The Rodboro Buildings (Lloyds No 1), Guildford

Pub SignMan left this review about The Rodboro Buildings (Lloyds No 1)

as one of the country’s first purpose-built car factories. Over the years, the building has had many uses, including as a shoe factory, a car showroom, a Red Cross distribution centre during World War II, a dance school and a series of nightclubs, before falling derelict for over a decade until Wetherspoons found a way to reopen it. It’s a pretty impressive interior that greets the modern day visitor, with bars set across two levels, including a very long, L-shaped servery on the ground floor, beneath a large old ‘Dennis Bros Motor factory’ sign that was presumably salvaged from one of the pub’s former incarnations. There’s plenty of carpeting throughout, with loads of the usual seating options available, mainly across the ground and lower ground floor levels, much of it quite secluded thanks to the various split-levels, bits of wall and partitioning screens that break the room up. Most notably, there wasn’t much of the usual high stool, pack ‘em in seating opposite the bar that most ‘Spoons seem to deploy, making for easy access and a more pleasant, open feel. The upper level runs in a quarter circle around the front of the building, with plenty of tables offering decent views down to the busy streets below through fairy-light strewn windows. Plenty of industrial style lights hang from above alongside the usual exposed utilities, in keeping with the building’s former usage. A small outdoor seating area can be found to one side, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t check out the interior at least once.
There were three guest ales available at the bar, alongside the three usual ‘Spoons cask options. I opted for a pint of the Mad Squirrel Resolution, which clocked in at a most reasonable £2.75 – very good value compared to other nearby pubs. A word also for the staff, who generally defied the ‘Spoons stereotype by being very friendly, helpful and switched on.
Like many of their branches up and down the country, this is a great example of this pub chain taking an old building threatened with demolition and repurposing it so that the public can still make good use of it. I really enjoyed exploring this fine building and thought that the good value ale and friendly service were major plus points. Sure, it suffers from some of the usual ‘Spoons complaints, but with its location so close to the station, this is an ideal start or end point for any crawl around town.

Date of visit - 24th June 2023

On 11^th December 2023 - rating: 7
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