The Plough Sandygate: Video and pictures as last trace of landmark Sheffield pub demolished

The Plough, on Sandygate Road, has now been completely demolished after two weeks work on the site by workers with bulldozers. All that can now been seen is a pile of rubble.

Work had started on the site two weeks ago, when teams could be seen removing parts of the roof, including the tiles and the chimney stacks. By early last week, there was just a small section remaining.

But pictures taken by The Star now show the 100-year-old building has been entirely wiped from the map. It is due to be replaced with a new housing development.

The pub, on Sandygate Road, opposite Hallam FC – the oldest football ground in the world – is believed to be where the modern rules of football were first drawn up, althought that would have been in an earlier building on the site. But plans to knock the building down and replace it with eight new three-bedroom town houses were approved last year when a planning inspector overturned Sheffield Council’s decision to refuse permission.

The building was advertised for sale with a £2.2m asking price. In 2017, campaigners fighting to save the pub had managed to raise £435,000 in an attempt to buy it and run it for the community. But then-owners Ei Group rejected that offer and instead sold it to Spacepad, which eventually secured permission to bulldoze the pub and build homes on the plot.

The building which was on the site until this month dated back to 1929, but it is understood a pub has existed there since the 17th century. The Plough Inn closed in 2015 and plans to open a Sainsbury’s store there were rejected by the council in 2017. The pub was listed by the council as an asset of community value, meaning that when Ei Group decided to sell up, it was required to give members of the community the opportunity to put together a bid, which it did, but it was under no obligation to accept the offer.

The firm instead sold to Spacepad, which applied for permission to demolish the pub and build homes. More than 200 objections were submitted, with Save Britain’s Heritage and CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) among those opposing the application.