A few years ago Chesterfield got its first Wetherspoon’s pub and soon after we got a second. The second is The Spa Lane Vaults, but the first one is by far my favourite ~ this is The Portland Hotel.

You will find the Portland on West Bars, not far from the bottom edge of the New Square Market Place (this is Chesterfield’s smaller market area). As well as being a large pub it is also a hotel; it is now a Wetherlodge, but it has always been an inn. It was originally built in the 1890’s ~ this is when the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway opened (in 1897). West Bars was where the station for the Market Place was located and it was decided that a hotel would be a good idea.

The William Stones Brewery (based in Sheffield) applied for a license in1898 and the Portland was officially opened at Christmas 1899 ~ it was named after the Duke of Portland incidentally and was opened by Lord Roseberry, the Prime Minister at that time!

The Portland operates a no music policy, but this is made up for by the amount of people who go there and the shear volume of conversation they can produce! The clientele is varied and from being a relatively quiet place, before they became a Wetherlodge, The Portland has established itself as a very popular meeting place ~ most people on a Friday and Saturday night will meet in the ‘spoons! During the week it is quieter, but still gets busy at meal times and Market days (Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday).

~~~A BIT ABOUT THE HOTEL.

Room rates can be found on the Wetherspoon’s website and also by visiting http://www.innspire.org.uk/beerfestival_3.htm#So%20where%20can%20I%20stay%20overnight (and at http://www.infotel.co.uk/80963 where you’ll also find some info about what’s available at the hotel).

You wouldn’t expect me to be praising a pub that doesn’t sell a decent pint of Real Ale would you? Wetherspoon’s often get a bad press for serving up mediocre beer. Granted you can sometimes get a less than perfect pint at The Portland (you can anywhere and there is certainly a lot more choice here), but generally there is a good selection. It’s one of the few places you can get Townes beers too ~ Townes is the only Chesterfield based brewery and it’s nice to be able to get at least one (and usually two) of their beers in such a large and popular pub.

There’s also a varied supply of wines, spirits, bottled beers and soft drinks too. It’s also where my mum and I go for a coffee (or a cold drink) in a morning when my dad thinks we are food shopping! It’s even packed in a morning, though it is quite depressing to see how many people are queuing desperate for a beer at 10am!

It was a real boost for a tired hotel and pub when The Portland was taken into the Wetherspoon’s fold. It has gone from a place that was only used by a small number of regulars, to a thriving meeting spot and a brightly lit watering hole. We visit at least once a week, on different days, and have rarely seen it quiet. Lager drinkers, shoppers, visitors and Real Ale drinkers all mix together and there is rarely ever any trouble. The Portland is one of the few large pubs that doesn’t have a bouncer at the weekends (and football match days) and I have never seen them need one.

When we visited recently we asked to speak to a manager we had spoken to before and were referred through FOUR managers (all on duty at the same time) before speaking to the right one! This leads to a lack of continuity. Generally though the staff are pleasant and service is good ~ we even get served pretty quickly at busy times.