A SWANKY new £3.5 million Wetherspoons pub has opened in a town perhaps too posh to handle it – as locals warn punters they “better behave”.

The discount boozer chain’s latest branch – The Grand Assembly in Marlow, near High Wycombe – is welcoming its first customers today.

13

13

13

13

The name – apparently an attempt to ingratiate itself with wary naysayers – was settled upon after a few false starts, including The Brass Thimble.

It’s a nod to the assemblies held by the upper social classes in the nearby Market House building in centuries gone by.

The Sun headed down for the opening day.

The pub’s aptly named for the few punters who queued outside at 8am for the not-so grand opening – though it soon filled up inside.

MIXED RESPONSE

Outside there was something of a mixed response to the idea of a popular franchise gracing the town’s streets.

Judy Evans said: “Marlow is a village so we don’t like the very big brands – we like the independents.

“The breakfast you’re going to get in the Wetherspoons is going to be like £2 but it’s the quality and it’s the local people you’re supporting.”

She pointed across the road to The Ship – believed to be the town’s oldest pub, built around 1412 – as an alternative because “we want to be supporting our locals”.

The Ship has survived bigger threats to its existence – namely The Plague and The Spanish Flu.

But it has itself modernised, including showing live sport and launching a ‘Cocktail Lab’ to help bring in the modern punters.

Sales manager, Judy, 50, went on to say that Marlow – neighboured by the likes of Maidenhead and Slough – is a “bit of a destination place”.

“We are a bit concerned that come Friday and Saturday nights we’re gonna get a lot more of those tourists coming in, other people coming into Marlow.”

She said that some Wetherspoons pub “don’t look so nice, it’s so big, so vast”, adding: “It will be interesting to know if it builds any kind of atmosphere.

“I’m worried about it affecting the local community, local businesses, local coffee shops. That’s my main concern.

“I’ve never been to one, I won’t be a regular, I’ll stick to The Ship.”

Retiree Hannah Wallis, said she worries the new pub will be “noisy and horrible at night time”.

“What sort of people are going to be there? I am just worried,” continued the 90-year-old.

“We will have to wait and see won’t we? Worried about a lot of louts and drunken men creating havoc and that sort of thing, that’s it.

“It’s just the sort of clientele it might attract.”

However, Hannah said she celebrates the idea of it being “more diverse”, adding: “Just so long they know how to behave themselves.”

13

13

13

Tony McHale, a former EastEnders writer, is a regular visitor to Marlow and said he is concerned about the pub attracting too many students into the quaint town.

“I don’t want this to be disparaging, I have used Wetherspoons, it’s used to being a student environment and Marlow isn’t a student sort of town,” he said.

“I think there are plenty of other places around in Wycombe that provide that type of hostelry, if that’s the word.

“It’s not a university town – I don’t think it’s an appropriate place.”

Tony, 74, wrote some of the BBC soap’s most explosive story lines between 1985 and 1999.

He was actually under the impression the new pub hadn’t opened.

“Oh, has it opened ugh – I thought it had been blocked!” he said.

“I think it’s a shame, you could put one in High Wycombe but not here.

“What I do think is a shame is here you have a lot of individual shops, stores, eateries and things like that, I think it’s great these places still exist when you go down most high streets.

“Here at least there’s a difference in choice but I don’t think this is necessary.”

Tony said locals “might be worried the rot might set in, if you start with Wetherspoons”.

“What happens next, a different sort of chain – it suddenly becomes like most city centres and most of them are dying.

“This seems to be thriving as it’s individual. It’s [got its] own identity. Okay, you’ve got The Ivy but they sort of blend in, they don’t stick out.

“I do think it will be a shame. Maybe we are prejudging it. Only time will tell. At least it’s not smack in the middle of the high street.”

Got a view on the new pub? Email [email protected]

However, in contrast, Dean Kirby, who claims to have set up the first internet café in the UK, is keen to see how the new arrival does.

The entrepreneur, 60, said he is “always interested in concepts and how they work in the retail world”.

He went on to say there’s “a lot of snobbery” in the town but he thrives on the competition.

“I’ve been living in Marlow for 15 years, a lot of people think it’s going to bring it down.

“A lot of other retailers round here are sloppy, awful, that’s what it’s all about, the competition.

“There are a lot of retailers on this high street that need to buck their ideas up.”

Dean said the town is unique with a “dynamic of two high streets in one” with the daytime and night-time businesses.

“During the day it is very nice, gentrified and you feel safe. At night it’s a night time beast, late time opening.

“The Ship has a one o’clock licence now, Wetherspoons does too.”

He added: “Wetherspoons can’t drag it down, that’s there already. When you’ve had a skinful of wine or beer… it is what it is.”

STRIKING DECOR

Inside the pub, at the top of the High Street, is a mash up of historical town references, including a mirror display inspired by author Mary Shelley, who wrote classic novel Frankenstein while living there in 1817.

A smattering of middle-aged men were quickly munching on full English breakfasts, accompanied by a pint.

But there were also groups of young women, and couples on dates.

Many others – not brave enough to enter – marvelled through the rectangular windows.

With a strikingly bold carpet that clashes with a variety of chairs, the site has been adorned with Union Jacks and chandelier-like lamps.

The military theme has been joined with paddles on the walls, an old grandfather clock, white markings that resemble mountains on the mirrors and exposed brickwork.

With no music playing, the murmurs of first-time attendees could be heard, their whispers occasionally being defeated by the sound of cutlery against plates and ice from across the room.

The vast hall goes far back, and every nook and cranny has been built into.

With padded chairs below turquoise paint, bar stools facing a glass cabinet, as well as the main space filled with tables of four and the carpet ending within metres of the front entrance, the room seems confused.

One woman just walked past saying “it’s a bit of a tight squeeze” as she navigated through the rows of furniture.

Manager Rachel Turner is hopeful the refurbishment will win over the doubters.

“People seem more excited about it than anything else – after the build-up, I’m just looking forward to it being a normal pub,” she told Bucks Free Press.

Bar staff Ben and Callum, who live just down the road and have been busy training for the opening over the last few weeks, have a similar view.

Callum likened the hesitancy of some locals to accept the chain to Lidl’s replacement of Waitrose on Liston Road in 2022.

He said: “People think of Marlow as quite high echelon and they said, ‘Oh no, we don’t want that here’. But when they actually saw it for what it was, no one seemed to mind.”

A Wetherspoon spokesman told The Sun: “Wetherspoon is delighted to have opened in Marlow.

“Our pubs are popular across the UK and Ireland and we believe that this will be the case in our Marlow pub.

“Wetherspoon has shown its commitment to the town with its investment of £3.5 million and creation of 60 new jobs.

“The company’s pubs are well regarded and run to the highest of standards.”

13

13

13

13

13

13