Becketts Bank (JD Wetherspoon), Leeds

Wetherspoons usually do a good job with old Bank conversions but I can’t help thinking they have stripped this place too much and lost most of the character. Becketts Bank itself was swallowed up by Westminster Bank (later NatWest) in 1921 and it would presumably have been quite a handsome building in its day however, despite being quite grand from the outside, the interior is little more than a cavernous room with a hollow echoey feel to it. A split staircase leads to a narrow balcony bar from wher you can get a birds eye view of whatever shenaningans are going on below but those who are acquainted with music venues will probably feel there should be stage where the bar. All the usual ‘Spoons attributes are present with a decent number of guest ales (I counted 6 among the 10 pumps on my visit) so it is worth popping in for that alone but ultimately I was a bit disappointed with the quite bland interior given what it was probably like in its financial heyday.