UK's roughest pubs: Three old Sheffield boozers named among UK's most notorious, including The Cannon

Three notorious Sheffield pubs have been named in a search for the UK's 'roughest' boozer.

The Cannon, on Castle Street, in Sheffield city centre; The Magnet in Southey Green; and The Samuel Plimsoll pub at the Hyde Park flats were all put forward as contenders for the unwanted title.

All three pubs have long since closed but are well remembered by those who used to frequent them and others who preferred to steer clear.

They were among hundreds of suggestions from people across the country in response to a question by X (formerly Twitter) user @ROUNDTHEBEND_, asking: "What’s the roughest pub you’ve ever been in and why?"

The Cannon pub branded 'den of iniquity'

Of the Sheffield trio, The Cannon pub in Castlegate, which has since been converted into apartments, was perhaps the one with the most fearsome reputation.

It was once described as a haven for thieves and drug dealers, and branded a ‘den of iniquity’, with law-abiding citizens reportedly crossing the street to avoid the criminals spilling out of its doors.

It was forced to close more than a decade ago, after police were called there 142 times in the space of 12 months. Police told at the time how it was frequented by customers known to carry guns, while a pregnant 15-year-old was said to be working behind the bar and being sold drugs.

So unsavoury was its reputation that when the property changed hands in 2008, a covenant was included preventing the new owner from using the building to sell beer.

Sheffield Wednesday legend ran The Magnet

The Magnet, on Southey Green Road, was also known as a hotbed of criminality, with several posts on the Sheffield History forum alluding to its reputation.

One person wrote how in the 70s 'it was said that if you had a pair of Levis nicked off your washing line, you could go in the Magnet and buy them back a few days later'.

Another contributor described how before the Second World War, as police waged war on the Sheffield gangs, his mum witnessed the police 'heavy mob' rolling up in a van and a team of 'huge' coppers entering the pub, soon after which 'various bodies flew out of the door into the van, the police came out and off they went'.

Others commented how the pub was once the site of a flourishing 'tossing ring', where crowds gathered to bet illegally, while in the 90s it was so rough that 'rumour had it the brewery put aspiring managers in there to see how they coped with the clientele'.

Sheffield Wednesday legend Ted Catlin was a former landlord at The Magnet, and one person recalled how when they visited 'it appeared to be two different pubs, the posh side and the rougher tap room where you could order/buy anything'.

One former visitor wrote: "Once my dad popped in with me for a quick pint before a Wednesday match. He sat me down on a stool next to the TV with a packet of crisps and a Bass shandy. A bloke walked in, pulled the TV off the wall and walked out with it before the landlord could get from behind the bar. I don't think we went back after that."

The Samuel Plimsoll pub and other contenders

There is less information about The Samuel Plimsoll pub at Sheffield's Hyde Park flats, named after the man who devised the 'Plimsoll line' on ships, which is credited with saving many hundreds of lives from being lost at sea.

A photo of the pub was shared in response to the search for the UK's roughest pubs, but no explanation was given as to why it might qualify, and there is little evidence online of it being particularly notorious.

The old pubs at Sheffield's Park Hill flats used to have a reputation for being rough, with the Link, the Scottish Queen and the Parkway Tavern all gaining some notoriety, though many of those who used to drink there felt this was undeserved.

The old Scottish Queen pub is now an upmarket furniture store, while a new bar called the Pearl at Park Hill is being opened by the duo behind one of the UK's most acclaimed cocktail bars, Bench, in Nether Edge, Sheffield.

Reading some of the stories about the other pubs across the UK nominated as the country's roughest, it's hard to imagine any pub in Sheffield past or present actually merits that title.