£1.6m JD Wetherspoon pub set to open at landmark Staffordshire building

The former Anglesey Lodge, once the headquarters of local property developer Pritchard Group, has undergone a £1.6 million transformation into a JD Wetherspoon pub.

The Hedgeford Lodge in Anglesey Street will open its doors on Tuesday, creating 10 more jobs than initially thought.

The opening of the new pub, which will bring a total of 60 jobs, features a bar, large beer garden at the front which is open until 9pm, as well as a smaller outside area to the side of the new front extension entrance.

It will specialise in real ales, as well as craft and world beers.

Historical photos, details of local history, information relating to events, historical buildings and characters of the area, as well as artwork by local artists are all on display, including a commissioned sculpture of a jockey by Cheshire-based artist Simon O'Rourke, who specialises in chainsaw carvings.

Pub manager Colin Lovell said: "Myself and my team are looking forward to welcoming customers into the pub and we are confident that it will be a great addition to the Hednesford community."

Hednesford councillor and Cannock Chase Council leader George Adamson also welcomed the investment and impending opening of the establishment.

"It is great, it is creating new jobs and improving the social life in Hednesford.

"Wetherspoon's are really popular," he said.

"Particularly at night it is going to make a huge difference. Lots of people can also pop in for a cup of coffee.

"Anything that creates more jobs for the are has got to be good. They had to convert the building and this has taken a while."

The pub company already runs two pubs nearby, The Linford Arms at Cannock and The Plaza, in Rugeley.

The site of Anglesey Lodge dates back to 1831, when it originally built as a summer residence for Edmund Peel, and to provide stabling for his racehorses.

He was the third son of the wealthy textile magnate Sir Robert Peel and he was MP for a Staffordshire constituency during the 1830s.

This historic building was originally known as Hedgeford Lodge.

Hednesford was then a rural hamlet recorded on maps and in directories as Hedgeford.

The development is part of plans to open at least 20 new pubs in the West Midlands over the next five years.

JD Wetherspoon opened its first pub, in London, in 1979 and its 800th, in Ripon, North Yorkshire, in 2011.

Across the West Midlands region, the chain has taken over buildings which have become unused, such as cinemas, theatres and and transforming them into drinking holes.

The former Electric Palace in Bloxwich High Street was launched by the company earlier this year following a £1.5 million revamp.

The opening of the Bloxwich Showman comes after the company also transformed the old Avion Cinema and Bingo Hall in Aldridge into a pub. The Billiard Hall in West Bromwich also received a makeover from a snooker hall, while elsewhere the Picture House in Stafford was previously given a makeover.

Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon previously said: "Wetherspoon is renowned for purchasing old buildings, for example cinemas and theatres and converting them into its pubs.

"In most cases the buildings are empty or have not been used as cinemas or theatres for many years.

"We take great pride and invest heavily in bringing these buildings back to their former glories and developing excellent pubs on the site.

"They pay homage to the original use of the building in terms of design and artwork, photos and information boards throughout the pub."

The pub confirmed in 2013 it was looking to launch a new venue in Hednesford.

It followed a £50m regeneration of the town centre which has seen the opening of a 80,000sq ft Tesco. Work has remained on track with supermarket bosses highlighting an opening in 2015.