as promised last week I have been doing a little research on the Anglers Rest pub. I popped in yesterday for a pint, hoping to get some concrete factual information from the staff, such as when it was built, however this was not a successful venture, but I did get talking to a couple of regulars in the Tap Room, and between them and a friend of theirs here's what we guesstimembered...
The pub was built prior to the houses on the other side of the road and presumably about the same time as the rest of the estate. Curmudgeon had suggested a fifties build and this seemed to be the opinion here. It seems that Wards Brewery built the pub and owned it right up until their closure in 1999 (it is presently owned by Barracuda Group, which is a bit of a surprise since they are more about bars like Varsity, it has variously been or indeed is a Smith and Jones pub, and perhaps a Barnwells ?).
The pub was enlarged in the eighties - we think the snooker area in the right hand room (which is partitioned and entered through a very wide doorway), was added then. The room on the right used to be a small panelled bar , which suggests the panelling around the fireplace is original. The fireplace looks like a reclaim so its unclear when that was put in. This supports my initial suspicion that the panelling in the other room on the left may also be original - that room too has been extended further back.
In the tap room next to fireplace in the right corner was the entrance to the ladies with the gents to the left - both are accessed in the middle now, and this further suggests that the fireplace location if nothing else is original. Behind the bar is interesting as their is a thirties style arrangement of three doors side on to the bar for the cellar, kitchen and accommodation.
The off sales hatch is still open but rarely used, but I still think its used for convenience in Summer when people are sat outside. The sign has changed as well - it now depicts an angler, perhaps walking through reeds - it always used to be three crossed fishing rods. Apparently there were three fishponds in the area, of which only one survives, at Richmond.
The beers were Morland Original at £1.79 a pint, which was well kept, and the Jennings Cumberland at £1.99 a pint which might have edged by being a bit less lively. It looks like the next of the Golden Ales guest list to appear will be Waggle Dance .
I found out very little info on the modern day pub on the Internet but I reckon I have worked out which pub it replaced with a lot of help from the Sheffield History website (you can search the pub section and find details on both pubs on the site via the link) I had heard that the Anglers replaced (albeit in a different location) a pub called the Anglers Rest on South Lane near the bottom of London Road which was bombed in the war. It looks like the most plausible candidate is the Anglers rest at Dobson Street, formerly New George Street, just off the bottom of London Road.
Apparently this closed in 1948, and may have been a beer retailer before then - its pure conjecture but I wonder if after it was bombed, adjoining or surviving premises were retained as a retail business. The final thing I found out was that the modern pub is built on the wrong side of the road! Perhaps rumours of subsidence over the road prove this to be a sensible decision.
So, there's the gen I have, am afraid this is my first attempt at researching a pub (as is probably blindingly obvious) but if nothing else, I've enjoyed my little bit of sleuthing, and my long discussion with the three blokes in the Anglers yesterday.
Lets hope I am back in soon enjoying a decent pint of real ale ale at a very reasonable price.
Wee Beefy
