Landlords of Dungworth Royal Hotel reveal struggle to stay open

A couple who ran a village pub which is now to be turned into homes did not take a wage from it from almost a quarter of a century, it has emerged.

Councillors deciding on the conversion of the Royal Hotel in Sheffield’s Loxley Valley heard how one member of the Lambert family worked up to 80-hour weeks for less than minimum wage, while others took on second jobs to make ends meet.

The 212-year-old pub closed in February 2024 and a campaign was later launched to save the hostelry, famed for community “sings” of traditional Sheffield carols.

The ground floor of the pub will now be turned into a three-bedroom home, and a one-bedroom bungalow will be created from three holiday lets in the grounds.

Sheffield City Council’s planning and highways committee heard that the Lambert family had done everything they could to keep the pub, in the village of Dungworth, going.

Caroline McIntyre, agent for the applicants, said: “My clients are sad they have had to make this application.

“However I can truly say the family have tried their best to make a viable business out of the pub over the last 25 years.”

Ms McIntyre said the family bought the pub in 1999 with the intention that David Lambert would be able to run it as a less intense job than the one he was doing.

However, councillors heard that within 18 months it had become apparent that sales and turnover figures provided when they bought the business did not reflect their experiences.

“The turnover did not support the business, even though they worked hard to increase this,” Ms McIntyre said.

“They invested in the letting bedrooms and improvements to the beer garden, which helped, but it still wasn’t enough.”

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Ms McIntyre outlined how the couple’s son had worked behind the bar during the day, his mother Linda had returned to work in the NHS, while father David went back into the building trade in 2001, working the bar at night.

Ms McIntyre said the son had drawn less than the national minimum wage despite working 70 to 80 hours each week.

Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs Lambert never took a wage for 23 years and any limited extra money went into funding some outside help.

“They threw themselves into the community, arranging various events for Easter, Halloween, Christmas parties and as part of the summer gala and put on fundraising events for various groups, including the school,” Ms McIntyre told councillors.

“However, footfall remained limited,” she added.

The ground floor of the pub would now be turned into a three-bedroom home and a one-bedroom bungalow would be created from three holiday lets in the grounds.

A brewery had shown interest, but withdrew its offer as the figures did not stack up, the committee heard at a meeting this week.

Ms McIntyre said the family appreciated that many people felt affection for the Christmas carol sings, but they only took place on a few days each year and participants did not visit at other times. Other pubs now run similar events.

Councillor Marieanne Elliot told the meeting: “We’re obviously disappointed to lose the pub. It is an important community asset, but it’s a case of use it or lose it.”