ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Wetherspoon's pubs used to have a different name but Tim Martin changed it

Home> News

Updated 15:25 28 Jan 2023 GMTPublished 15:23 28 Jan 2023 GMT

Wetherspoon's pubs used to have a different name but Tim Martin changed it

The old name did not last long

Emma Guinness

Emma Guinness

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Wetherspoon - or Spoons as it is more commonly and affectionately known - is nothing short of a British institution.

While Spoons is not exactly winning any prizes with Gordon Ramsay, most Brits know that the pub chain can be relied upon for a meal and a cheap drink, but did you know it used to have a completely different name? Seriously.

It's hard to imagine Spoons being called anything other than, well, Spoons, but like a lot of pubs, the pub - which has the official name J D Wetherspoon plc - was initially named after its owner Tim Martin.

Advert

For the first month of business, it was known as Martin's Free House, which is probably why no one can remember the chain ever having a different name.

Wetherspoons is no longer named after its owner, Tim Martin.
Alamy / Izel Photography

When you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense when it comes to the history of Great British chains - just look at Morrisons, which is named after founder William Morrison, and Sainsbury's, which gets its name from John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury.

However, as was later revealed on Spoons' website, Martin obviously didn't like the name and decided to rename the pubs after an old teacher.

The original Mr Wetherspoon taught the now-boozer mogul geography back when he was living in New Zealand.

The website states: "For the first month of trading, it was called Martin's Free House – after its owner, Wetherspoon's founder and chairman Tim Martin.

"Then, early in the new year of 1980, the pub was renamed Wetherspoon, after Tim's teacher, who'd taught him at school, when he lived in New Zealand."

For one month, Wetherspoons was called Martin's Free House.
Alamy / PA Images

While on the surface this seems like a sweet tribute to Martin's old teacher, it turns out that it was actually more of a dig.

The Express reported that he deliberately chose that name because this teacher told him that he 'wouldn't amount to anything'.

Martin himself weighed in on his reasons for naming the pub after a teacher he disliked, and he told the Independent back in 1999 that the original Mr Wethersoon 'was the least likely person to control a pub because he could not control a class.'

At this point, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Martin's teacher had J.D. Wetherspoon on his class door, but he didn't.

Instead, these initials are a reference to The Dukes of Hazzard character J.D. 'Boss' Hogg.

The more you know, eh?

Featured Image Credit: TW Photo Images / Islandstock / Alamy
Emma Guinness
Emma Guinness

Recommended reads

Christina Applegate gives health update after reports of hospitalisationGilbert Flores/Variety via Getty ImagesNew Amazon Fire TV Sticks rules in full as illegal streaming crackdown beginsPeter Dazeley/Getty ImagesTim Cook says Apple only hires people that have same answer to one questionJustin Sullivan/Getty ImagesNobel Peace Prize winner has chilling warning for when humanity will endGetty Stock

Advert

  • Couple added another woman to their relationship and it changed everything
  • Justin Bieber set to be the highest ever paid Coachella headliner but will have to abide by serious rule to keep it all
  • Man earned £100k a year doing job no one wants but it had a worrying ‘dark side’
  • Tommy Robinson claims 'millions' turned up to march but authorities say it was significantly less

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
3 hours ago
  • Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
    an hour ago

    New Amazon Fire TV Sticks rules in full as illegal streaming crackdown begins

    New models of the Fire Stick won't accept apps that aren't from Amazon's store

    News
  • Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
    2 hours ago

    Tim Cook says Apple only hires people that have same answer to one question

    Tim Cook is set to step down as CEO of Apple in September 'a smooth transition'

    News
  • Getty Stock
    2 hours ago

    Nobel Peace Prize winner has chilling warning for when humanity will end

    "The agreements, the norms between countries, are all falling apart"

    News
  • Handout
    3 hours ago

    Tragic final words of woman, 80, who died after cruise left her behind on island

    "We had no reason to think anything bad would happen," said her daughter Katherine Rees

    News