The Roebuck Inn

The Roebuck Inn is a pub in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, operated as part of the J D Wetherspoon estate. It occupies premises at 9–11 St James’s Street in the city centre, close to the site of the former Malt Cross Music Hall. The pub is named after an earlier inn, originally called The Roebuck, which was first recorded in 1760 and later renamed the Malt Cross; that building was rebuilt in 1877 as the Malt Cross Music Hall by Charles Weldon, with a design by architect Edwin Hill. The modern Wetherspoon pub therefore carries a name that references a long-standing local drinking and entertainment tradition rather than a newly invented brand. As a Wetherspoon house, The Roebuck Inn follows the company’s familiar format: a large, food-and-drink-led pub offering an extensive menu of beers, ales, wines, spirits, soft drinks and pub meals, with an emphasis on value pricing and long opening hours. The official pub page lists opening times from 8:00am to midnight Monday to Thursday and Sunday, and until 1:00am on Friday and Saturday. Children under 18 are only permitted on the premises between 8:00am and 9:30pm. Facilities include Wi-Fi, TV screens, a licensed outside area, baby-changing facilities and step-free access. Customers can order food and drinks to their table via the Wetherspoon app. The pub participates in Wetherspoon’s wider promotional calendar, including the twice-yearly real-ale festivals, seasonal Christmas menus and cocktail ranges such as the spritz selection. The autumn beer festival, for example, features a range of 30 real ales, including five from international brewers, over a 12-day period in October. Such events are organised at company level and rolled out across the estate, so The Roebuck Inn’s offer reflects the broader Wetherspoon programme as much as any individual pub identity. Ownership sits with J D Wetherspoon plc, the UK pub company founded by Tim Martin. The first Wetherspoon pub opened in 1979 in Muswell Hill, north London, and the company was floated on the Stock Exchange in 1992. The Roebuck Inn is one of many Wetherspoon pubs across the United Kingdom, and its official web presence is hosted within the jdwetherspoon.com domain. The pub’s history page, provided by Wetherspoon, explains the local naming and displays prints and text about St James’s Street and the Malt Cross, tying the venue to Nottingham’s heritage.

The Roebuck Inn is a J D Wetherspoon pub in Nottingham, England. Its name derives from an earlier inn, originally called The Roebuck, which was first recorded in 1760 as an alehouse. That establishment was later renamed the Malt Cross. In 1877 it was rebuilt as the Malt Cross Music Hall by Charles Weldon, with the architect Edwin Hill designing a four-storey wing at right-angles to the street, featuring a glazed roof supported by arches made from strips of wood glued together. The music hall opened with the announcement that ‘the Alhambra Band has been engaged to play all the popular music of the day’. Admission was free, with profits coming from food and drink. A later owner, Lewis Donkersley, performed in other music halls as ‘Alec Lewis, Operatic Comedian’. The music hall closed in 1914. After a period as a warehouse, the Malt Cross was briefly a pub again in the 1980s, and more recently it has again provided musical entertainment and been used as the Potter’s House, a Christian charity. The modern Wetherspoon pub named The Roebuck Inn stands almost opposite the site of the former Malt Cross Music Hall, on St James’s Street. The street itself is named after one of Nottingham’s oldest places of worship, first mentioned in 1265. Wetherspoon’s own pub-history page for The Roebuck Inn presents prints and text about both the Malt Cross and St James’s Street, linking the pub to the area’s heritage. As part of the J D Wetherspoon estate, The Roebuck Inn shares in the company’s broader history. The first Wetherspoon pub opened on 9 December 1979 in Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill, north London, having been purchased from an entrepreneur who had converted it from a bookmaker’s shop. For its first month it was called Martin’s Free House, and was renamed Wetherspoons early in 1980. In the early years the company’s pubs were all in north London, with the head office above The Dog in Archway. In 1990 Wetherspoon’s pubs hosted their first real-ale festival, lasting four days and featuring six beers; today each Wetherspoon pub is involved in the twice-yearly beer festival, offering up to 50 beers each, 10 of which are from overseas. In 1991 The Tally Ho in North Finchley, London, opened with a dedicated non-smoking bar upstairs, one of several pioneering initiatives before the smoking ban of July 2007. That year also saw the start of the CBS scheme (cleanliness, beer and service), the first edition of Wetherspoon News, and the opening of Hamilton Hall at Liverpool Street station, the company’s first pub in central London and at a train station. In 1992 Wetherspoon opened its first two airport pubs at Heathrow Airport Terminal 4, and the company was floated on the Stock Exchange as J D Wetherspoon plc, with shares issued at £1.60. The Roebuck Inn’s own official page lists its address as 9–11 St James’s Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG1 6FH, and gives a telephone number of 0115 979 3400. Opening hours are 8:00am to midnight Monday to Thursday and Sunday, and 8:00am to 1:00am Friday and Saturday. Children under 18 are only allowed on the premises between 8:00am and 9:30pm. Facilities include Wi-Fi, TV screens, a licensed outside area, baby-changing facilities and step-free access. The pub promotes the Wetherspoon app for ordering food and drinks to the table, and takes part in company-wide events such as the autumn beer festival, the Christmas menu and the spritz cocktail range.

• 1992

  Wetherspoon opens its first airport pubs at Heathrow Terminal 4 and floats on the Stock Exchange as J D Wetherspoon plc, with shares issued at £1.60.

• 1991

  The Tally Ho opens with a dedicated non-smoking bar upstairs; the CBS scheme and Wetherspoon News begin; Hamilton Hall opens at Liverpool Street station.

• 1990

  Wetherspoon’s pubs host their first real-ale festival, lasting four days and featuring six beers.

• 1979

  The first Wetherspoon pub opens in Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill, north London, on 9 December.

• 1914

  The Malt Cross Music Hall closes.

• 1877

  The Malt Cross is rebuilt as the Malt Cross Music Hall by Charles Weldon, designed by architect Edwin Hill.

• 1760

  The original Roebuck alehouse is first recorded, later renamed the Malt Cross.

Value-focused, high-volume community pub within the J D Wetherspoon national estate, combining long opening hours, app-based ordering and company-wide drink and food promotions.

• Real ale

• Beer

• Wine

• Spirits

• Soft drinks

• Pub meals

• Breakfast

• Burgers

• Cocktails

1. 1The Roebuck Inn - J D Wetherspoonjdwetherspoon.com
2. 2History - J D Wetherspoonjdwetherspoon.com
3. 3The Roebuck Inn - J D Wetherspoon (pub history)jdwetherspoon.com
4. 4About us - J D Wetherspoonjdwetherspoon.com
5. 5The Roebuck Inn - Wikidatawikidata.org