Free Drinks at The Sheffield Tap

There are few happier things in this world than a man who is forced by circumstance to be sat drinking in a pub. Judging by the prosecco-cackle of the women sitting next to me, this rule applies to the ladies too. The whole room is bubbling with the joy of a simple freedom that could only ever manifest under these conditions. We are in The Sheffield Tap, and these people are drinking for free.

The punters in here are of course paying for their drinks with money. The free pass I am speaking of is the fact that this beautiful Edwardian pub is based inside a Sheffield train station and all these people are killing time waiting for the next connection. They literally have nowhere else to be and the only thing to do in that situation is smash back some pints that, when we are totting up the cosmic bar tab, simply do not count.

Constructed in 1904, this remarkable drinking hole is situated in what was once the ‘Refreshments Room’ at the old train station. In the 1970s, some killjoys at British Rail decided to transform the space into a regular waiting room (sans alcohol) which was soon vandalized and fell into disrepair before being shut entirely.

Fortunately, in 2008 somebody saw sense and decided to renovate the building and recreate its former glory. Painstaking attention to detail was paid when replicating the ornate barrel plaster ceiling, the mahogany bar and even the marble carved fireplace. The one thing that restored itself was the ambiance, which is the result of people being in a pub out of obligation rather than volition.

The Sheffield Tap a twilight zone. There is no guilt that you should be at home finishing that work on the back garden or doing something constructive with your day off. You are stuck at a train station with nowhere else to go, and as a result every pint in here is a free swing.

You stand at the bar and breathe in this carefree ambiance, the laughter and excitement of people midway through a journey. Then, all of a sudden, a train arrives to take that cheer away, off on the next leg of a trip, to Doncaster, Denbigh or Dundee. The place is suddenly empty, and for a moment you are alone, just until the next carriage arrives full of people ready to take advantage of this lapse in the space time continuum called The Sheffield Tap.

The Sheffield Tap - Sheffield Station, 1b Sheaf St, Sheffield S1 2BP