The Regal Moon

The Regal Moon is a pub in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, operated by the national pub chain J D Wetherspoon. It occupies a building that originally opened in 1938 as the Regal cinema, a purpose-built Art Deco 'picture palace' that was formally opened on 16 May 1938 by Mrs Mary Duckworth, then Mayor of Rochdale. The pub's name deliberately recalls that cinematic heritage, combining 'Regal' with 'Moon'. As a Wetherspoon house, The Regal Moon follows the chain's familiar formula: a large, open-plan, food-and-drink-led pub offering an extensive menu of beers, real ales, wines, spirits, cocktails and pub food at value prices, with long opening hours from 8:00am daily. The venue at The Butts in Rochdale town centre provides Wi-Fi, TV screens, a licensed outside area and step-free access, and participates in Wetherspoon's twice-yearly real-ale festivals and seasonal menus such as the autumn beer festival and Christmas menu. Children under 18 are admitted only between 8:00am and 8:00pm. The pub is part of J D Wetherspoon plc, the British pub company founded by Tim Martin, whose first pub opened in Muswell Hill, north London, in December 1979 and which was floated on the Stock Exchange in 1992. Wetherspoon is known for converting large, often historic buildings — cinemas, banks, halls — into pubs, and The Regal Moon is a typical example of that strategy, preserving and interpreting the building's cinema history through prints and text displayed inside. The Regal Moon serves the local Rochdale community and visitors as a town-centre pub, and its official page on the Wetherspoon website provides location, opening times, facilities and current promotions. It is a single-site pub brand rather than a standalone company, and its identity is closely tied both to the Wetherspoon chain and to the architectural and social history of the former Regal cinema.

The Regal Moon takes its name from the Regal cinema that originally occupied the building. The Regal was purpose built in 1938 and formally opened on 16 May 1938 by Mrs Mary Duckworth, the Mayor of Rochdale. It was an Art Deco 'picture palace' of the kind that dominated cinema architecture between the First and Second World Wars, with a spacious entrance hall and circle foyers that brought a new level of luxury to Rochdale's cinema-goers. The building's cinema history is part of a wider local story: the first animated pictures were shown in Rochdale in 1904 at the old Circus (later the Hippodrome Variety House); by 1910 story-telling 'movies' were being produced; the town's first purpose-built cinema, the Pavilion, opened in December 1912 and in July 1929 became the first cinema in the area to feature 'talkies'. The Regal followed in 1938. In the modern era the building was converted into a pub under the J D Wetherspoon brand, taking the name The Regal Moon in reference to its cinematic past. Wetherspoon, founded by Tim Martin, opened its first pub in Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill, north London, on 9 December 1979 — initially called Martin's Free House for its first month before being renamed Wetherspoons in early 1980. The company grew from north London, with its head office above The Dog in Archway, and pioneered initiatives such as a dedicated non-smoking bar (The Tally Ho, North Finchley, 1991), the CBS (Cleanliness, Beer, Service) standards scheme, the Wetherspoon News magazine, and its first real-ale festival in 1990. It opened Hamilton Hall at Liverpool Street station as its first central London and station pub, and its first airport pubs at Heathrow Terminal 4 in 1992, the same year it floated on the Stock Exchange as J D Wetherspoon plc. As part of this chain, The Regal Moon operates as a large town-centre pub at The Butts in Rochdale, offering the chain's standard menu of beers, real ales, wines, spirits, cocktails and food, with long daily opening hours from 8:00am. It participates in Wetherspoon's twice-yearly real-ale festivals — the chain's first such festival in 1990 lasted four days with six beers, whereas today each pub can offer up to 50 beers, 10 of them from overseas — and in seasonal promotions such as the autumn beer festival and Christmas menu. The pub displays prints and text about the Regal cinema and local history, preserving the building's heritage for customers.

• 1992

  J D Wetherspoon floats on the Stock Exchange as J D Wetherspoon plc.

• 1990

  Wetherspoon's pubs host their first real-ale festival, lasting four days with six beers.

• 1979

  J D Wetherspoon's first pub opens in Muswell Hill, north London, on 9 December.

• 1938

  The Regal cinema is purpose built and formally opened on 16 May by Mrs Mary Duckworth, Mayor of Rochdale.

• 1929

  The Pavilion becomes the first cinema in the area to feature 'talkies' in July.

• 1912

  The Pavilion, Rochdale's first purpose-built cinema, opens in December.

• 1904

  First animated pictures shown in Rochdale at the old Circus (later the Hippodrome Variety House).

A value-focused, food-and-drink-led Wetherspoon pub in a historic former Art Deco cinema building in Rochdale town centre.

• Real ale and cask beer

• Craft cans

• Wine, spirits and cocktails

• Pub food including breakfast and Christmas menu

• Spritz cocktail range

1. 1The Regal Moon - J D Wetherspoonjdwetherspoon.com
2. 2History - J D Wetherspoonjdwetherspoon.com
3. 3The Regal Moon - J D Wetherspoonjdwetherspoon.com
4. 4About us - J D Wetherspoonjdwetherspoon.com
5. 5The Regal Moonwikidata.org