The New Barrack Tavern has been voted our Pub of the Month for July 2014. In recent years it has built a reputation as a real ale pub and renowned local music venue. It also hosts a monthly comedy club and regular beer and music festivals, as well as special events supporting local charities and the community.
Originally a Gilmours house, the New Barrack has a terrazzo floor in the entrance/tap room/kitchen. It also has original, and distinctive, Gilmour door step, exterior tiles and some original windows. In 1936, the original stone built corner terrace pub was demolished and the footprint extended into the next-door cottage, resulting in a larger building which continued to utilise the original cellar. With the exception of the, now demolished, outside toilets, the 1936 floor plan remains: a snug, with original bench seating, a corridor bar, a large concert room and a smaller back room.
Contrary to many assumptions, this back room was part of the 1936 rebuild and is not a later addition. To the rear was originally a yard which included outside toilets. The only internal change of use is that the scullery has become the men’s toilet, with the ladies a 2002 addition at the rear of the property.
This Barracks also has an attractive award-winning beer garden which has further extended into the yard of the adjoining building. Until the early 1990’s, this neighbouring building included a shop which extended outwards towards Penistone Road. This was demolished when the road was widened. At that time, it was ‘Carter’s Sandwich Shop.’ The remainder of the building is now part of the pub and is used for storage. The concert room displays some original plans and various photographs.
Duncan Gilmour and Company Limited were established in 1832. In 1891 they were registered as a limited liability company. They were acquired by Joshua Tetley and Son Ltd. in 1954 when they owned 144 licensed houses in Sheffield and 350, plus the Windsor Brewery, in Liverpool. They ceased to brew by 1964. The New Barrack remained a Tetley pub for a number of years. There then followed a period of closure before it was taken on by, among others, Del Tilling and, later, James Birkett. In 2002, the building was taken over by Nottingham-based, Castle Rock, Steph and Kevin arriving in 2003.
We will be presenting our July Pub of the Month award, as voted for by our members, to the New Barrack Tavern on the evening of Tuesday 8th.July.
Dave Pickersgill
The Closed Shop is one of two pubs opposite one another that have been reborn and made Commonside worth the short ride on the 95 bus up the hill from the City Centre or the walk down the hill from Crookes (the other being the Hallamshire House, now operated by Thornbridge Brewery).
Andy Stephens’ Reet Ale Pubs took on the lease with Punch Taverns last year after the pub had gone downhill then closed, he reopened the pub with a range of real ales – some from Blue Bee Brewery which he co-owns along with guests.
Not long after, the pub was subject to a refurbishment that left the pub smart, classy and well presented yet still quite traditional. Food was also introduced and this has proved popular with the menu expanded and also a childrens menu introduced.
The food hours on a Sunday have also been extended to 9pm, the same as the rest of the week, so Sunday dinner are available right up until the quiz starts.
The Sunday night quiz is Andy’s usual pub quiz where all the answers are linked by a tenuous theme, there is also a bingo quiz on Wednesday nights. Sporting action can normally be watched on the TV in the games room at the back of the pub, which also hosts a pool table.
Another area that has been subject to refurbishment is the beer garden, which is now quite pleasant in the summer.
Paul Howe moved up to the Closed Shop from the Rutland to be installed as assistant manager and the team have all made their own mark on the pub in various small ways, now lead by chef manager Mark Barton.
We will be presenting our May Pub of the Month award, as voted for by our members, to the Closed Shop on the evening of Thursday 22nd May. As well as celebrating their award win, they will be celebrating the arrival of Spring with a beer festival which will see a second bar boasting a range of extra guest beers and there will be general party shenanigans too. Please come and join us, we’ll be there from about 8pm.
A pub on the site since 1797, the Dog & Partridge was acquired by Duncan Gilmour at some time after 1860 as shown by the distinctive Gilmour’s frontage. Internally the pub still retains some of the original room layout with seating areas on both sides of the entrance. On the left there’s a small enclosed snug whilst the right leads to the main bar area with a comfortable lounge to the rear.
Conor and Sarah Smith took on the lease in February 2013 following a refurbishment of the pub in 2012, Conor having previously had over ten years’ experience in the licensed trade. Currently the opening hours are Monday – Thursday 12-11 and 12-12 Friday and Saturday (closed Sunday). Food is available Monday to Friday lunchtimes 12-2.30. There are now six handpumps dispensing Black Sheep Bitter and Kelham Island Easy Rider as regular beers and up to four guest beers, many from local breweries but also from independents from further afield, with around 200 different beers in the first year. There’s a 10% discount on cask beers for CAMRA members on production of a current membership card.
Traditional pub games available include darts, table skittles, shove ha’penny and bagatelle. Monday is quiz night with a £20 bar tab for the winners, Tuesday there’s an acoustic jam session and there’s a DJ on Saturday nights. To mark the pubs transformation in the last year to become a quality showcase for real ale, the pub will be receiving the Pub of the Month award on the evening of Tuesday 11th March 2014, when all are welcome to join us was presented with their award on an evening of good beer, music, buffet (including Connor’s excellent home made hot scotch eggs!) a raffle and a space hopper.
Dog & Partridge, 56 Trippet Lane, S1 4EL
The nearest tram stop is City Hall. Buses 51, 52, 70, 95, 120.
The Red Deer on Pitt Street, hidden away off West Street is approached via Mappin Street and is one of the gems of the City Centre real ale scene.
Dating from the 1870’s, the pub originally comprised three small rooms with a central bar area. This was opened out in the 1980’s and the bar repositioned to provide the
present format of an L-shaped lounge. The “gallery”, a raised area at the rear, was added in 1993 and this leads on to a beer garden.
Formerly a Tetley pub, for many years in the early days of Sheffield CAMRA, the Red Deer was the regular meeting place for the branch, it being one of the few Sheffield pubs to retain handpumps.
Jake Nickles took over the pub in August 2010, having previously worked in pubs and bars in London and the Midlands. By focusing on good customer service and increasing the choice of real ales he quickly re-established the pubs reputation as a quality showcase for cask beer. The bar displays an impressive range of handpumps, serving up to nine beers, including regularly changing guest beers. A good selection of malt whiskies are also available.
Quality “pub grub” is available 12-3pm and 5-9pm weekdays and 12-9pm Saturday/Sunday.
Tuesday evenings there is a fairly challenging pub quiz, there’s an acoustic session on the first Thursday of the month and open mike on the third Thursday. A popular movie night is held in the upstairs function room on the second and fourth Sunday, alternating between sci-fi and arts films.
The well-deserved Pub of the Month award will be presented on the evening of Tuesday 10th December 2013, when all are welcome to join us. An incentive for CAMRA members is a 5% discount on real ales, on production of a current membership card.
