Tag: potm

Our Pub of the Month for November is the Lord Nelson in the city centre. The building dates to the 1800s, when it was built as terraced houses, and it is recorded as selling beer from around 1854. It is often nicknamed ‘Fanny’s’, after Fanny Brocklebank, who ran it for 29 years around the time of the second world war. There are two Fannys named in the pub’s history, which may be the same person. The Lord Nelson is interested in creating a history display at the pub, so if any readers have information that could help with this project, get in touch with the pub.

The pub is located on Arundel Street, in an area of the city that still contains some of the centre’s more industrial buildings. The ground floor is roughly divided into four, with two open seating areas, the bar and a snug. Upstairs is a second bar in the games room, with a pool table and darts. This bar is open on match days and the room can be used for private events. It has occasionally hosted our branch meeting too. There is also a roof terrace with seating.

On the bar are four real ales, usually with one from Abbeydale as a gluten-free option, and the others often from breweries within about 30 miles, such as Bradfield, Ossett, Little Critters and Thornbridge – with an occasional Bass appearance for match days. The pub offers a loyalty stamp scheme: buy 10 drinks costing more than £3 and get one free.

The Lord Nelson has been owned by Stefan Lowrie for about seven years. He previously worked for the University of Sheffield and managed the University Arms. Manager Paddy formerly worked for Nottingham’s Castle Rock Brewery and has been at the Nelson for two years, managing both bar and cellar. 

Sport is a focus of the pub, which is very busy on Sheffield United match days. There is usually sport playing quietly on their many screens, and the pub is home to not only multiple pool and darts teams, but also their own football club – AFC Lord Nelson. Each Sunday, the pub holds a meat and beer raffle to provide funding for the club, with complimentary pork pies and sausage rolls on offer.

Join us from 8pm on Tuesday 10 November to celebrate their well-earned award, which we’ll present at around 9pm.

The pub our members have voted for as Pub of the Month for July is Shakespeares, on Gibraltar Street in the north of the city centre. 

The building began its life in 1821 as a coaching inn, and retains much of its original layout. There is a central bar with several rooms surrounding it, the newest of which is the converted driveway to the right of the building, now a long room with seating. To the rear is a courtyard paved with stone ‘setts’, and the original stable area provides some undercover seating. Upstairs is a games room and a larger room used for events. Shakespeares is on CAMRA’s local inventory of historic pub interiors.

Shakespeares closed in 2010 and was reopened by its current owner, William Wagstaff, in 2011 following a refurbishment. It made quite an impression on the local pub scene as in 2012 it was awarded Sheffield & District CAMRA’s Pub of the Year award.

The bar always serves Abbeydale’s Deception – rebadged as ‘Dave’s Deception’ after a regular – and around 6 guest ales from around the UK, always in a range of styles. They also always have a wide range of up to nine craft keg lines, alongside ciders, bottled beer, mead and wines and spirits. Since its opening in 2011, Shakespeares has kept track of the number of beers it has served, and as of the time of writing they’ve sold 8830 different cask beers, and 2670 kegs.

The larger upstairs room is regularly host to events, primarily music, and the pub often holds beer festivals. All events are advertised on a board outside the pub and also on social media. At this year’s Sheffield Beer Week the pub brewed a large number of beers in collaboration with local brewers, resulting in their own tap takeover.

Join us on Tuesday 14 July for a drink from 8pm where we’ll present them with their well-earned award (presentation is around 9pm).