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The Silk Mercer on St John's street is set to open next month.

THE Silk Mercer, the J D Wetherspoon pub in St John's Street, is to open on August 11 almost six years to the day that the national chain confirmed its intentions.

Bernard Lawrence, the architect in charge of the project, described as a nightmare the long and complex process in converting the Grade II listed building.

He said that problems arose as soon as the contractors began investigating below the ground floor.

He said: "There were various things discovered under ground, including two wells, an ice house that had been sealed off and a large limestone water storage vessel."

The vessel measured four metres long and four metres deep by one metre wide.

Mr Lawrence said: "It is not surprising that people got ill in those days. Limestone dissolves in water and the water stored in the vessel must have been very unpleasant to taste."

The final straw came when a public sewer that was not shown on the deeds of the property was found to run where the company was hoping to put its beer garden.

The back half of the building had to be redesigned, adding at least six months onto the build schedule.

Mr Lawrence said: "It has all been a bit of a nightmare, but it will have been worth it. We have brought a prominent listed building back into public use and are providing a much-needed facility for the town."

The cost of the project has been put at £1.6 million and has taken six years from beginning to end.

It was in August 2002 that Wetherspoons confirmed they were looking at converting what was then the women's fashion shop Beale's of Bath into a family bar restaurant.

The building had fallen into disrepair and the family firm did not have the wherewithal to carry out extensive renovations.

Matters came to a head when a large section of rendering at the front of the building fell into the street.

Eventually, Wetherspoons bought the property and a planning application was approved in 2005, despite strong opposition from local brewers Wadworth & Co.

But as soon as surveyors moved onto the site, problems started to appear. The start date for the build was put back time after time.

Snags cropped up throughout the process. Earlier this year it was found that the rear of the site was only separated from the Crown Centre next door by a thin partition wall.

The pub will employ 35 people and the ground floor will be taken up by a long bar and a restaurant area. There will be a pub garden at the back where smokers will be able to enjoy their pints without breaking the law.

The first floor will house the toilets and the manager's office. At least to begin with, the front area will remain unoccupied.

There will be no great fanfare on August 11 to herald the opening of the new pub. It is not company policy to make a big fuss and staff will simply open the doors to the public on that first morning.

4:00pm Monday 14th July 2008

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