Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has hailed the founding fathers of America as his biggest inspiration as he spoke ahead of the opening of a new pub where battlefield relics will go on display.
Tim Martin said democracy is ‘the important factor in the development of society’ — although he admitted his knowledge of history is ‘scant’.
The company’s founder spoke as the chain prepares to open five pubs including the Dictum of Kenilworth, where trebuchet balls used in the 172-day siege of the nearby castle will be on show.
Converted from a former discount store, the £3.2 million venue is named after a 13th Century pronouncement to reconcile the rebels of the Second Barons’ War — a group of whom held out in the town’s castle— with the royal government of England.
‘A lot of businesses in recent decades have gone down a “branding” route, whereby decor, design, the name and so on are linked to a particular image or brand,’ Martin said.
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‘We’ve always felt that pubs are more individual and people appreciate authentic links to the community and to the past: to local people, the building, and history.
‘We also try and include some works by local artists.
‘Many of our early London pubs, for example, featured artwork by my cousin Gabrielle, who comes from nearby Coventry.’
Asked if there is a figure from history he most admired, the company’s chairman picked out the founding fathers who are credited with establishing the American identity in the late 18th Century.
‘I think the most important factor in the development of society is democracy – in spite of the turbulence and arguments it inevitably involves,’ he said. ‘In that respect America is the most important democracy, which has helped Western Europe, Japan, South Korea and many other countries emerge from authoritarianism.
‘So I’d have to say the founding fathers of America are my inspiration, although my knowledge of history is scant.’
Wetherspoon is due to open the pubs before the end of the year, all of which incorporate local history into their design. However one desired conversion at the heart of British political history, where Martin will go down as an outspoken Brexiteer, will remain out of reach.
‘Wags have often suggested we could convert the Houses of Parliament into a pub, but that’s probably a bridge too far,’ he said.
Seventy jobs will be created following a £3.2 million development project to create the Dictum, according to Wetherspoon.
Photos, details and artwork with local relevance will be displayed inside, alongside the trebuchet balls of differing sizes discovered during pathway restoration works at Kenilworth Castle.
The artefacts, which are on loan from English Heritage, have been historically verified to date back to the great siege, at the end of which the dictum was drafted and signed.
The other new pubs due to open are the Sun Wharf in London Bridge, previously The London Dungeon in Tooley Street, The Sir Alexander Fleming in Paddington, named after the eminent physician who discovered penicillin in nearby Queen Mary’s Hospital, the Sigered, King of Essex in Basildon, a nod to the town’s Saxon origins, and The Chiltern, set in a former silent picture house in Beaconsfield.
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