News From The Branch
PUB, CLUB & BREWERY NEWS
Real ale has returned to the Ring O’Bells, Royston after a gap of many years; the single handpump dispenses Tim Taylor Landlord. The pub is operated by Sonic Taverns who have also reopened the Honeywell, Honeywell Street, Barnsley. No real ale here though despite what is stated on the sign outside. Sonic also have the New Inn, Gawber – this too is cask-free.
Barnsley Council has approved a planning application to convert the Fox & Hounds, Shafton to a convenience store. The only objection to the loss of the pub was that submitted by ourselves, the other objections being around alleged oversupply of small shops in the area. The officer report noted that Shafton Working Mans Club is close by though the nearest actual pub, the Singing Man at Shafton Green, is nearly a mile away. The report concluded, rather dubiously in our view, that ‘there are other pubs within a reasonable walking distance or to travel by car or public transport’. However, the fact remains that no local people objected to losing the pub, making it difficult to argue that it was a valued community facility. The Fox & Hounds once sold several Acorn beers but hadn’t offered real ale for some time before closing in 2024.
On Shambles Street, Barnsley, the Three Travellers reopened in May 2025 as the New Travellers Inn, having for many years been a restaurant then a vacant property. Unfortunately, it closed again that November with the operation moving to Vault 27 on Church Street. It was first advertised for sale/lease by banners on the building but is now being professionally marketed by Simon Blyth at a price of £260k. The agents board states, ominously, ‘Former Bar Premises….Development Potential’.
Just along the same street, Prestige Wargames has applied for a full premises licence. Whether alcohol will be available to non-Warhammer players is not known.
The new micropub in a former newsagents at 34 High Street, Goldthorpe is taking shape and should be open soon. We gather it will be called Taylor’s Pit Bottom.
In more micropub news, the Barugh Green Pub Co has submitted a Premises Licence application to open the Crone & Cask in what is currently the Mini Sandwich Bar & Deli on Barugh Green Road. If the application is granted, planning permission will also be needed.
Elsewhere in Barugh Green, the Royal, which closed in February, reopened in June after a classy refurbishment – it’s now operated by the team behind the Garrison in town. Food remains important here though the tapas-based menu has been replaced by more traditional dishes. When we visited, three real ales were on offer – Acorn Barnsley Bitter, Jolly Boys Barnsley Blonde and Draught Bass.
If you’re looking for unusual and interesting Yorkshire beers in central Barnsley, head for Bar Ruelle on Lower Regent Street. The likes of Harrogate Pale Ale and Skipton Airedale have been spotted there recently.
The Sam Smith’s owned Edmund Arms in Worsbrough Village shut a long time back whilst the Engineers Arms, Higham, also a Sam’s pub, is closed again. In both cases, large banners were hung on the pubs advertising their availability, an improvement on the small notices that previously appeared in pub windows. In recent times, around half of Sam/s 300 or so pubs have been vacant at any one time, but the company now seems to be making more effort to get them open again. All Sam’s pubs are run by management couples and the joint salary has increased from £47500 in early 2024 to £57450. Whether the company’s famous bans on children, dogs and digital devices remains to be seen. Late news – the Edmund Arms reopened 18 June under new licensees, Debbie & Matt Pearson.
Admiral Taverns are seeking new tenants for the Blacksmiths Arms, Millhouse Green. Their advert suggests that the currently limited food offering should be expanded and that more should be made of the four letting rooms (we didn’t know there were any here!)
Admiral also plan a comprehensive refurbishment of the Royal Oak, Platts Common, ‘fully unlocking what this pub has to offer’ – a new licensee to run it is being sought as well. Cask beer would be a welcome addition here.
Stonegate have the tenancy of the Bridge, Thurgoland up for grabs, with a reduced rent of £250 per week.
Meanwhile, Star intend to fully refurbish the Darley Inn, Worsbrough, resulting in ‘ a refreshed, well-invested community wet-led pub’. Again, new tenants are sought, as they are at Chambers on Peel Square, Barnsley. After renovations, it will reopen as the Chronicle (the building was once the home of our beloved local newspaper). Neither of these pubs currently sells real ale.
Also in Worsbrough, the Ship Inn installed handpumps when it was refurbished a couple of years back; sadly, real ale sales never took off and it’s no longer available. Up the road, the Red Lion has reopened and was selling Taylors Landlord when visited.
T&R Pubs is looking for an operator who will take the Victoria, Sheffield Road, Barnsley ‘to the next level, with a good rhythm of the week’, whatever that means. The pub hasn’t sold real ale in living memory. T&R also run the Pack Horse, Royston and Tom Treddlehoyle, Pogmoor.