J D Wetherspoon History

Year: 1600
Building Use: Agriculture
Historical Event: n/a
Historical Name: Sir John Jennings
Historical Place: n/a

The Waterend Barn wasn’t always situated in the center of St Albans. It was in roughly 1610 that the barn was built next to a ford on the River Lea. The creator was Sir John Jennings, who was a very important person at the time. He was the St Albans MP and sat in the House of Commons multiple times between the years of 1628 and 1642. The barn was built at the same time as the Water End Farm, a family home for Jennings and his family, including his daughter- Sarah Jennings (Churchill), Duchess of Marlborough.

The Water End Farm can still be found in this location, however the timber framed, aisled barn was dismantled in 1938 and re-erected in the middle of St Albans. It went by the name the Waterend Barn restaurant. A few decades after this, in 1964, it was enlarged by a smaller barn from Little Hormead. It is presumed that this barn dates back to the sixteenth century. It wasn’t until 17th February 2005 that the barns, turned pub, became a JDW pub.

An image of two girls playing in the ford, the date is unkwown.

An early postcard of one of the barns by a ford over the River Lea .

Waterend Farm- which the Waterend barn was part of.

A postcard advertising the restaurant in roughly the late 1940’s.

The Waterend Barn today.

Year: 1900
Building Use: Entertainment
Historical Event: n/a
Historical Name: William Glenn
Historical Place: n/a

The Coronet can be found on London’s Holloway Road. It was designed by William R. Glenn and opened on 5th February 1940, going by the name the Savoy Cinema. It was uncertain whether the cinema would be able to open to due World War 2 commencing, but they pushed on with plans and it became one of the only few cinemas available during those hard times. The designer, William Glenn, was an architect that worked for ABC. He designed the cinema with a very specific Art Deco feel which is still prominent in the pub today. The Savoy Cinema then went on to have multiple names changes. In 1962 the name was changed to the ABC and in 1979 it was renamed the Coronet Cinema, as it became part of an independent cinema chain.

By the early 1980’s the Coronet Cinema was forced to close, and it screened its last two films back to back- “Blade Runner” and “Body Heat”. For a short while it became a snooker hall, but by 1987 the building became empty. The Coronet wasn’t to reopen until 14th March 1996 after it was taken over by J. D. Wetherspoon and converted into a pub, but keeping all the original features.