Chesterfield Pub Explorations

We found ourselves in Chesterfield in summer 2026's third or fourth heatwave - I'm losing count  Peak temperatures of 33℃ aren't ideal conditions for rambling around a selection of the town's Beer Guide pubs.  But we tried.

We started our day with a bus ride to Whittington Moor, hopping off at the football stadium.

The Proact Technique SMH Group Stadium is built on the site of the old Dema glassworks, the first games played here in 2010 after the move from Saltergate.  It's a ground I've never visited, although I suspect I wouldn't be able to get through the door of the pub across the road on a match day.

The Glassworks (388 Sheffield Road, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, S41 8LF)
This became Brampton Brewery's third pub in 2019 when they took over the old Rose & Crown, spruced it up and renamed it after the aforementioned glassworks. Most of the decorations were made of up old black & white pictures of the factory and retro adverts for their products.
First impressions were that this was a bit less welcoming and cosy than the other two Brampton pubs - the amount of standing space in front of the bar ready-made for the footy crowds.

In a L-shaped layout, the front section is the comfortable bit, the beige leather benches underneath wood panelling our seating of choice.

There were five cask ales on offer, two of their own, plus brews from Two By Two, Ossett, and  Red Willow.
Keen to work my way through the Brampton beers, I picked the 'Terminus' - a golden brew hopped with Comet, Chinook and Cascade.  Which just happened to be the  £3 beer of the week. 💰👍

First beer of the day finished and glasses returned to the bar, we headed a couple of doors down the road to the Batch House, which promised lunch and craft ales.

Aquarius (The Glass Yard, Sheffield Road, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, S41 8LF)
Didn't take long to divert from trad pubs on this occasion, did it?
This was a Mrs PropUptheBar find, being as she anticipated that I wouldn't have thought about a lunch stop.
The complex was built on the site of an old fire station, the metal-beamed structure with it's exposed ducts and corrugated ceiling looking like it could just as easily house a DIY store as a food hall. 
The Aquarius Bar beer selection was made up of big brand craft, though there was one handpump offering a cask ale badged as 'Batch House Pale'.  Brewed for them by Welbeck Abbey and priced at a fiver.

The beer was on reasonable form being as it was the first poured of the day, diligently pulled through and checked by my friendly server.
This washed down a wonderful Paneer Makhani from the Ruby and Chaat street food stall, a dish I've been trying to recreate at home with varying degrees of success since.

Leaving the Batch House, we skirted around the football stadium, then navigated a way through the dual carriageways and roundabouts (with some difficulty) to reach the Chesterfield Canal.  The walk down this was mostly shaded from an unmerciful sun, until we needed to branch off and struggle up a couple of residential streets to our next pub.

Neptune Beer Emporium (46 St Helen's Street, Chesterfield, S41 7QD)
This first opened in the 1860s as The New Inn, converting an existing building which had served as a residential property, post office and undertakers.  Perhaps it was one of the supposed former uses as a merchant navy captains home that prompted a name change to the Neptune, or Neppy to the locals.
From 2015 onwards it's been a beer-orientated free house with the 'Emporium' bit added.

Lots of  choice - someone's picked something murky...

My beer was the Little Brewing Co 'Aurora', a soft tropical pale ale.
We sat down in one of the two rooms that led off from the central bar, AC/DC and Fleetwood Mac on the stereo.  Music which switched disappointingly to Rhianna and Little Mix in a short space of time.

To be honest, my beer was more 'Acceptable' than 'Good' - perhaps I picked wrong on the cask lottery.
But this is a nice little backstreet pub that I'd definitely come back to, especially as they have a stage and bands with names such as Skatoons, Rogue Duo, and Derventio playing on a busy gig guide.

It wasn't too far through the side-streets for us to reach the current local CAMRA pub of the year.

The Chesterfield Arms (40 Newbold Road, Chesterfield, S41 7PH)
This is somewhere which has transformed into a real ale destination in recent years, with a brewery added in 2022 to concoct Resting Devil beers.
There were three of those home-brewed ales on offer plus plenty of other options from Arbor, Pentrich, Wild Childe, North Riding and Tim Taylors.

I am so predictable...

Stepping out the back door of the pub there was a covered seating area connecting to the barn-like brewery space.  Nobody had twigged that this was by far the coolest spot to sit, although it didn't take long for us to be joined by a number of folks.
We had a reasonable soundtrack of ELO, Eagles, Steve Miller Band - each one exactly the song you'd expect it to be.
And that Bass was on top form. 

