The Bluecoat (JD Wetherspoon), Rotherham

Just for a change, an atypical 'Spoon's! Tucked away in the backstreets in an historic building, there is one medium-sized room on entry which actually feels like a pub. You have to venture further in to find the larger, more typically Wetherspoon areas downstairs and upstairs, while there is also a fair-sized patio at the back. Most notably, it has an excellent range of ales, with 9 pretty interesting guests and just Abbot from the usuals. We could happily have stayed here and worked through the pumps.

This school conversion does rather look like an original pub. You enter into the bar area which is a smallish rectangular room with a further area on the left down some steps that I didn't venture into. The bar has ten hand pumps which had a full compliment of the JDW Trio Of Doom, Fuggle Bunny Russian Rare-Bit, Kelham Island Pale Rider, Milestone Luck Of The Irish, Stancill Blonde, Hambleton Cherry Blonde, Hobgoblin and Saltaire Hazelnut Porter. I went for the Pale Rider which was in very good nick. I thought this was a good Spoons. It's GBG 2017 listed.

This Wetherspoons pub is housed in a former school building, which has inadvertently given it far more of a pub feel than you get from the usual shop-conversions associated with this chain. You enter directly into the main bar area with the servery, comprising a wood and brick counter and standard mirrored bar back, opposite the front door. The pub is broken up a fair bit to the front thanks to various pillars and sections of wall, which mean that it's possible to bag a few tables that offer a degree of privacy. To the right is a small seating section with TV screens showing Sky News, whilst over to the left, behind some of the aforementioned pillars, a decent seating area emerges with standard tables and chairs in front of windows that give a good view across the valley outside. The building extends to the rear here, with steps leading down to a large lower level seating area with a few padded bench booths and lots of neatly arranged rows of standard tables and chairs. Stairs also lead up to a smaller, but similar seating area with modern wallpaper and a slightly cosier feel to it. A final flight of stairs brings you to a couple of sofas serving a single table, close to the toilet doors. The usual 'Spoons history boards can be found dotted around the place, including some for slightly more contemporary subjects such as local sports stars Fred Trueman and David Seaman. Warmer weather might induce you to take advantage of the limited pavement seating out the front of the pub, but no-one dared brave this in the January chill. The pub is generally regarded as the best of the town's three Wetherspoons for ale choice and this seemed to be evidenced by all ten handpulls being in use on this visit. There was a choice between three 'Spoons regulars and seven guest ales, almost all of which were from Yorkshire micros such as Partners and Chantry. I tried the Phoenix Hopsack which sadly was not in a particularly state and perhaps should, upon reflection, have been returned to the bar. I was a little let down by the quality of my pint, although the pub's regular appearance in the Good Beer Guide suggests I may have been unlucky on this occasion. It's clearly worth a visit for the ale range, but I was generally underwhelmed and would probably slightly favour the nearby Corn Law Rhymer if forced to pick my favourite Rotherham 'Spoons.

The Bluecoat is a Spoons that is quite hard to find if you are not from the local area. Once inside i had a drink in the front room which is oblong shaped with the bar facing,the seating was mainly tall tables and chairs to the right and normal tables and chairs to the left,there was a larger room down a few steps to the rear left,i also found another room up some steps. There were 10 pumps on the bar with one unclipped,i had a drink of Stancill Barnsley Bitter which went down very well,the other beers i noted were Wharfbank Othello Gold /Tether Blonde,Milestone Rasberry Wheat beer,Osset Citra,Acorn Sue Vorte Veld,Adnams Broadside,Ruddles best and GK Abbot. The pub was far too quiet for my liking with no atmosphere at all. If you want to sit outside it is plastic glasses only,not sure why the customers in here seemed a bit more classy than normal Spoons types. Pub visited 31/5/2014

Larger than it first looks, with an imposing façade extended by a split-level extension to the rear. Various seating areas plus a few tables out front (although glass 'glasses' are not allowed here). Memorabilia commemorating local cricketing hero Fred Trueman. Excellent selection from ten handpumps, including Brewsters Aromatic porter (£1.99). Winner of several local Camra awards.

Quite small for a JDW, although still spacious, this is one of the best pubs in the chain in my opinion. It feels like a pub, rather than a barn and the staff are almost always on top of their game. 10 handpumps with the usual suspects plus an ever changing selection of guests, mostly from Yorkshire breweries. I have to pass this pub on the way into Rotherham from the hotel, so I call in every time I'm in the town centre. I often call for one on the way back as well.