The Earl of Strafford, Rotherham

The Earl of Strafford's listing on Stonegate's Classic Inns website - www.classicinns.co.uk

The Earl of Strafford's listing on Stonegate's Classic Inns website - www.classicinns.co.uk

Described by WhatPub somewhat confusedly as a "Grade II listed Georgian manor house, the former home of the 1st Earl of Strafford Sir Thomas Wentworth." The said Earl was executed in London during the reign of Charles I, so either the house was not built for him, or it is not Georgian, or some combination of the two. My guess would be that it has been altered and added to quite a bit, and certainly looking at the interior there is nothing remaining that could possibly be original, and some of it is downright fake - albeit very smart. It is a remarkably large building, with extensive grounds now occupied by large cars and their almost equally large occupants, for the apparently large amount of money lavished on a recent refurbishment seems to have paid off to the extent of dragging a large proportion of South Yorkshire here for an evening meal. I, on the other hand, merely stepped off the (much delayed) X78 bus from Doncaster to Sheffield and called in for a half of Timothy Taylor Landlord - the option of Sharps Doom Bar was noted. This is really not a beer drinker's destination pub, so I was a little surprised to find that my beer was in very good shape, and not expensive at £1.95 the half. After drinking up I returned to the bus stop opposite, only to find the next bus was even more delayed than its predecessor.