Category: Heritage

Recent planning applications bring the news that the Sportsman (Darnall Road, S9 5AD) is to become a House of Multiple Occupation for 16 people.

Opening as a beer house in 1859, the Sportsman was an ex-John Smiths, two-roomed pub with a central bar. 1953 plans (Wilburn & Atkinson, Architects, Doncaster for Messrs.Whitworth Son & Nephew Ltd.) show an identical lay-out with three external doors (left, central and right). At the time of closure, there was a mosaic on the floor entrance (often hidden by a mat) and tiling in the right-hand room. The most recent pub sign was based on ex-landlord, Darnall-born featherweight boxer, Billy Calvert (1933- 2016). He twice unsuccessfully fought for the British Title in a seven-year career which commenced in 1958. 

The fifth edition of the Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs arrived from the printer just in time for the 2023 CAMRA Member’s Weekend, AGM & Conference (1000 copies, A5, 128 pages, full colour throughout, £8.99 RRP). 

Copies are available at several local outlets: Beer Central, Draughtsman (Doncaster railway station), Famous Sheffield Shop, Fat Cat, Kelham Island Books + Music, Kelham Island Museum, Hop Hideout, Makers Store (Meadowhall), Millennium Gallery, Next Chapter Books, Old Shoe, SMOD and Rhyme & Reason.

Thanks again to the sponsors of this printed edition: Abbeydale Brewery, Alder, Bradfield Brewery, Crow Inn, Hop Hideout, Rutland Arms and Sheffield Beer Week.

For copies by post, email pubheritage@sheffield.camra.org.uk.

All copies of the pub heritage walk booklet have been distributed. The plan is to produce (at least) two further booklets in this series: Kelham Island/Neepsend (2024) and Little Chicago (2025). Launch events are planned for the Steel City Beer & Cider Festival.

The Old Queen’s Head is the oldest non-religious building in Sheffield and one of only three medieval timber framed buildings in the city that still remain. The building is widely considered to have initially been a hunting or fishing lodge that was associated with Sheffield Castle, and tree ring dating indicates that it was constructed sometime between 1503 and 1510. The building is likely to have been constructed for the 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, who took an active interest in local affairs and transformed Sheffield Manor Lodge into a vast Tudor country retreat in 1516. The building was originally located on the North West edge of the Sheffield Medieval Deer Park surrounded by ponds, and initially had a much larger L-shaped footprint.

There are tunnel openings within the cellars, and it is rumoured that these connected with Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor Lodge. The first written reference to the building is in a 1582 inventory for the 6^th Earl of Shrewsbury, where it was referred to as ‘the Hawle at the Poandes’. The Earl may have used the building to throw banquets for guests who came to hunt wild fowl, and the inventory recorded rich and plentiful contents. Many of the road and place names in the immediate vicinity refer to the aforementioned ponds, which now no longer remain. The Earl kept Mary Queen of Scots under house arrest in Sheffield between 1570 and 1584, and it is believed that she visited the hall and surrounding ponds.

The building is constructed using oak supporting beams. These were likely infilled by wattle and daub, and the building would originally have had a thatched roof. The building is jettied, where the upper floor projects beyond the lower floor, and has a fireplace believed to be original. Historic timberwork and carving is located internally and externally, and the building has 5 carved oak heads. These are believed to depict the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, Bess of Hardwick, a King, a person coming out of a fish’s mouth, along with a further unknown carving.

Sometime between 1582 and 1637, it appears that the building was let out to tenants and its status declined. There are later references to the building having been used for ducal washing and also as a wash-house to Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor Lodge. By the beginning of the 1800s the building was being used as a house, and the first known image of the building is a watercolour by BK Dale from 1815.

A three storey building was constructed to the rear of the hall in 1840 and this became a public house. James Pilley may have been the original landlord, and is listed in an 1849 directory as running a beerhouse at 2 River Street. The pub was initially called the Queen Hotel, likely in reference to Mary Queen of Scots, and the entrance door and signage can be seen in a photograph from the mid to late 1800s. The establishment reportedly expanded into the hall sometime after 1862, and was identified as the Queen’s Head Hotel from 1864. The Old Queens Head was subsequently restored by John Smith’s in 1950 and then refurbished and extended by the Tom Cobleigh pub chain in the early 1990s.

