The Big Gun: Stag nights, pub crawls and karaoke remembered as Sheffield heritage pub closes
The closure of a celebrated heritage pub has brought back memories of the heyday of boozers in Sheffield.
The Big Gun dated back 233 years and was famous for a sign which states: ‘A nice pub for nice people’. It was also the sole remaining pub on the Wicker, a street that was famous for at one time having at least dozen.
Readers took to The Star's Facebook page to say fond farewells to landlords Terry and Julie Turner. And they reminisced about its hospitality.
Cheryl Brookes: “Great pub. Good karaoke on Saturday nights, will be missed.”
“Lynda Bell: Had some fabulous nights in there, a long time ago when all the brasses shone.”
Paul Miller: “Spent all our dinner times in there when we worked at Bentleys.”
Lee Metterick: “Used to go in there in the 1970’s. The liver and bacon sandwiches were legendary!”
Several readers claimed strong links with the venue.
Steve King: “Ah. Sad times. My home for a short time when my mum had it.”
Neil Woodward: “My cousin Ken Cooney had the Big Gun in the 70s and 80s it was a good, well-run pub. Will be sadly missed.”
Sam Tate: “Good memories, my mum ‘n dad ran this pub in the early 90s.”
Others recalled a time when boozers were much more numerous.
Barman Glen Small said there were 12 on the Wicker in the 1980s. The second to last, the Tap and Barrel, on Waingate, closed six years ago.
Paul Ibbotson listed some: “Viaduct, Station, Brown Cow, Bull and Oak, Old Coach, Big Gun, Lady’s Bridge. Great nights back in the day.”
Steven Owen added: “The White Lion and Harlequin.”
David Cox: “I think there were eight or nine pubs from the Arches to the other side of Lady's Bridge.”
Shelley Hardwick: “Did a charity pub crawl once in the Wicker, just shows how many pubs it had back in the day.”
Kevin Eason: “Had my stag night in the Wicker down one side and back up the other February 1971.”
Caroline Denton: “How sad, but a sign of the times. I certainly wouldn’t feel safe at night down there. Such a shame, used to be buzzing down there with the Olde Coach House. Glad I was young when our city was safe.”
