Wetherspoons Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon plc, branded as Wetherspoon, is a pub company in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1979 by Tim Martin, the company operates arond 900 outlets, including the chain of Lloyds No.1 bars and a growing number of Wetherspoon hotels. With its headquarters in Watford, Wetherspoon is known for converting unconventional yet attractive premises into pubs. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Tim Martin opened his first pub in 1979, in Colney Hatch Lane in Muswell Hill, north London. Many of
Pub names moved to another premises. Fashion, as in the rise of intentionally amusing paired names like 'Slug and Lettuce' and 'Frog and Firkin' (see "Puns, Jokes and Corruptions" below) in the late 20th century, is responsible for many more recent pub names. Some pubs are known by the names of former landlords and landladies, for instance Nellie's (originally the White Horse) in Beverley, and Ma Pardoe's (officially the Olde Swan) in Netherton, West Midlands. The Baron of Beef, Welwyn, Hertfordshire is named after a nineteenth-century landlord, George Baron, listed in Kelly's Directory for 1890 as "Butcher and Beer Retailer". Others are