Today the building is grade II* listed, but is largely surrounded by modern high rise development and Sheffield Interchange. Despite this, the Old Queen’s Head remains of great importance to those with an interest in heritage pubs, historic buildings, local history and the paranormal. With regards to the latter, the building is said to be haunted by ghosts including a Civil War soldier, a medieval child, a hunting hound, a lady in white, and a pub local from the 1970s!

Joe Freegard.

The Farfield (376 Neepsend Lane, S3 8AW) was built in 1752 as a gentleman’s residence. As a pub, it was damaged in the 1864 Sheffield Flood, when the nearby bridge collapsed and the Don overflowed. The publican, Matilda Mason, was forced to shelter on the upper floors. She later claimed £162 13 s 9d for loss of property. This claim was ‘assessed by agreement incl. costs at £90’ on 10^th June 1865.

1961 plans show four separate rooms on the ground floor. A Public Bar to the left of the entrance, Saloon to the right, with a Smoke Room behind. The Saloon includes a Servery. The far-left corner is a kitchen. Alterations (John Foster, Group Architect, Joshua Tetley & Son Ltd.) open out the Saloon and Smoke Room into a larger Smoke Room with the Servery moving into a more central position. The kitchen becomes inside toilets. 1992 saw the addition of several internal doors (Michael Self Partnership, Chartered Architects, Sheffield). Externally, between floors, to the right, is a distinctive moulded cement sign reading ‘Farfield Inn.’ The building was Grade II listed in December 1995.

For many years, the pub prospered as a Gilmours, and later, a Tetleys house. Personally, I recall attending a CAMRA ‘games evening’ in the early 1980s. Changes of name (Owl, Muff Inn) followed, before the building was gutted, and subsequently closed, as a consequence of the 2007 Sheffield floods. In January 2018, the building sold at auction, as a development opportunity’ for £250k. The guide price was £95k. The Auction Brochure described the building as requiring ‘complete restoration following floor damage.’

In February 2019, a planning application was made to Sheffield City Council: ‘Alterations to and refurbishment of Public House, formation of 6 flats on first and second floor, use of existing outbuilding as a workshop and erection of a two-storey building to form 2 workshops (Use Class B1) and erection of associated bin stores.’ This was validated the following February and a decision made in March 2021. The gap of over two years between the original application and the decision from SCC suggests that there was considerable interaction between the applicant and the decision makers.

The planning application was refused. The key reason seems to be: ‘‘On the face of it ….. the benefit of the proposed renovation of this listed building ….. appear to outweigh any less than substantial harm that may arise. However ….. there are inadequacies in the submission (in relation to noise and the impact of the development on the amenities of future residents) which cannot be dealt with by condition which mean that the full impact of the proposals on the listed building cannot be properly assessed and so the level of harm cannot be accurately determined or, therefore, justified.’

This imposing building has been closed for almost twenty years. In the interim, Kelham Island, described by Time Magazine as, ‘one of the coolest places on the planet,’ has slowly encroached. We look forward to seeing a subsequent planning application and the building both restored to its former glory and back in use.

Thanks to all the retail outlets which are stocking, one (or both) of the recently published Sheffield Pub Heritage publications: Abbeydale Brewery, Bath Hotel, Beer Central, Biblioteka (at their new premises on Eyre Street), the CAMRA Shop, the Crow, Dog and Partridge, Draughtsman (Doncaster), Fagan’s, Famous Sheffield Shop, Fat Cat, Hop Hideout, Kelham Island Books and Music, Kelham Island Museum, Makers Shop (Meadowhall), Millennium Galleries, Samuels Kitchen (Stocksbridge), St.Mars of the Desert Brewery, the University Arms and Weston Park Museum.

Both the booklet and the book are selling well – please contact pubheritage@sheffield.camra.org.uk for retail enquiries or copies by post.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, these guided walks are cancelled

As part of Heritage Open Days 2023, we are leading two pub heritage walks. On Thursday 14September at 5pm we’ll be on West Street and on Sunday 17 at 2pm, we’ll be in Kelham Island. Both walks will include Victorian tilework, terrazzo flooring, art deco glasswork, a mention of long-gone Sheffield breweries and much more…..

Full details and booking information are available:

• Thursday 14 September: https://tinyurl.com/arh79jae
• Sunday 17 September: https://tinyurl.com/yc6buf3w

If you can’t wait until September, you could try the latest edition of the Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pub book: sheffield.camra.org.uk/rhp.