Comfortable at our table in a lovely pub, the dog napping and satisfied after a canine ice cream, we decided there was no need to rush anywhere too soon.  Providing me with a chance to try a couple of the house-brewed ales:  'Twisted Pale' (good) and the 'Wendigo' (very good).

Mid-post gosling interlude...

The two proud parents in Queen's Park weren't overly thrilled by their youngsters bold waddle to say hello to us.

Now on the eastern edge of the town centre, he headed past the impressive town hall and along West Bars to the micropub.
It doesn't make it into the gallery of my best pub pictures...

Chesterfield Alehouse (37 West Bars, Chesterfield, S40 1AG)
With the sun glaring straight at the building, the big red blind provided the front room with much-needed shade, although I was still feeling mighty sweaty in here and even the keg beer was a degree or two warmer than I'd have liked.
Opened in 2013, this is a real bare boards micropub.  There are a handful of tables in the front room, the bar counter up a couple of steps to the rear, and another first floor room that we never saw.

Four cask ales available: Two by Two 'Metropolis Pale V.3', Titanic 'Iceberg Grand Crew', Big Trip 'Fozzie', and Full Circle 'West Coast Pale'.
The Two By Two from Byker for me - a super murky hop monster.

Mrs PropUptheBar was impressed by my sensible ordering of just a half.

Less impressed when I snuck away and returned with an 8.2% Tartarus 'Piasa' from a wonderful keg beer list.  What a stunning malty imperial stout that was - packed full of coffee beans and vanilla.

We were a little spoilt for good venues in Chesterfield.
The next was another corker - a proper beer drinkers pub in the shadow of St Marys and the crooked spire.

The Rutland Arms (23 Stephenson Place, Chesterfield, S40 1XL)

It's a pub of two halves - from the outside at least.  The front part was once the home of Samuel Dutton, a mayor of Chesterfield for many years during the first half of the 19th century.  It became the Rutland Hotel in 1860 then, one hundred years later, the neighbouring verger's house was purchased so that the pub could be expanded.
The outdoor seats in the shade of the trees were the busiest when we arrived, but there were enough people scattered throughout to ensure I never did get a decent interior picture.

There was a choice of 6 cask ales available from which I picked the Peak Ales 'Dalesman' best bitter. Trad beer on excellent form.
We cleared off in ample time for Adam's Birthday Crew...

...heading just a couple of minutes walk around the corner for a spot of tea in th Pig & Pump.

Pig & Pump (16 St Mary's Gate, Chesterfield, S41 7TJ)
This chunky red brick building was the White Swan pub for many years, given the nickname the Mucky Duck and serving as a live music venue for local rock and alternative bands in the '80s and early '90s.  The pub closed suddenly in 2018 before being brought back to life as the Pig & Pump.  "Chesterfield's newest, coolest pub" said the Derbyshire Times when it first opened.  Trust me to be eight years late for 'new' and 'cool'.

The entrance is superb - the swan of the original name in the glasswork and a mosaic floor in the vestibule.

That's your heritage bit out of the way - once inside everything is thoroughly modern with shades of blue and green paint, botanical wallpaper, a couple of chandeliers, and shiny wooden floors.
It was doing a great trade - I think we nabbed the last table that wasn't occupied or reserved, enabling us to settle in and pick from a big menu of trad pub grub.
Plenty of beer choice too with a run of 12 hand pumps for 9 ales and 3 ciders.

A Magpie 'Cherry Raven' for me - a slightly smoky, slightly sweet and fruity variation of the brewery's signature stout.  The beer was in good condition and the food came in enormous portions ensuring we had way too much on the table. 

One final pub to report on...
This appealed to me on two fronts: It's reputedly the town's oldest pub and had a three-pint-pot score of approval on the CAMRA website.
Plus, pubs in ancient alleyways near market places have a tendency to be good, if not always easy to photograph...

The Royal Oak (1 The Shambles, Chesterfield, S40 1PX)
The Royal Oak used to have a Trip to Jerusalem-style plaque claiming it was founded in the 12th century and had connections to the Crusades.  Anything Nottingham can do, we can do too...
It's more likely that this first served as inn and ale house from the early 16th century.
The current independent owners reopened the pub in 2025 after four years of it being out of action.

Great beer list.
World Cup bunting produced before Poland got knocked out in the qualification play-off, I guess.

I opted for the Abbeydale 'In the Elements' a Baltic porter brewed in collaboration with Colbier of Merseyside.  A super beer.

The bar straddles two rooms in two different buildings, with separate entrances to each.  We sat in the lovely down-to-earth back room with stone floor, pump clips on the ceiling and hops over the bar.  My ideal kind of pub room.

