Oldest pub in sheff??

[Timbuck]

I remember in the 60's when a new Manager/Landlord took over the "Queens head" his wife was in charge over the decoration of the place and she didn't like the old wooden oak beams in the ceiling so she had them wallpapered over to look more modern ...it's amazing how some women think...Considering that this building was around in the time of Shakespear.

[Greybeard]

The Queen's Head is probably the oldest surviving building in Sheffield and is supposed to have been the bakery or laundry to the castle or a banqueting hall, depending on who you read about its history. It's old enough to have had many different uses. Not sure if any timber dating has been done to establish the date of its construction.

 

The premises were not licenced to sell beer etc. until sometime in the 1850s.

[Meaks]

The Old Heavygate has been around since 1696. It was originally a toll house though.

[Greybeard]

this threads been done before and like most other people i thought the old queens head or nailmakers. however someone brought some records up to prove it was the sheaf near bramall lane .

 

I think that is very unlikely. Sheaf House - the property that became the Sheaf Hotel doesn't even appear on Fairbank's survey of 1795.

[alex3659]

sheaf house 1816 the queens head 30 odd years after,it became a pub inthe 19th century although the building was built in 1475 for other uses. just read this on wikipedia

[happyhippy]

The usual four which crop up are the Queen's Head, Heavygate Inn, Nailmaker's Arms, and the Bagshawe Arms.

 

This gives some information about the Nailmaker's. It's a real chav haven now, which is a shame, as when I lived at Herdings some 13-14 years ago, it had a cracking 'proper pub' atmosphere, and a lovely pint of Younger's No. 3.

[madowl]

which is the oldest pub in sheffield?

i always thought it was the "QUEENS HEAD" in the bus station, but talking to old fellow today he reckons its the "NAILMAKERS" top of gleadless valley near the water tower.

he said it used to be the queens until the county boundry was moved because the nailmakers used to be in derbyshire.

is he talkin rubbish or not???

The Old Queens Head Pub is the oldest surviving domestic building in the city of Sheffield The use of this building as a Pub only dates back to 1840 but the building itself was built in 1475

 

 

THE HISTORY

It is believed that the original use of this building was as a washhouse for Sheffield Castle, which formerly stood on the adjacent site that is now occupied by the Sheffield Markets. In fact there is a documented reference to this place in which is called "The hawle in the pondes" where it is referred to as the Castle's washhouse. Its location close to the river and on the road leading to Lady's Bridge and Sheffield Castle would have made it ideal for this purpose.

 

The first detailed documentation of this building is not however until 1582 when it is listed in an inventory compiled for the estate of George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. This building is still referred to at this date as "The hawle in the pondes" and the inventory details all of the furnishings that existing in the building. It is thought that the use of the building had changed by then to a banqueting hall which would have been used by the people of the estate that hunted wildfowl on the nearby ponds that were located only a few hundred yards from here where the River Porter joins the River Sheaf. These ponds no longer exist and their remnants are buried beneath the city centre streets but their existance lives on in the names of the local streets (Pond Hill, Pond Street) and Ponds Forge Leisure Centre.

By 1800 the building was being used as a residence and in 1840 it was licensed to sell Ale. Later that year it became known as the Old Queens Head due to its connections with Queen Mary, Mary Queen of Scots.

 

THE MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS CONNECTION

Queen Mary of Scotland was the second cousin of Queen Elizabeth 1 of England but unlike Elizabeth, Mary was a Roman Catholic. This was at a time when Catholicism was feared in England and many thought that Mary would stake a claim to the English Throne aided by the Catholic countries of Spain and France. These fears intensified when Mary married Francis, the Dauphin of France, and heir to the French Throne.

 

Mary married Frances when she was just sixteen and within a year she became the Queen of France, and her new Husband became King, but then in 1560 Frances died leaving Mary a widow at just eighteen. Mary returned to Scotland and in 1565 married Lord Darnley, himself related to Queen Elizabeth 1 and a potential claimant to the English Throne. Lord Darnley was murdered soon afterwards and Mary became Queen of Scotland, but Mary was suspected of her Husband's murder and the powerful Protestant faction drove her from the Scottish Throne, leaving her only son to take her place as James VI of Scotland.

In 1568 Mary escaped to England with her supporters but when Elizabeth was advised of the potential threat she posed to the English Throne she had her captured and her movements were restricted.

 

On the 4th February 1569 she was sent to Sheffield and handed over to the custody of George, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, where she remained under his watchful eye on his Estate for the next 14 years.

During this period she spent much of her time imprisoned in Sheffield Castle but whilst she was there her supporters plotted her escape. This escape culminated in the building of a secret underground tunnel which was to eventually connect Sheffield Castle with Manor Castle (a couple of miles away). This tunnel passed directly beneath the "The hawle in the pondes" and there was a secret passage into this tunnel from inside the building which still exists there today.

 

In 1583 Mary escaped from Sheffield Castle with her supporters and initially took refuge in the "The hawle in the pondes" before escaping further down the tunnel to Manor Castle where she found her freedom.

Once a free Woman she quickly plotted to win the English Throne but her plans were thwarted and on 8th February 1587 she was executed in Northamptonshire

[Greybeard]

sheaf house 1816 the queens head 30 odd years after,it became a pub inthe 19th century although the building was built in 1475 for other uses. just read this on wikipedia

 

Sheaf house may well have been constructed in 1816 but it was a private dwelling - when was it first used as a hotel/public house ?

[Greybeard]

During this period she spent much of her time imprisoned in Sheffield Castle but whilst she was there her supporters plotted her escape. This escape culminated in the building of a secret underground tunnel which was to eventually connect Sheffield Castle with Manor Castle (a couple of miles away). This tunnel passed directly beneath the "The hawle in the pondes" and there was a secret passage into this tunnel from inside the building which still exists there today.

 

In 1583 Mary escaped from Sheffield Castle with her supporters and initially took refuge in the "The hawle in the pondes" before escaping further down the tunnel to Manor Castle where she found her freedom.

Once a free Woman she quickly plotted to win the English Throne but her plans were thwarted and on 8th February 1587 she was executed in Northamptonshire

 

Have you a source for this little fantasy ?

[Albert T Smith]

post #017

The Old Queens Head Pub is the oldest surviving domestic building in the city of Sheffield The use of this building as a Pub only dates back to 1840 but the building itself was built in 1475

 

I'm sure that The Old Queens Head in Ponds Street is correct and the oldest structure is The Bridge of our Lady. (Lady's Bridge).