Ticketed events for Steel City Beer & Cider Festival – October 2023

Exploring Sheffield’s Little Chicago Quarter in 1925: Gang Wars and a Murder Mystery.

Tickets for our first event are now available: a guided walk with a difference – you will explore Sheffield’s Little Chicago Quarter before your fast-track entry to our Beer Festival. Led by local author, John Stocks, you will explore the social and Industrial heritage of the area, examining the myths and reality of 1925, a tumultuous year in Sheffield’s history. The walk will explore streets that feature in your host’s book ‘Sheffield 1925: Gang Wars and Wembley Glory,’ with a narrative explaining how Sheffield briefly became the most turbulent city in Britain because of an escalating gang war involving the Park Brigade, Mooney Gang, Gas Tank Gang and many others.

The comfortable walk, with just one minor ascent, is under 2 miles and will last for approximately 90 minutes before concluding at Kelham Island Museum, and the 47th Sheffield Steel City Beer Festival (SCBF47) for a post-walk drink and discussion. There will also be the opportunity to purchase copies of the book.

This event will take place on Thursday 19 October; full details and advance tickets are available at: https://tinyurl.com/5yvvdyaw

The recent Sheffield Heritage Fair highlighted the importance of our local heritage: how we learn about our past and how it shapes our future. One integral aspect of this interest is pubs: for centuries, the home of personal interactions and a barometer of social change.

For example, the recent Sheffield Beer Week saw 23 enthusiastic participants join a sell-out guided pub heritage walk in the Kelham Island/Neepsend area. On this occasion, parts were recorded for posterity:    https://tinyurl.com/dad8ezmt. Thanks to the Fat Cat, the Wellington and Alder Bar for hosting us. Similar guided walks are planned for Sheffield Walking Festival in September.

The recent Members’ Weekend, AGM and Conference saw the launch of, not one, but two new Sheffield-based Pub Heritage publications. Paul Ainsworth, Chair of the National Pub Heritage Group, also led a pub heritage walk. However, we knew more would want to follow the route than was possible to lead. 

Hence a 32-page, A5, full-colour booklet, including directions and background information was printed, providing walking instructions and information about local pubs and attractions on a 1.5 mile walk from the University Arms to Fagan’s. Suggested calling stops en route are the Bath Hotel, the Red Deer, the Grapes and the Dog and Partridge. 

In addition, a new edition of ‘Sheffields’ Real Heritage Pubs’ is now available: 120 pages, A5, full-colour, over 70 new images and many text changes. 

Thanks to the sponsors who have supported these publications: Abbeydale Brewery, Alder Bar, Bradfield Brewery, the Crow, the Dog and Partridge, Hop Hideout, the Rutland, Sheffield Beer Week and the University Arms. Copies of both publications are available at several local outlets. Please contact pubheritage@sheffield.camra.org.uk for postal and retail enquiries. They are also available as free downloads from the Sheffield CAMRA website: https://sheffield.camra.org.uk/rhp/

As you left their recent (excellent) beer festival, I’m sure you all spotted the pane of glass above the inner entrance door at Shakespeares. Apparently, this was acquired at an auction some years ago, but where did it originate?

It could be Arkwright’s Brewery (2011): originally based at The Real Ale Shop, Lovat Road, Preston. The shop closed in 2014 and the brewery re-located and upgraded to a 10 Bbl plant. In 2015 it was renamed Darkwave Brewing, ceasing production in 2018. Arkwright’s beer was available at nearby Fat Cat in August 2013.

Or perhaps, it’s from the set of the Ronnie Barker Open All Hours TV series (1976/1985) – the name above the shop is Arkwright.

Any ideas?

Dave Pickersgill & Lucienne Pinglewick

The latest edition of the book, Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs is currently in production and is expected to be available for the forthcoming national CAMRA Members’ Weekend, AGM and Conference. Compared to the previous edition, this new expanded edition, 128 pages, includes over 70 new images.

In addition, we are also producing a 32 page Pub Heritage Walk booklet: from the University Arms to Fagan’s.

Both publications will be available from local outlets and by mail order (email pubheritage@sheffield.camra.org.uk).

Thanks to our sponsors who have assisted with publication costs: Abbeydale Brewery, Alder, Bradfield Brewery, Crow Inn, Dog & Partridge, Hop Hideout, Rutland Arms, Sheffield Beer Week and University Arms.