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Submitted on Saturday, 28^th January 2023
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The Royal Oak, Chesterfield

1 The Shambles
Chesterfield
S40 1PX

Correct details

Served areas

Chesterfield Town

Reviews of The Royal Oak (Average Rating: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Quinno _ left this review about The Royal Oak

A bit tidier than I remember it from 14 (!) years back and it’s absolutely worth dropping in to take a look at the stunning interior. A bit sketchy on the ale front - despite all the blather from the barman, the Massey didn’t clear but was changed with grace for a par Moonshine (NBSS 3). Six cask available in total, spread across the two bars, so keep an eye out and don’t order in haste. The cask quality means it’s a second-order place for those who have done town before.

August 2011
Located down a narrow alleyway in the Shambles area of the town, Chesterfield’s oldest pub (1772) re-opened in 2008 after a long period of neglect and surviving the proposed town centre ‘improvements’ of the late 1960’s (at one stage they were seriously considering demolishing the Shambles and putting this pub on some rollers and moving it somewhere else - can you imagine the drugs everyone must have been on back then?). The original pub building (the current pub was originally two separate structures which were combined later) is the upper lounge bar, parts of which apparently dates back over 500 years. Both upper and lower rooms are served by a two-tier central bar. The interior here really is as fantastic inside as the outside leads you to expect; high timbered ceiling and thick stained glass windows in the upper bar - the whole place was restored at the turn of the 19th century and little has changed since. Furnishing is comfy fabric wall banquettes and a few stools. One let-down I found here was the bland piped muzak which is incongruous to the surroundings - why don’t they try something a little more befitting? My latest visit found four well-sourced ales plus Greene King IPA, alongside Westons Old Rosie for the appleheads. My half of Barlow Stout at 8% tasted really good and came out well-conditioned; the Dancing Duck Ay Up was also a great beer. I guess this place must be twinned in some way with the Rutland, as the ale choice (both had Dancing Duck and a stupidly heavy dark beer) was similar plus the barmaid at the Rutland earlier on in my crawl was serving here a few hours later! Watch out if you are in the upper bar and need the loo - you have to nip outside to the lower bar. Also be aware of the unusual opening hours, they basically only open beyond 6pm Thursday-Saturday. If you are walking back to the train station (which is surprisingly close by) I would avoid going too late on as you have to traverse the binge-drinkers section of town in order to get there, which I have discovered is not for the faint-hearted. In summary, you really should do this one. Rated 9

On 5^th January 2026 - rating: 7
[User has posted 5964 recommendations about 5943 pubs]

Graham Coombs left this review about The Royal Oak

A nice half-timbered place tucked away in the alleys of the town centre, enjoying a new lease of life after several years of closure. The ancient interior is lovely and would attract tourists, if Chesterfield has any. There are two distinct bars at different levels with different beers on each, so check the listings or ask to see what is available. I settled for a Graveyard Sun from Bang The Elephant from the 6 cask ales on; boxed ciders are also available. They are doing a good job and it could easily rate higher in the future, so worth a visit.

On 8^th November 2025 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3870 recommendations about 3802 pubs]

Will Larter left this review about The Royal Oak

Closed in August 2021 according to the Derbyshire Times: https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/chesterfields-oldest-and-legendary-royal-oak-pub-is-on-sale-for-ps295000-3544566 but is now due to reopen Good Friday (18th April 2025) https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/first-look-we-step-inside-chesterfields-oldest-pub-ye-royal-oak-to-meet-new-owners-and-gerald-the-knight-in-shining-armour-ahead-of-good-friday-reopening-5085216?page=2

On 16^th April 2025 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 4598 recommendations about 4212 pubs]

View more reviews of The Royal Oak (11)

This pub features in the following crawls:
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