Important London Legal News of the Week …. “Legal London loses its ‘Spoons”!!

This is the big stuff – The Law Society Gazette “Obiter’ column reports

egal London is in shock at the news that it is about to lose one of its most popular watering holes. The Knights Templar (pictured above), the flagship branch of economy pub chain JD Wetherspoon, is to close on 17 March, Obiter has learned.

The Templar, on the corner of Carey Street and Chancery Lane, is a stone’s throw from the Law Society’s HQ, the Royal Courts of Justice and legal offices large and small. It is a traditional finishing point of the annual London Legal Walk (this year on 13 June), which it proudly supports with an outside bar.

Dating from 1865, the magnificent building is renowned not just for bargain beers. The one-time banking hall – it was the headquarters of the Union Bank, now part of Natwest – is lined with 20-foot cast iron fluted columns and high marble arches. Since its conversion to a pub in 1999 it has become a popular weekend wedding venue.

We understand that a decision was taken not to renew the lease when JD Wetherspoon found no takers for its Penderel’s Oak pub in Holborn, which was originally scheduled to close under the company’s post-pandemic rationalisation. Some of the excellent staff are transferring, but Obiter has yet to decide whether to follow suit.

Source Law Soc Gazette