The Bell - Fitzalan Square

Looking at some work in what was the Cash Store on the bottom side of Fitzalan Square and was told it used to be The Bell Pub/Hotel, it must have been before my time so wondered if anybody has any memories of it, it used to be next door to the Classic Cinema.

Looking at some work in what was the Cash Store on the bottom side of Fitzalan Square and was told it used to be The Bell Pub/Hotel, it must have been before my time so wondered if anybody has any memories of it, it used to be next door to the Classic Cinema.

It was before my time but I know of people who used to go in and play in their snooker team, they had one of the best teams in the country at that time.

I have googled it before and there are pictures of it on the internet.

Looking at some work in what was the Cash Store on the bottom side of Fitzalan Square and was told it used to be The Bell Pub/Hotel, it must have been before my time so wondered if anybody has any memories of it, it used to be next door to the Classic Cinema.

The Bell was a long narrow pub inside with a concert room at the rear.

There was four pubs in the square at the time as well as a Chinese restaurant and the Taxi rank.

The pubs, The Bell. The Commercial , The Elephant, The Marples.

The Square had a very active night life as the bus station [Pond Street] was just a short walk away giving people instant travel to a night out.

Just below the Square going towards the Market Area:( was the Brunswick another pub with live music on stage, [now sadly some kind of swap shop or moneylender] and below that the Cannon.

The whole area was buzzing and alive but has now been allowed to fall into disrepair by the planners who have destroyed an important historical part of Sheffields history .

The Bell was the sort of rough and ready pub that I miss terribly. Very busy, full of smoke and characters. I remember being threatened by a drunken Scotsman in there when I was in my teens but I felt safe in the knowledge that had it developed I would have been helped out. Well I thought so at the time.

There are some great pictures of it, and Fitzalan Square in general, on Picture Sheffield. Here and here for starters.

---------- Post added 05-02-2015 at 23:49 ----------

Speaking of Fitzalan Square, the building replaced by the Classic was beautiful. I think some of it was simply masked by the Classic's rather ugly façade.

I remember that it was a pub where the Irish navvies used to go to get paid out at the end of the week, there used to be some good scraps outside at times

The Bell was a long narrow pub inside with a concert room at the rear.

There was four pubs in the square at the time as well as a Chinese restaurant and the Taxi rank.

The pubs, The Bell. The Commercial , The Elephant, The Marples.

The Square had a very active night life as the bus station [Pond Street] was just a short walk away giving people instant travel to a night out.

 

Just below the Square going towards the Market Area:( was the Brunswick another pub with live music on stage, [now sadly some kind of swap shop or moneylender] and below that the Cannon.

The whole area was buzzing and alive but has now been allowed to fall into disrepair by the planners who have destroyed an important historical part of Sheffields history .

I can remember going in the Brunswick when I was very young, the Marples was another pub that had a good snooker team.

If my memory serves me well my first ever Sheffield pub crawl was:

The Venue - Mulberry Tavern - Gardners/Garden(????) - Old Blue Bell - Legends - Stonehouse - Rest is a blur

I'm trying to remember the original name of the cinema in Fitzallan Square, I know it was the 'News Theatre' before the 'Classic', there might have been another name in between those two even. Was the original name the 'Electra' or am I mixing up with a theatre up Norfolk St as it was in the 50's and 60's.

The Bell was a long narrow pub inside with a concert room at the rear.

There was four pubs in the square at the time as well as a Chinese restaurant and the Taxi rank.

The pubs, The Bell. The Commercial , The Elephant, The Marples.

The Square had a very active night life as the bus station [Pond Street] was just a short walk away giving people instant travel to a night out.

 

Just below the Square going towards the Market Area:( was the Brunswick another pub with live music on stage, [now sadly some kind of swap shop or moneylender] and below that the Cannon.

The whole area was buzzing and alive but has now been allowed to fall into disrepair by the planners who have destroyed an important historical part of Sheffields history .

What was the Elephant all about? Such a tiny place, not much of a customer but once opened the door around 1966 and the regulars, who looked like they'd been in there since the advent of time, looked at me and my pal-we were 19- like we'd come to rob the place. Perhaps because we didn't have flat caps as that attire seemed de-rigueur in there and I'm sure someone will be on here soon regaling about the place and characters-and why not.

The Bell was a long narrow pub inside with a concert room at the rear.

There was four pubs in the square at the time as well as a Chinese restaurant and the Taxi rank.

The pubs, The Bell. The Commercial , The Elephant, The Marples.

The Square had a very active night life as the bus station [Pond Street] was just a short walk away giving people instant travel to a night out.

 

Just below the Square going towards the Market Area:( was the Brunswick another pub with live music on stage, [now sadly some kind of swap shop or moneylender] and below that the Cannon.

The whole area was buzzing and alive but has now been allowed to fall into disrepair by the planners who have destroyed an important historical part of Sheffields history .

I don't think there was a Chinese Restaurant in the Square, there was the Queens Restaurant which eventually was turned into the Indus, an Indian Restaurant, after the Owners of the Queens, the Gabrielidis returned to Cyprus.

One of Britains greatest jockeys and eventually a trainer was discovered outside the Bell waiting for his dad, " The Head Waiter" so called because he would wait till the last minute to make his push for the winning post. Harry Wragg.

There wasn't a pub called the Commercial in the Square.

I don't think there was a Chinese Restaurant in the Square, there was the Queens Restaurant which eventually was turned into the Indus, an Indian Restaurant, after the Owners of the Queens, the Gabrielidis returned to Cyprus.

One of Britains greatest jockeys and eventually a trainer was discovered outside the Bell waiting for his dad, " The Head Waiter" so called because he would wait till the last minute to make his push for the winning post. Harry Wragg.

There wasn't a pub called the Excelsior in the Square.

I have never heard of the Excelsior?