JD Wetherspoon pubs are an integral part of British culture, with multiple branches in every city, serving up fairly cheap pints and food. Liverpool has 16 to choose from and though we try to champion independent boozers, there’s no denying that Spoons is a major player in the pub scene.
With every corner of Liverpool city centre seeming to have a Wetherspoon site, we have delved into the unique stories behind how each venue got their interesting names.
Here, in no particular order, are all of the Wetherspoon pubs in Liverpool (with an ‘L’ postcode) and the fascinating history behind their names.
9. The Barker’s Brewery, Huyton
According to Wetherspoons: “The pub was built on the site of Barker’s Brewery, run by the brothers Richard and William Barker and was founded on this site in 1825. The brewery site extended forward onto what is now the dual carriageway. In front of Barker’s Brewery was the original Rose & Crown, once a coaching inn which stopped trading as a public house in 1938 and was demolished for road widening in 1967." | By Phil Nash from Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 & GFDLViews, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons Photo: Phil Nash from Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 & GFDLViews via Wikimedia Commons
10. The Richard John Blacker, Great Charlotte Street
According to Wetherspoons: “This building is on the site of Blacklers department store, opened by Richard John Blackler in 1908, when he was only 36 years old. He lived at Amberley Park and later at Fulwood Road, until his death in 1919. The store was destroyed in 1941 during the Blitz. Only the steel skeleton remained, much of it utilised in the rebuilding after the war. It took 10 years in planning and four years to build, before the brand-new store opened in 1955." | Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Photo: Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
11. The Thomas Frost, Walton Road
According to Wetherspoons: “This Wetherspoon pub is named after the founder of the drapery firm that occupied this site for nearly a century. Thomas William Frost had a single shop here in 1885. The business later occupied a whole block, built around the time of the First World War. Whilst the Frost Building has survived, many others have been demolished. These include the former Ragged School, later known as Kirkdale Homes, and its near neighbour, the grim and notorious Kirkdale Gaol. The Gaol occupied the area which later became Kirkdale Recreation Ground." | Rept0n1x, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Photo: Rept0n1x, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
12. Childwall Fiveways Hotel, Queens Drive
According to Wetherspoons: “This well-known public house is at one of Liverpool’s busiest roundabouts, built in c1931, where Childwall (pronounced ‘chilled wall’) meets the neighbouring suburb of Wavertree. The Childwall Fiveways Hotel had been a local landmark for more than 50 years. A newspaper cutting from the local Evening Express, dated 12 December 1956, is entitled ‘MP pulls first pint at new pub’. The Childwall Fiveways Hotel takes its name from the five exits leading off the roundabout.” | Google Street View Photo: Google Street View