The Courthouse, Barnsley

The Courthouse is a pub that is housed in a grand looking building. The pub us very handy for both the bus and train stations and also opens early,so very handy for me when arriving in Barnsley just after 10am. Once inside the main area is fairly large and oblong shaped with the bar on the left side,there area small areas off the main room to the front left and rear left,the main area is bare boarded,the seating a mix of tall tables and chairs and normal ones,the side areas are carpeted and have normal tables and chairs. There are no hand pumps on the bar,the keg options were Cafferys which i had and was drinkable or the rubbish John Smiths smooth crap. This pub has had a bit of a fall from grace after being GBG listed in 2012 the having only kegs beers on the bar. I found the pub to be comfortable and warm on a cold day and the early opening was a bonus. Pub visited 30/12/2016

As the name suggests, this Grade II listed pub was originally built as the town's courthouse back in 1861, but only nine year later it had been purchased by the railway in order to incorporate it into their newly built station. Thus, the building served as Court House station's ticket office and waiting room until the station was shut in the early 1960's. After a period of inactivity, the building was eventually converted to pub usage and has remained so ever since. The grand façade is perhaps a little misleading, as much of interest within has been stripped out, creating a bit of a formulaic town centre pub within. You enter to a quarry stone floor bar area with a dark, carpeted seating area to the left filled with standard tables and chairs plus a few high tables and stools hidden behind a series of structural pillars. The other side of the room sees the servery on the left with a bare boarded vertical drinking space opposite and a raised, carpeted seating space beyond. There are lots of standard tables and chairs here, half panelled walls painted in unfortunate shades of brown and pink, a smart fireplace and a dartboard to the rear. Points of interest include lots of black and white photos, a Barnsley FC shirt, a juke box and various blackboards listing drink offers, mostly for bottles and lagers. Behind the servery there are a couple more rooms, one of which was fairly empty with a grand staircase which leads up to the toilets and a small landing area which affords a few glimpses of the building's former opulence. The other rear room has a simple single padded banquette and a covered pool table. There are plenty of handpulls here, but just two ales on - Acorn Barnsley Bitter and Maxim Black Maxim. I only had time for a half of the latter, which was pretty decent and served by a friendly enough barmaid. The pub is situated just outside the transport interchange, making it ideal for a quick drink before departing by bus or train. This is quite an interesting building that's worth taking a quick look at, but the pub doesn't really make the most of its setting and I can't imagine having an extended session in here. Ultimately, this is a relatively safe bet for a quick ale before moving on.

Very handy for the station (bus and train) it's an old ornate stone building although the interior is a bit drab. Board floors and some tongue and groove, old photos of the town, and with a raised balustraded area to one side give that well known faux Victorian atmosphere, althought it's slightly diminished by the number of screens. The beer's not bad, a choice of York and Acorn served in Geeves glasses, I believe their beers are a regular here as well. GBG listed.