I couldn't resist wandering outside and back in through the other door to explore the older side of the pub - a mini banqueting hall with tall ceiling and suit of armour on display in the corner.

The Royal Oak was a great pub that I'd certainty recommend, although I'd struggle to pick a out-and-out favourite from those in this post.
Yep, Chesterfield had provided a great selection of pubs for us, good quality cask surviving the heat in pretty much all of them.

Chesterfield - the lightweight Brampton Mile

In which we tackle half-a-dozen pubs on the western side of Chesterfield.

Completing a mammoth recognised pub crawl was a rite of passage which seemed to emerge in the eigthies, examples being the Mumbles Mile, the Otley Run, and the Didsbury Dozen.  Most with a few less pubs now than they once had.
When I mentioned that we were going to Chesterfield to a couple of people the response was, "Are you going to do the Brampton mile?" 

You'll know that I'm extremely responsible and don't condone pub crawls or drunken shenanigans, so completing the Mile was never on the cards.

But I figured it wouldn't hurt to wander along Chatsworth Road, the western artery from the town centre to Brampton, and visit a few of the pubs.
Starting with a one-mile walk to the micro...

The Real Ale Corner (415 Chatsworth Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, S40 3AD)
This is a delightful little pub which has been in operation since 2009.  It's small in size - five tables in total and we were lucky that someone was just vacating one as we arrived.

 

Small place, BIG beer list.
There were three cask ales: Durham 'Retro Red', Fyne 'Avalanche' and Three Brothers 'Cloudy Judgement'.  Plus a couple of real specials on keg including a To Ǿl collab IPA, a sour from Triple Point and an imperial stout from Sinister Brew.

The Three Brothers cask for me, the 5% hazy American IPA making the trip here from Stockton-on-Tees.
Mrs PropUptheBar - who has been sampling a wealth of quality alcohol-free beers recently threw a curveball by asking for the 10.3% desert stout 'Occasional Irregularity'.  I got her a half instead of the third she wanted, then queried the bill having not twigged this was so strong and the most expensive thing on the keg menu.  Doh!
Strawberry, vanilla and coconut, aged in whisky barrels.  Balls to the price...we should have had a pint!

I gather the Sinister Brewing beers are small batch and this was a good find.  There were also plenty of unusual bottles tempting us from the shelf to the side of our seat in this remarkable micro.

We bypassed the Victoria Inn and Britannia, heading instead to the third pub which lies within a couple of minutes walk of the Real Ale Corner.

The Rose & Crown (104 Old Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, S40 2QT)
This is one of Everard's Project Wiliam pubs, partnering with smaller local breweries to give places a new lease of life.
The Rose & Crown was a 1940's rebuild of an older pub which would have stood right by the roadside where the car park and outdoor seating now is.  It became Brampton Brewery's first pub in 2009 after standing empty for 18-months.
And they've done rather well, picking up regular local CAMRA awards ever since.

It's one of those big 20th century suburban pubs, with a snug to the side of the main door, a central bar area, and two large rooms beyond.

Lots of cask choice.  Two banks of 5 hand pumps mixed the Brampton ales with Tarturus, Left Handed Giant, Thornbridge, Anarchy, Bristol Beer Facory, and Everards.
I know people who wouldn't get any further than this on a pub crawl with beers from those respected breweries on offer.

I tried two of the Brampton beers here: 'Speciale' and 'Brampton Best'.
Both served in near-perfect condition and both tasty concoctions.

Sat outside on a balmy evening, I was fascinated by the car lot across the road - were they all for sale?
How much would it cost to buy the monster truck and would it fit in our parking space at home?

Mrs PropUptheBar is a real spoil-sport sometimes and told me I didn't need and couldn't have one.
So we continued our walk back towards town, reaching the junction where Old Road splits from Chatsworth Road.  Located at this point was the Bampton Tap Room which still has a colourful pub sign and intact frontage, but has been closed since December 2024.

Prior to  being the Tap House, this used to a legendary venue on the mile called The Three Horse Shoes, whose landlord produced an 8% cider called 'Loony Juice', just in case things were going too smoothly and soberly for the pub crawlers.

This central bit of the Brampton Mile was known as the Bermuda Triangle, supposedly as this was the bit where participants were likely to go missing.  A handy bus stop could whisk you back to the centre of Chesterfield if common sense prevailed.

Nearby, we found the Anchor closed at 9pm on a Thursday evening and wondered if that had become another lost pub on the route.
The next place serving cask ale was five minutes walk along the main road and looked great.  

