The Society Rooms (JD Wetherspoon), Macclesfield

A splendid Victorian building on the edge of the town centre built as the home of the Useful Knowledge Society. I wouldn’t argue with any of the comments made by previous reviewers, perhaps not being as harsh as some as I quite like quiet pubs, although it was fairly busy during my early morning visit for breakfast and beer. Slightly odd configuration as you enter through an arched short corridor with a raised area ahead and an odd shaped main bar to the left. There are further hidden areas tucked away beyond the counter, although not that hidden if you use the left hand front door. It’s the usual long counter with three groups of five pulls topped and tailed by the T-Bars and solos. The unholy trinity plus a few local ales are doubled up; Brightside, Coachouse and Titanic were represented. Unusual seating in that the lower area by the counter has the taller tables, while the raised areas, front and front left, have lower seating almost as segregated dining areas, there’s less cramming in of furniture as well. The machines are clustered on the middle of the main bar, oddly I didn’t notice any screens. Local interest and history boards on the walls plus some art much as expected. Toilets upstairs as usual and yes there are CCTV cameras in the gents, not I believe covering the urinals or stalls just a general view in each direction and there are signs warning you of the intrusion.

This pub will probably forever remain the quietest branch of Wetherspoons that I have ever visited, with less than a dozen customers in attendance on a cold January evening. That's not ideal in such a large open plan pub, which manages only a small degree of partitioning thanks to a row of huge pillars which separate the upper and lower levels and some of the rear bar area. The whole room is carpeted and has low wood panelled walls with plain and neutral shaded uppers that have been decorated with large paintings and some local information boards. Tables and chairs in a raised space to the front and in a side area to the left of the bar, make up the majority of the seating options, with high tables and chairs in rows opposite the servery, across the lower, rear level. A side room to the front left has tidy full height panelling and offers comfy banquettes beneath some arty design prints on the walls. The servery, which runs along the back wall, has an unusual back-lit, marble effect, panelled counter with a polished stone top, offset by a very dull modern bar back. There's a sizable patio seating area out the front and a car park too, although it might possibly be a paid one. A trip to the toilet saw a feature I'd not encountered in all my years of pub-going, namely CCTV cameras in the gents. On the bar there were the three regular 'Spoons ales and no less than five guests, from which I tried a decent pint of Small World Twin Falls. The service was pleasant and prompt, but the 'you only had one job' award has to go to the microwave operative in the kitchen, who somehow managed to spectacularly undercook my chips. It felt, on approach, that this was going to be quite a spectacular 'Spoons conversion but it ended up being a bit bland and with no other customers in, I felt like I was rattling around a pub far too big for its own good. I popped in again the following night, which was marginally busier, but with so many good pubs around town, maybe this place isn't particularly needed, other than to flesh out a crawl. Date of visit - 16th January 2024

The Society Rooms is a Wetherspoons with a bar counter on the rear wall that supports standard and premium keg as well as two banks of five hand pumps. During a recent Monday evening visit these were drawing Ruddles, Sharp’s Doom Bar, Mobberley’s Bunji, Beartown Brewery’s Kahuna, Acorn Brewery’s Blonde and Barnsley Gold, Purple Moose Brewery’s Whakahari, Lymestone’s Stone Age. The open plan interior has a raised seating are to the right of the entrance and standard seating to the left where stairs lead up to the toilets. There is a gaming machine in the middle of the pub. The service was polite, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to revisit.