On Wednesday 13 November, Institute for Sustainable Food members and leaders of the Place, Craft and Alcohol project, Professor Phil Withington and Dr Nick Groat, teamed up with Being Human Festival to host the Pints of Interest: Pubs as social landmarks event- a panel and discussion about the place of the pub in modern British society.
Hosted at The Tap at Sheffield Station, a crowd of 60 people filled the pub’s backroom to learn about the project and listen to an invited panel of publicans and punters discuss the relationship between pubs and community.
Three artists working with the project, Jess Heywood, Maria Marinou, and Wemmy Ogunyankin, showcased the custom beer mats they designed specially for the occasion and explained the stories behind them.
Chaired by Phil Withington, the panel included representatives of three of Sheffield's landmark pubs - Louise Singleton (licensee of The Kelham Island Tavern), Craig Chaplain (general manager of The Tap), and Jake Nickles (ex-proprietor of The Red Deer), as well as three knowledgeable punters: Dave Pickersgill (CAMRA), Molly Avery (Walkley resident and local of The Blake Hotel) and Nick Groat.
The conversation was lively and engaging, with the audience continuing to discuss the issues raised an hour and half after the panel officially ended.
Panel member Jake Nickles, ex-proprietor of The Red Deer and H3 Research Fellow, said, “As an ex-publican (now embedded in the University of Sheffield), it was lovely to revisit my time at the pub and what made The Red Deer a special place to operate. The discourse around safe spaces and the ongoing role of pubs as community hubs was invigorating and the event highlighted to me the secret ‘social asset’ status of these venues. I look forward to seeing this project progress, particularly the Place, Craft, Alcohol oral histories work currently underway.”
Key points to emerge from the panel discussion include; the many roles and services provided by pubs for a variety of communities, the challenges and difficulties facing the hospitality industry on a daily basis, and the need for Sheffield to have a forum that both represents the interests of independent businesses and showcases the quality and diversity of Sheffield's pub culture to a global audience.
Professor Phil Withington, School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities, said, “It was great to see such a large and engaged audience discussing the relationship between pubs and communities in modern Britain. It was also a reminder that we can do much more to support and promote Sheffield's unique hospitality industry and culture.”
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Place, Craft and Alcohol project is exploring what ‘craft’ has done for the history and future of the northern, post-industrial city of Sheffield.