The Robin Hood Pub in Stannington, Sheffield has been serving pints for over 200 years, but has final had to close its doors for good
after profits plummeted.
The current owners tried in vain to save the pub after putting it up for sale over a year ago and also using their own money to fund it. But the recession fought hard and finally the family decided to close the pub for good. Bridget Appleyard, owner of the pub expressed, “We’d love to keep it but it is not financially viable. It has been on the market for over a year. People love the Robin Hood but they say it’s in the wrong location and it’s a white elephant. We have had to accept it.”
The pub was originally built in 1804, half was used for cottages and the other half formed the pub which was then called, ‘Rock Inn.’ The name was later changed to the ‘Robin Hood Pub’ to reflect the links to Loxley valley. The building even survived The Great Sheffield Flood in 1864, when the banks of Dale Dyke Dam burst, which killed 270 people and destroyed more than 800 homes.
Over the years the pub has been used for live entertainment, barbeques and children’s birthday parties. Rachel Skelton who held her birthday party at the pub, when she was seven year old in 1993 spoke of her memories at the pub, “I may not remember the day fully, but I do have a video tape of the event to bring back memories. We had a DJ, games, dancing competitions and a magic show upstairs, followed by food served downstairs. Many of my friends had birthday parties at The Robin Hood Pub; it was the done thing during the 90s.”
The pub was bought in 1998 by the Appleyard family to save it from closure. They built up a reputation over the years amongst local residents as a place for good food, ale and activities. Bridget Appleyard said, “Everybody knows the pub. Thousands turn up on Bonfire Night, Mother’s Day and at Halloween but it’s only an occasional place for the rest of the year. A building this size can’t exist on that. Every month we were putting our own money into this place.”
The grade II-listed commercial property was placed on the market over a year ago, but with the remote location and the challenge for potential buyers to obtain a mortgage, it was always likely that the pub may be forced to close permanently. Bridget Appleyard, stated, “People said were really upset the place was closing but they understood.”
The family have since put in an application for the commercial property to be turned into three flats where the family will live. But it is not yet clear how people will feel about a grade II-listed building, a piece of history, being turned into flats. Bridget Appleyard expressed her feelings, ““It’s very sad but we’ve been pushed into a corner. We hope people will understand that unfortunately it is the end of the road for the Robin Hood.”
