News

Wednesday 16th January 2013 saw us put our 1000th different beer on the bar, with the lucky beer being Sheffield Brewery NZPA III.  We will have a list printed out in the pub shortly showing all 1000, so you can see how many you sampled!

With this landmark achieved a few days before our 18th month anniversary, we will see how long it takes us to get to 2000...

Unfortunately the Islay Blind Fury whisky tasting night being run by The Whisky Lounge has been cancelled.  Hopefully we will be able to arrange an alternative date with them at somepoint in the new year. We apologise for the late notice.

Shakespeares presents Shake, Rattle & Roll, an evening of the highest calibre entertainment in aid of St Luke's Hospice (www.stlukeshospice.org.uk) on Friday 12th October. The evening features live music from the cream of South Yorkshire's up and coming Folk and Blues talent, Shake, Rattle & Sold: an auction of artwork from some of Sheffield's finest artists, including Kid Acne, Geo Law and Martin Bedford, a Raffle with prizes donated by a host of Sheffield's independent retailers and businesses, Patrick Johnson's Darts Tournament, Pub Quiz and various games and stalls and closes with a Burlesque show from Secrets Of The Boudoir.

The live music line-up is headlined by The Hosts, transporting you back to the glory days of soulful rock 'n' roll, lead singer Tom delivers the lead vocals in the vein of the great Roy Orbison (listen out for their top notch cover of In Dreams), while the band deliver catchy, blues tinged pop melodies. With their debut album produced by Sheffield legend Richard Hawley, and a touch of class in their music elevating The Hosts above your average indie band, making them surely destined for a bright future!

In support we have one of the Steel City's premier original Blues bands, The Blackbirds. A blues duo consisting of drummer Mark and Guitarist Tom who deliver driving, hard rocking blues riffs in the style of blues superstars Canned Heat, with a liberal dose of Hendrix thrown in for good measure, Sure to get your feet stomping, The Blackbirds have dragged blues kicking and screaming into the 21st Century and are taking Sheffield's scene by storm.

Opening the night in the Bards Bar at 9 o'clock are up and coming Indie Rockers The Lion Works, whose new EP is currently enjoying exposure on the Guardian website. Crafting haunting, atmospheric, melancholy tunes influenced by such luminaries as Joy Division and The Smiths, The Lion Works are starting to gain the attention of those in the know on the local scene and are certainly a band likely to make waves in the coming months.

Before it all kicks off upstairs, kick back and listen to some of South Yorkshire’s best folk tunes purveyed by talented acoustic duo Rita Payne at 6:30 and the wonderful Mother Folkers at 8. Rita Payne are a Doncaster based modern folk group who manage to create witty, interesting, multi dimensional songs using the minimal instruments. The Mother Folkers, meanwhile, are a six piece featuring acoustic guitar, violin, flute, bass & percussion and described as the unstoppable folk machine, who play tender ballads mixed up with barnstorming, high tempo numbers - folk with a twist!

More details will be confirmed as the night approaches!

The line-up for the 2012 Sheffield Folk Festival have been anounced, and we are very pleased that the organisers have decided to use Shakespeares as one of their primary venues. The highlight of which is undoubtedly the 'Rarely Heard' concert on the Friday night, Tegwen Roberts is highly reccommended amongst the plethora of great musicians on show that night! All details can be found on the Live Music page of our site. 

In other news we have put our different 400th beer on the bar! Great Newsome Marvellously Poetic Porter has the privilege of the landmark. We thank everyone for their continued support and custom, and we should hit #500 towards the end of May!

ONE of Sheffield’s oldest pubs is due to reopen in the summer as an addition to the city’s renowned real ale trail. The boarded-up Shakespeare in Gibraltar Street, West Bar was spotted by William Wagstaff, who had rescued another pub in a sorry state in Bradford 22 years ago.

“I thought: ‘Why not have a go with this one?’ It might need an awful lot of work doing but as soon as walked into it I thought it’s pubs like this that should be kept going. There are certain pubs which you have to say goodbye to and others which should be kept going. There was something that tugged at the heart strings.”

The Shakespeare closed in January, renowned as a venue for live music. William has bought it from Punch Taverns, and has an eye on music returning to the upstairs function room. But that’s one for later. The priority is restoring and building a reputation as a real ale pub, a process he went through with the New Beehive Inn in Bradford. He knows all about the Don Valley Beer Trail, with places such as the Fat Cat and the Kelham Island Tavern, and Sheffield’s reputation as the beer capital of Britain.

“We want to be part of the scene. I used to come from Bradford every now and again and walk around the pubs. It is unique to have so many good real ale pubs within such a short distance. This will complement the other pubs in the area. It will be run on the same sorts of lines, with real ales. At some later date we might put a brewery in.”

The building dates back to 1821, when it was a coaching inn, and there is still a stable and hayloft at back. William plans to restore original features in retaining the character of the premises and he is looking for a manager “with a similar passion for traditional pubs and real ale”.

He is already overcoming one setback. “The day we took over some herbert whipped out all the pipes”. Hundreds of feet of copper piping had disappeared. But William is determined to add The Shakespeare to Sheffield’s canon of real ale pubs. “It is going to have quite a lot of investment, a total refurbishment. It is going to be put back on its feet and given a new start.”