Missing pub sign found in New York apartment

A sign that hung outside a Sheffield pub has been unexpectedly returned to the premises after being missing for more than 25 years.

The old Ward's brewery sign for the Hallamshire House is thought to have disappeared sometime in the 1990s.

Two former regulars brought it home after they recognised it hanging on the wall in a neighbour's apartment when they lived in New York.

Doug Simpson, the general manager of the pub, said it was "really special" to have the sign back and he has now hung it on the wall in the back lounge.

Simpson said he received an email "out of the blue" from Peter Chamley last month wondering if he might be interested in the original Ward's brewery sign.

Chamley went on to explain that he and his wife were "surprised to find this sign hanging on the wall of our neighbour's apartment when we were living in Brooklyn, New York".

He added: "When we returned to the UK in 2009 we bought the sign off the neighbour and repatriated it."

The couple, who are both 70 and now living in Leeds, found that the sign "doesn't really fit" in their new house.

Ann Chamley said the sign was purchased from an antiques store on Broadway called ABC Carpet and Home.

Their neighbour intended to give it as a wedding gift before deciding to keep it himself.

The Chamleys, who are former students at the University of Sheffield and used to drink in the Hallamshire House, were stunned to spot it when they visited his apartment to attend an American version of a Neighbourhood Watch meeting.

He gifted the sign to the couple, who are retired engineers, when they returned to the UK.

Although it is unknown exactly when the pub sign went missing, Simpson believes it was sometime in 1999 when Ward's brewery, which at one time had 131 pubs in South Yorkshire, closed.

"The sign would have come down because the brewery shut, but nobody knew where it went."

Les May, 81, was the landlord of the pub for 31 years from 1980 to 2001 and still lives in the area.

Although he cannot remember the exact day the sign went missing, he does have a "theory" as to why it ended up in New York.

"Years ago an antiques dealer was drinking in a pub of mine and saw a couple of bits of pub furniture and signs. He offered me £150 for them, which in the 1970s was a lot of money.

"He said when he collects enough, he ships them over to America where he can make a fortune because the Americans loved anything English."

The Chamleys travelled to Sheffield on 14 July and handed over the sign, asking that the pub's current owners, Thornbridge Brewery, make a donation to Sheffield Children's Hospital instead of payment.

They admitted that they would have retained the memento had it not been too heavy to hang on their wall.

Former landlord May said he found the mystery "very interesting" and was "delighted" to be reunited with his old sign.

"The best part was meeting Ann and Pete. They are a lovely genuine couple."

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