The William Withering (JD Wetherspoon), Telford

A Wetherspoons-by-the-book as far as I'm concerned.

Better than average JDW situated near both the bus and train stations . Pub is well described previously although no one has noticed the moving portrait of William Withering , the eyes move then when he thinks no one is looking he grabs a crafty pint . Also the toilets are along a long corridor then up a flight of very steep stairs that a sherps would struggle with . Beer is the usual JDW selection of GK IPA , Abbot and Ruddles plus four or five guests mostly local . I had a Salopian Lemon Dream in great Condition .

Dating from Summer 2011, JDW have attempted to make this shop conversion a bit different from all of their ones from the 20th Century. It is just one large rectangular room where the wooden decor is darker in colour, the lighting more ornate and various bits of artwork and pictures decorate the walls. It's mostly carpeted but with black and white tiling surrounding the bar. The only natural light is that from the doors at the front so it is a bit on the dark side. On a Saturday morning the place was full of mostly shoppers having the breakfast options. The bar had two banks of five pumps but sadly three were unclipped. The two GK beers, a cider and Shropshire Salopian Gold were on one side and the other three were Titanic Captain Smith, Lymestone Ein Stein and Hanlon's Port Stout. I went for the Captain Smith (£2.15) which was in reasonably good nick but not entirely clear. The price paid was a January Sale price so presumably should have been around £2.40 assuming JDW don't raise their prices after the Sale ends. This is a GBG listed Spoons so overall I was rather disappointed but only with the beer choice and to a lesser extent quality.

What to say about this place, from the outside..... well, it is dull. It is a blue brick and white board upper, with a predominantly glass lower frontage - as Oggy says, a 1960s shop that has been converted. The interior is a large room in red and brown and wood panel, with an ornate ceiling with moulded cornice and patterned carpet. There were the usual Spoons information boards, books, statues and vases, with a sofa area and a wider dining area. There is the usual silent TVs and there was no music playing. Normally at this stage i say, typical Spoons - but i left this place with more positive thoughts than negative - why? Well; we ate here and the food was all ok; the service was actually good; the clientele didn't have a drunk looking for cheap beer; the beer choice had the usual Abbot, Ruddles and a few others, but my Prescott's Over the Hill was well kept. Would i return? absolutely - the building maybe as dull as an omnibus edition of Emmerdale, but most all else was a decent experience.

Excellent new pub with lots of historical information about William Withering and the town of Wellington. Very comfortable with a good pub manager. 6 or 7 real ales on including the local Salopian Shropshire Gold. Recommended!