{"id":776,"date":"2020-01-22T19:15:51","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T19:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=776"},"modified":"2020-01-22T20:40:04","modified_gmt":"2020-01-22T20:40:04","slug":"celebrating-spoons-40th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/01\/22\/celebrating-spoons-40th\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating \u2018Spoons 40th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The cover of the last London Drinker <\/em>reminded us that the JD Wetherspoon pub chain (JDW) has recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. On the date itself, Monday 9 December, a group of around 25 JDW fans spent the day on buses and a train around north London visiting many of the chain\u2019s former pubs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Derrill Carr, a JDW fan from Hampshire, came up with the idea of visiting the first ten pubs that Tim Martin opened as Wetherspoon pubs rather than the original Marler Bars. After a lot of research with the help of Paul Compton, the opening (and in most cases, closing) dates for them were confirmed. Derrill then commissioned me to come up with a route connecting them, around some stipulated times and locations. Numbers for the day were made up from Derrill\u2019s fellow JDW fans, some from the Wetherspoon\u2019s Appreciation <\/em>Facebook group and the \u2018Super Fans\u2019; those we could find who have visited 1,000 or more pubs in the chain. We even had a couple that have stayed at all the JDW hotels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Paul Charlton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The day started at the Lord Moon of the Mall on Whitehall for breakfast and pints of the Greene King Ruby Abbot, specially brewed for the anniversary year. Here, the official JDW photographer joined us, along with a reporter from the Independent<\/em>. They joined us again as we started the crawl proper at the Furlong in Muswell Hill. This was the first pub that Tim opened as \u2018Martin\u2019s Free House\u2019, renaming it JD Wetherspoons a month later. The manager here only started six weeks before the occasion but made us very welcome with two real ales and lunch. A mock blue plaque was added to the wall outside. The party included \u2018Mr Wetherspoon\u2019 (Steve Lawson), the teacher who inspired the chain\u2019s name and \u2018JD Boss Hogg\u2019 (Alan Hope). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who is the man behind the mask? <\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The group braved the traffic of north London to follow the detailed itinerary, along with a few side diversions on the way. The pubs visited were Dick\u2019s Bar in Crouch End (now a window shop), Old Suffolk Punch in Haringey (now a betting shop), Mortimer Arms in Haringey (Old Ale Emporium), Marler\u2019s Bar in Stoke Newington (Coach & Horses), Tanner\u2019s Hall in Stoke Newington (Rochester Castle), JJ Moons in Upper Holloway (Landseer Arms), White Lion of Mortimer in Stroud Green (White Lion), Marler\u2019s Bar in Crouch Hill (Brave Sir Robin), Elbow Room in Crouch End (Small Beer) ending up at Marler\u2019s Bar in Archway (Charlotte Despard). This final pub is unfortunately closed on a Monday. It housed the chain\u2019s offices from 1984 until they moved to new premises in Watford in 1994. We then caught the bus to Holloway and finished off the day at the Coronet, still a busy JDW pub. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Derrill took pictures at each pub including some with participants wearing Tim Martin face masks, very realistic in some cases. A write-up with some of the official pictures will appear in the spring edition of Wetherspoon\u2019s News<\/em>. Many thanks to Derrill for coming up with the original idea, organising the event and gathering the group together. Search for Wetherspoons Appreciation Society Facebook <\/em>to join the group.
John Paul Adams <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: <\/strong>John was\nnot the only one inspired by the mention of JDW\u2019s 40th anniversary. Roger\nWarhurst, the former compiler of Capital Pubcheck<\/em>, has contributed the following. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further to the reference in the last London Drinker <\/em>to Tim\nMartin\u2019s first pub located in Muswell Hill, long time readers may remember that\nthe premises at 89 Colney Hatch Lane were originally opened as a pub in 1979 by\nhis business partner Andrew Marler under the name \u2018Marlers\u2019. It was in fact\nreported by CAMRA\u2019s Enfield & Barnet Branch in the very first edition of\nLondon Drinker in March 1979 as selling an \u2018impressive range of beers\u2019 on\nhandpump, including those from Rayments, Greene King, Devenish and Arkells, and\nwith tasteful and simple decoration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously a bookmakers office and before that a club, its\nconversion took advantage of then recent changes in the law that dropped the\nrequirement to relinquish an existing licence elsewhere in order to open a new\npub, and relaxed planning conditions on change of use and car parking. The pub\nwas acquired by Tim in December 1979 and renamed \u2018Martins Free House\u2019. He soon\nadopted the model to build up a chain across north London and eventually countrywide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pub, which is still trading, was later renamed \u2018Wetherspoons\u2019\nand then \u2018The Spoons\u2019 but by 1994 had been sold on to Greenall\u2019s then passing\nto Pubmaster before ending up with Punch in 2003. It was renamed Keenans in\n2008 and received its current name Furlongs in 2017 with Sharp\u2019s Doom Bar as\nthe regular cask ale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current JDW pub in Muswell Hill, the \u2018Mossy Well\u2019, as featured\non the front cover of the last London Drinker<\/em>, has had\njust as much of a chequered history. The former Express Dairies tea room was\nconverted to Oscars wine bar in 1983 and first became a pub proper, the Swiss\nChalet, a year later, selling Marston\u2019s Pedigree. In 1987 part was renamed the\nSteam Rock Cafe at the Swiss Chalet with a separate outlet created next door\nnamed Flanagans Village Bar. By 1994 it too had been sold to Greenall\u2019s; the\nformer was renamed the Tap & Barrel and then Ruby in the Dust, with the\nlatter renamed the Village. Both outlets combined under the Village name from\n2002 and latterly it was operated by the Capital Pub Co, before being taken\nover by JDW in 2015 and being renamed yet again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roger Warhurst<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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