Fagans pub Sheffield: retired landlords of famous city centre pub auctioning off memorabilia

Tom and Barbara Boulding retired in January after more than 33 years at the helm of Fagan’s pub on Broad Lane. The couple are incredibly popular and recieved an outpouring of thanks and support from readers of The Star when they confirmed their retirement last year.

Now, having enjoyed retirement for a month, the couple are auctioning off some of their most famous Fagan’s memorabilia at the Sheffield Auction Gallery. Tom told The Star there would be a number of items in the auction, many of which had graced the walls and shelves of the pub for decades.

One such item is the historic pub bell, which rang for last orders every night they were open and will emit a sound familiar to so many regular Fagan’s punters. Another item is a rare painting featuring Sheffield’s own Richard Hawley, of which there are only 11 in the world.

The Fagan’s memorabilia is expected on appear on Sheffield Auction Gallery’s website today (March 10), though the auction itself will not be finalised until St Patrick’s Day.

Mr Hawley was a Fagan’s regular and could regularly been heard performing in the popular music nights Tom and Barbara would host on a weekly basis.

Fagan’s re-opened under new ownership yesterday, with a consortium of well-known Sheffielders taking over – including Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders.

When they closed the pub as the landlords for the final time, Barbara asked their regular punters to “support whoever it is [taking over] and give them a chance”. She said: “There’s so many pubs closing left, right and centre so it would be terrible for this one to go.”