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1 June 2022

Exposed Magazine

Sheffield’s historic brewery and pub, the Neepsend Tavern, is set to re-open for four days of music, drinks and food in their rejuvenated courtyard, prior to opening with a full refurbishment in the next few months.

Well within the week’s theme of acknowledging Her Maj’s historical milestone, the pub’s tenants have teamed up with their new neighbours at Dryad Works to showcase the historic venue’s regeneration at a series of ‘Work in Progress (WIP)’ events.

One of the new directors and renovators of the Neepsend Tavern, Joe Taylor, describes their vision for this latest addition (or return) to the Neepsend & Kelham Island Bar scene: “The building carries so much history and was dormant for years. We plan to re-imagine the Neepsend Tavern with a modern twist, inclusive of good food, good beer and great vibes all-round”.

A year on from discovering the disused space, Joe and the new team have been hard at work creating a new chapter in the venue’s history. Existing first as an 1800’s public house, the building survived the great flood of 1864 before falling into obscurity in recent years. However, the pub’s new landlords are keen to demonstrate that after surviving a flood which destroyed over 600 nearby houses, a few cobwebs are not going to see off this tough old bird.

Historic Neepsend Tavern

(Neepsend Tavern in all of its former glory)

So, as their full opening creeps nearer, the team have invited us all in for a peek at what they have been up to and what we can expect from the exciting new venture. Hence – ‘Work in Progress’. As Joe explains: “The venue is a work in progress but we want to share the excitement of the rebuild with some work-in-progress events”.

The series of courtyard events, spanning each of the eye watering four days in this Jubilee weekend, are being curated by local collective, Dryad Works. Spanning a range of tastes and flavours, the Dubshack Summer Session will bring the sunshine to Neepsend on Thursday, while Risky Disco Soundsystem will remedy any premature jubilee hangovers on Friday.

Eventually, the team visualise the pub as a modernised venue which preserves the building’s heritage, boasting spacious indoor and outdoor drinking and eating areas. They are also keen to bring some of Sheffield’s new waves of music to the Tavern, and with events in the pipeline throughout Spring and Summer, don’t expect sound systems on the cobbles to be a one off in Neepsend.

We’ll be keeping our ears firmly to the ground to bring you more news of the pub’s welcomed return, but for now, you can see first-hand what this corner of Neepsend has been missing by winding your way down to 144 Neepsend Road from Thursday the 2nd to Sunday 5th of June. Tickets for Thursday’s Dubshack Summer Session are available on Skiddle, while the remaining events are free entry. Event listings are below.

  • 4pm – 11pm Thursday 2nd June: Dubshack Summer Session (Ticketed)
  • 5pm – 1am Friday 3rd June: Risky Disco Summer Session (Free Entry)
  • 4pm – 1am Saturday 4th June: Dryad Residents Takeover (Free Entry)
  • 4pm – 11pm Sunday 5th June: Sinai Soundsystem (Free Entry)