shop granted a licence in 1895, despite the ground lease stating that the site should not be used for the business of innkeeper, publican or beer house keeper. It acquired its present name in 1908 and was purchased by the Ind Coope Brewery during the Great War. The pub was remodelled to form its present layout in 1931, and has been virtually unaltered since, hence its inclusion in CAMRA’s national inventory of historic pub interiors. In the corner of the pub there is a cosy snug served through a small hatch. A corridor drinking area leads from the Convent Walk entrance to the main room which also has an entrance on Victoria Street. With the formation of Allied Breweries in 1964, the Bath became a Tetley house and was declared their first heritage pub in Sheffield in 1985. After a spell being run by one of the pubcos in the 90’s it became a freehouse, and since 2012 it has been operated by Thornbridge Brewery. The knowledgeable and friendly staff make this a welcoming watering hole The six handpumps usually dispense three Thornbridge beers and three guest beers selected from the more interesting independent brewers around the country. There’s also a good range of keg and bottled beers together with around 30 malt whiskies. Food is limited to pork pies and sausage rolls, supplemented with hot roast pork sandwiches on Friday and Saturday. There’s a weekly pub quiz, regular live music including acoustic blues, American folk and gypsy jazz, and a monthly writers’ group. The Bath is open daily from 12 to 11pm (midnight Fri/Sat), closed Sunday. Join us for the well-deserved Pub of the Month presentation on Tuesday 8^th October from 8pm. Buses 51,52,120; tram to West St or University.