23 Alma Street
Kelham Island
Sheffield
S3 8SA
0114 249 4801
This Victorian pub became the Fat Cat in 1981 after it was bought from Bass Charrington by Dave Wickett and Bruce Bentley(photo 1). They created one of the first independent real ale pubs in the UK and brought in a range of beers never seen before in Sheffield pubs. Before the Fat Cat (and for a long time after) most pubs in Sheffield were owned by one of four brewers, Stones, Wards, Tetleys and Whitbread. Mild ale had disappeared from Sheffield so the only beer sold (other than lager) was bitter. I lived in Sheffield before the Fat Cat opened and it was common to walk into a pub and just ask for “a pint” – there was only one choice. So it’s hardly surprising that the Fat Cat was a big success.
In 1990 Dave Wickett, by now sole owner, opened the Kelham Island Brewery next door to the pub. That was successful too and it was enlarged twice to cope with the demand. Sadly in May 2022 the brewery closed, presumably as a result of the pandemic and rising costs. The pub remains open, and although the award-winning Pale Rider is no longer available, a good choice of beers from small independents are served. Good food is available lunchtimes and early evening, and I can recommend the Kelham Beer Sausage with Yorkshire Pudding. The pub is traditional and largely unaltered with two rooms and a corridor with a terrazzo floor. The entrance has a mosaic floor with the logo of original owners, Stones Brewery (photo 3).
A mural of the pub was added to the corner wall in 2018 by Sheffield artist Matt Cockayne (photo 2). The pub is in Kelham Island which was a run down former industrial area when the Fat Cat opened. It now has an industrial museum, restaurants, cafes, microbreweries and pubs like the Kelham Island Tavern and the Ship.
Dave Wickett went on to advise the new Thornbridge Brewery and to set up the Welbeck Abbey Brewery in Nottinghamshire. He also helped develop a department of molecular biology and biotechnology at Sheffield University to run postgraduate courses in brewing. He sadly died in 2012 and his obituary appeared in the Guardian.
