A new High Street pub opens next week...with no pool tables and a ban on music.
The J D Wetherspoon chain has spent £1.1million and seven months developing the Roebuck on the site of the Oriental Inn restaurant in Rayleigh High Street.
New - the Roebuck is an addition to Rayleigh town centre's entertainment Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY
It was to have been called the James Pilkington, after an 18th Century Baptist minister in the town, but the name was changed when churchgoers objected.
The name the Roebuck is taken from the town's coat of arms.
The pub will employ 40 people and a third of the customer area will be for non-smokers. Paintings, photos and text relating to the history and characters of the town will be displayed.
Published Wednesday, February 5, 2003
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