‘A devastating loss’ cry punters as Wetherspoons’ oldest pub put up for sale with dozens still at risk
WETHERSPOONS’ oldest pub is on the market as the pub giant continues to offload sites.
The Rochester Castle in London is being sold three decades after it became a Wetherspoons – as dozens of the chain remain for sale.
Spoons opened the Stoke Newington site in 1983 and it has since become the oldest continually operated pub by the giant.
Fans of the Castle are not letting their favourite boozer go without a fight.
A petition has now been launched to save the “vital community space” from closing – it currently has 630 signatures.
Fan Jasey Dalaigh said: “It’s real and another kick to the community.
“Where else can pensioners go to meet friends, there is no pub in Stokey like it, all walks of life ages etc.”
Dale Robertson said: “This gaff is one in a million…it’s a stokey institution full of characters you won’t find in many pubs anymore.”
Lorraine Stils said: “This pub is Legendary. Do not shut it. So many older people use it as place to meet.”
The pub has hosted famous British bands including The Jam, The Stranglers, and Ian Dury.
JD Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “We can confirm that The Rochester Castle is going on the market.
“Wetherspoon does, on occasion, put some of its pubs up for sale, and this is the case here. It will continue to trade as normal until it is sold.”
A pub has been on the Stoke Newington site since 1702.
It was called the Green Dragon at first and in 1801 became the Rochester Castle.
The Sun named the pub one of the top 10 weirdest Wetherspoons in the country.
The announced sale of the Castle comes after Spoons also announced the sale of a popular Edinburgh pub.
The Foot of the Walk bar in Edinburgh’s Leith is also on the market following a sewer pipe bursting underneath the premises.
The chain – which has 827 pubs across the UK – warned last September that it was putting dozens of its pubs up for sale.
In December, 20 Wetherspoons were up for sale with eight under offer, leaving fans gutted that their local branch could be lost forever.
The Percy Shaw in Halifax called last orders on January 7 after the venue was sold to a new owner.
Other pubs were up for sale in Battersea, Bristol, Peebles, and Shipley.
It comes as a number of UK pubs have closed their doors for good amid a turbulent economic backdrop.
Increased energy and wage costs are piling further pressure on businesses.
Wetherspoon pubs up for sale
39 other Wetherspoons are currently up for sale, with the Rochester Crown becoming the 40th.
Here’s the full list:
- Barnsley – Silkstone Inn
- Beaconsfield – Hope & Champion
- Bexleyheath – Wrong ‘Un
- Bournemouth – Christopher Creeke
- Cheltenham – Bank House
- Crediton, Devon – General Sir Redvers Buller
- Derby – Thomas Leaper
- Durham – Water House
- Fareham – Lord Arthur Lee
- Fraserburgh – The Saltoun Inn
- Halifax – Percy Shaw
- Hanham – Jolly Sailor
- Harrow – Moon on the Hill
- Hove – Cliftonville Inn
- London Battersea – Asparagus
- London East Ham – Miller’s Well
- London Eltham – Bankers Draft
- London Forest Gate – Hudson Bay
- London Forest Hill – Capitol
- London Hammersmith – Plough and Harrow
- London Holloway – Coronet
- London Hornsey – Toll Gate
- London Holborn – Penderel’s Oak
- London Islington – Angel
- London Palmers Green – Alfred Herring
- Loughborough – Moon & Bell
- Loughton – Last Post
- Mansfield – Widow Frost
- Middlesbrough – Resolution
- Peebles – Cross Keys
- Purley – Foxley Hatch
- Redditch – Rising Sun
- Sevenoaks – Sennockian
- Southampton – Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis
- Stafford – Butler’s Bell
- Watford – Colombia Press
- West Bromwich – Billiard Hall
- Willenhall – Malthouse
- Wirral – John Masefield