00:00 [Sounds of a bus driving by]
00:12 I'd be willing to bet that basically everyone watching right now has been to a Wetherspoons
00:15 at some point in their lives. They're a staple of high streets across Wales and the UK, and
00:20 one of the most recognisable brands in the country.
00:24 They're by and large the same anywhere you go. Same menus, with the same food, mostly
00:28 the same drinks. That's the beauty of a Wetherspoons, is that you always know what you're going
00:32 to get, whether you're looking for a quick lunch, a few drinks or a meal out. Any Wetherspoons
00:37 you go to anywhere in the country will provide the same thing. But there's something that
00:41 sets all these pubs apart.
00:46 They're all very much the same, but the big difference between Wetherspoons though, is
00:49 that the buildings they call home, Wetherspoons across the country, can be massively different.
00:54 Some are purpose built, or use new modern buildings, but some, like a few here in Cardiff,
00:58 have a fascinating history before becoming the Wetherspoons they are now.
01:06 Cardiff has no less than eight, yes, eight Wetherspoons pubs, with four in the city centre,
01:11 one a few minute walk outside, and three more dotted around. And while still sticking to
01:15 the foundations of what makes a spoons of spoons, they're all unique and have totally
01:19 different stories.
01:26 On the bay, the Mount Stewart is home in a modern building, overlooking the waterfront,
01:30 while the Aniar and Bevan is smack bang in the middle of a busy road, housed in an older
01:34 building, which has changed hands a number of times.
01:41 Perhaps Cardiff's most famous Wetherspoons is the Prince of Wales just behind me. Many
01:45 a student has started a night out in the pub, and at this point millions of pints have been
01:49 bought through many hundreds of Welsh rugby games on the big screens.
01:57 The site has a fascinating history, dating all the way back to 1827, when Theatre Royal
02:02 was built, but then burnt down. It was replaced over the following decades with the new Theatre
02:07 Royal. How imaginative. The theatre was in use for years afterwards, with hundreds of
02:11 shows from Jack and the Beanstalk to the Arcadians coming to the venue, with big names like Richard
02:16 Burton also performing here.
02:22 Over the following years it became the Prince of Wales Theatre, when live performances slowed
02:26 down and then stopped entirely in 1965, before the venue became an… adult theatre. Permission
02:33 to demolish the building was denied in 1974, and after becoming Caesars nightclub for a
02:37 few years, it became a pub in 1999.
02:42 A pub that eventually became Wetherspoons, and here it is today.
02:46 That was a lot of information in one go, but this place has too much history to begin to
02:50 properly cover. So if you're ever in the Prince of Wales, take a look at the old posters
02:54 and artefacts hung up, and you might learn something new about this fascinating place.
02:58 I'm James B. Jotkins, Local TV, Cardiff.
03:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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