Royal Hotel Dungworth: Plans submitted which would call time on historic Sheffield pub

The Royal Hotel, in the village of Dungworth, dates back to 1813, and was well know for its famous 200-year-old Christmas carol ‘sing’ events.

But the venue stopped trading last year after 211 years.

Now, the former landlord, Dave Lambert, has submitted a planning application to Sheffield Council asking to convert the landmark building into a private house.

The planning application would convert the rustic local into a three bedroom house, and and the existing holiday accommodation units on the site would become a one bedroom bungalow.

The letter accompanying the application said: “Mr Lambert purchased the pub in March 1999. The business has struggled to operate as a viable business in previous years. This position has continued to decline year on year, reaching a point where the deficit cannot be maintained.

“In recent years attempts have been made to diversify the operation with the three B&B rooms, rental from the upstairs flat, regular events and private hire. With the exception of December, where footfall is higher due to a longstanding Christmas Carol event, the turnover does not cover the costs associated with maintaining and running the premises or covering staff wages.”

The building now needs money spending on it to meet modern standards, including rewiring, new heating and plumbing, a new roof, and internal decoration as well as reupholstering and refurbishing.

It adds there have been numerous attempts over the years to increase visitors to the pub, including events, social evenings and quizzes, but despite this the level of custom has continued to decline with the pub closing its doors in March 2024.

There were efforts to find a buyer for the pub in December 2023, but no viable offers materialised, it added.

It said there were two other pubs within two miles, the Crowne and Glove and Nags Head.

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