The Cordwainer (Lloyds No.1), Northampton

Official site of The Cordwainer (Lloyds No.1) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Official site of The Cordwainer (Lloyds No.1) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

This is a large branch of the Wetherspoons chain, with a modern interior inside what I’d presumed was an older former industrial building, but it turns out the whole place was built from scratch in 2001. On approach, I was greeted by some spectacularly dysfunctional punters, who gave me a taster of some of the characters I’d encounter within, which included the highly efficient, but miserable as sin, bar staff. The pub has the usual spacious ‘Spoons interior across two floors, with the ground floor bar to your right on entering and loads of serating through the remaining space. This includes tables and chairs under the front windows, sadly facing a quiet side street and not affording much in the way of people watching opportunities, high tables and stools opposite the bar, and booths along the left-hand side of the room. To the rear is a patio garden that looked like it could be a bit of a sun trap on a pleasant day. More seating can be found upstairs, where there’s also a second bar and a roof garden, but this first floor room seemed quite noisy and echoey, so wasn’t the peaceful spot many first floor ‘Spoons bars can often be. On the bar, I counted the three regular ‘Spoons ales along with a staggering eleven guests - by far the widest ale range I’ve seen in a ‘Spoons post-pandemic. I opted for a pint of the Oakham Echo, which was okay but not exactly top-quality - maybe they need to thin the guests a little to ensure better turnover. I also grabbed some lunch here, which came promptly and was decent enough, although I did have to endure some very noisy kids who settled on the table next to me with their clueless grandmother. This was a pretty chaotic pub, with lots going on - some good and some bad, but mostly entertaining in some way or another. The wide ale range is probably the main draw here, although getting a quality pint could be a bit of a lottery. Overall, I enjoyed this one, and as my crawl started unravelling later in the day, I popped back again and was pleased to find it still very much a total madhouse.

Standard Spoons affair inside with a bar upstairs and downstairs, and a non smoking patio area upstairs and a small beer garden to the rear and side. Gets busy very early. Ales are always decent however so worth a visit if passing by.

Called in here for breakfast which was pretty good (and hot for a change!). The upstairs wasn't in use but it looked quite smart with some outdoor seating. I'll call again to try the beer!