The Tramway Tavern (192 Chatsworth Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, S40 2AT)
This is a cracking mid-terrace pub - enough flower pots and baskets to test the Life After Football good hanging baskets - good beer theory.
Once The New Inn, it is now named after the historic Chesterfield tramway which ran from Brampton through the town centre then north to Whittington Moor until 1927.  The tram depot was located nearby in what's now a business park, where we'd be sitting drinking Brampton beers the next day.

And it was Brampton beer I was drinking in The Tramway, this being the second of their tied houses with the Everards connection.

In addition to the four above, there was a second bank of four hand pulls around the corner of the bar with ales from Everards, Little Critters, Rudgate and Vocation.
'God Bless the Absentee' for me - not just a Paul Simon song, but also an easy-going IPA from the local brewery.

I took this through the front room in this largely open-plan pub, with the local folk musicians taking over the space opposite me.
They made for some good entertainment - I particularly liked their rendition of 'Some Bugger from Yorkshire' and shall investigate it's writer Bernard Wrigley at some point.

I was being sensible.
Then I thought "what would Life After Football do?"
And I tried to visit the Irish bar...

Except Foley's wouldn't have me.
"Sorry mate, we've called last orders."
Fve-past-ten on a Thursday night.

I ended up in the Brampton Social Club, who at least were still open, even though I was doubtful about the name.
Barring a certain Leeds music venue, is any pub which calls itself a 'social club' any good?

Brampton Social Club (126 Chatsworth Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, S40 2AR)
This street corner hostelry was originally opened in 1872 as The Alma and remained a trad pub for many decades tied to a variety of big breweries.  The transformation into something less pub-like came in 2023, as a local company gave it a modern makeover and new name.
It's spacious and open-plan within, with squeeky leather benchs, funky wallpaper, a pop soundtrack and very few punters, as I begin to twig that Thursday isn't the night to go wild.

The Brampton Social Club alledgedly serve cask ale, but if they still had any handpumps they were stealthily hidden.  So I ended up with a Northern Monk 'Faith'.  At which point I decided it was probably time to go home.

We returned to Chatsworth Road the following day, with two more targets: the Brampton brewery tap room (The Bierhuis) which only opens noon-7 on Friday and Saturday; and a second attempt to tick off the current Good Beer Guide entry The Anchor which had been shut the previous day.

First up the Bierhuis, which doesn't have the most glamorous of entrances...

Brampton Bierhuis (Unit 6, Chatsworth Business Park, Chatsworth Road, Brampton, S40 2AR)
Everyone will be flocking to the brewery tap when they get the chance during those limited hours right?
Wrong.  There were only around half-a-dozen folks in the Bierhuis when we visited, all of them drinking Vedett, oddly enough.  I guess the stonkingly hot temperatures may have deterred folks from traveling far for drinks on this occasion.

There were three cask ales available, two of which I hadn't seen anywhere else...

 

The 'Curse of the Bambino' is another American IPA, whilst despite being called 'Impy', the dark ale is a relatively sensible 4.3% ABV.  Both very nice.

The brewery was resurrected in 2007, 52-years after the original Brampton Brewery Co. Ltd closed.  The original was registered in 1897 and had an estate of 142 tied houses.  Nothing is left now of the brewery buildings on Chatsworth Road whichwere demolished in 1984.
I do always like these old breweries that have been brought back to life and didn't encounter a Brampton beer which I didn't enjoy during my couple of days in their home town.
I enjoyed the tap room too: a pleasant enough venue with ample beer paraphenalia trying to disguise the warehouse-like surroundings.

I was sent ahead to check if the Anchor had opened, being as it was unexpectedly shut the previous evening and pub tickers we bumped in to had informed us they'd found it closed early this afternoon.
I've no idea what hours they're keeping - definitely nothing that's displayed anywhere online - but I found the door ajar and a reasonable crowd of folk within.

The Anchor (Factory Street, Brampton, Chesterfield, S40 2FW)
This is an old Chesterfield Brewery Co. pub dating back to 1869.  Being on Factory Street, it once had industrial units as neighbours and terraced houses opposite, but it now stands as pretty much the only building on the road, Aldi car park next door and a big empty space in front of it.
There were five hand pumps on the bar with two in use, dispensing Castle Rock 'Elsie Mo' and Dancing Duck 'Release the Quacken'.  The latter for me, a decent pale ale in reasonable condition.

"It was once a proper real ale pub," a chap at the next table told me.  "Now the youngsters come in and it's not the same."
I'm not sure that's a bad thing, as long as someone is coming in.

I reckon there are another 10 pubs along the Brampton mile route for the completist.  But, with the exception of one or two of them, I really don't think we missed much.