Rose House pub Walkley: Re-opening hopes for closed Sheffield pub, attacked by vandals last year

A popular Sheffield pub has closed months after it was attacked by vandals last year.

But there is hope that The Rose House could re-open soon despite having been left with boarded up windows since the incidents last summer.

Landlady Jacqui Hanson soldiered on running the Rose House, on Walkley’s South Road after yobs put its windows through last summer, keeping it running for a time with boarded-up windows.

But the pub closed last month, with no signs of activity for several weeks. The phone number on the pub website does not work, and the front door facing onto South Road is now a metal structure carrying a notice stating: “All items of value have been removed.”

Now a sign has appeared outside the venue, appealing for a new landlord to come in and run the venue – and the pub company which runs it, Stonegate, says it hopes to re-open it soon. A sign on the wall now states: “Publican wanted.” A telephone number and a website address for Stonegate pub partners is listed below.

A spokesperson for company said of the pub: “We are actively recruiting for a new Pub Partner to take this business forward and are looking to reopen as soon as possible.”

The windows still remained boarded up, after having been broken in two separate attacks in August last year. Residents living nearby said that the alarm at the venue had been triggered on several occasions since it was closed.

But one said he thought the pub company needed to fix the windows if they were going to attract a new landlord or landlady to the venue. He said: “I think they need to invest if they are going to bring someone in. They need to give the right impression.”

Previous landlady Jacqui boarded the windows up, but for months was refusing to let the vandalism stop her running her pub, clearing up the damage to be able to re-open. She said at the time: “We have spent too much to let this stop us. We have boarded up the windows instead of replacing the glass, and I’m going to leave them boarded up for now.”