WELL-KNOWN DRONFIELD WOODHOUSE PUB CLOSES FOR £310,000 REFURBISHMENT

A prominent Dronfield Woodhouse pub has shut its doors for a major makeover starting this week.

The £310,000 refurbishment of The Miners Arms on Carr Lane is being carried out by Heineken-owned Star Pubs and new licensee Jon Church, who comes from Meadowhead and has worked in pubs around Derbyshire and South Yorkshire for the past 20 years.

The investment will turn The Miners Arms into a top quality traditional local and introduce great home-cooked food. The pub is scheduled to reopen in late September, creating 15 jobs.

The project will renovate and redecorate the exterior of the old stone pub, replacing the signage and lighting and sprucing up the large garden with new planting and furniture.

The internal revamp will give the tired, dated local a smart new look whilst making it more warm, welcoming and comfortable. The overhaul will incorporate new furniture, flooring and curtains plus contemporary touches such as decorative lighting. Other changes will include a kitchen refit, a cellar overhaul with state-of-the-art cellar dispense equipment to ensure consistently perfect pints and energy-saving measures to improve the pub’s sustainability.

To cater for all occasions, The Miners Arms will have a spacious bar for drinks and socialising, a cosy snug and lounge and dining areas.

The pub’s new menu will focus on homemade pub classics like steak pies, fish & chips and Sunday roasts, with small plates of British cuisine for sharing and starters. On the cards, too, are a children’s menu, soup and sandwich lunches, afternoon coffee and cake and Saturday morning brunch. The Miners Arms’ drinks selection will be equally varied, spanning premium lagers, cocktails, craft beer and carefully selected interesting wines. Cask ales will be a specialty, and Jon will seek Cask Marque accreditation for their quality and offer ‘try before you buy’. Customers’ four-legged friends have not been forgotten either, and dogs will be welcomed in the bar with bowls of water and treats on the house.

Jon says his aim is to ensure The Miners Arms “has something for everyone” and, as well as great food and drink, a whole programme of activities is planned including a weekly quiz, music from local artists and events for special occasions like Halloween and Christmas. In the offing for next summer are barbecues, a cask ale festival and family fun days. The pub will also have Sky and TNT Sports and screen major sporting fixtures.

The Miners Arms is Jon’s first pub of his own. Says Jon: “I’ve searched for 18 months for the right pub, visiting around 40 in person and looking at many more online. It’s fantastic to have found the ideal place just a few miles from home. When I pulled up outside The Miners Arms, I knew it was ‘the one’. It’s in a bit of a state now but the investment will transform it. I want it to be a proper pub that serves the needs of the whole community.”

Says Chris Carratt, area manager for Star Pubs: “We’re delighted to be working with Jon to create a premium local that is welcoming to all. Jon has extensive experience in hospitality across the region and, having been brought up in the area, knows just what The Miners Arms needs to thrive for the long term. From great food to excellent beer and varied activities, there’ll be lots of reasons to visit for local residents and those from further afield alike.”

The Miners Arms – which has an old stable in the rear garden – is thought to be named after the miners who worked in the local lead mine. Unable to discover much about the pub’s history, Jon is keen to hear from anyone who knows about its past or has pictures of The Miners Arms in bygone days.