The White House was built in 1928 for the honorary secretary of Leicester Tigers rugby union club, Thomas Crumbie. He unfortunately passed away the same year, shortly before the house was completed, though it lived on as a luxurious residence for the next two decades. In 1950 it started its new life as a public house, being reopened by the Northamptonshire Brewing Company and operating as a hotel and wedding venue alongside. In 2011 it was acquired by JD Wetherspoon and refurbished.
The building is a grand, Georgian-style 20th century mansion in Scraptoft, a Leicestershire village. It’s an impressive building, its positioning and stateliness quite unorthadox for a JD Wetherspoon pub, enough to make us audibly say ‘ooh’ as we entered the car park. Despite the scale of the building from the front, the true size of the pub is hidden, with three large extensions to the rear turning it into a huge venue.
To the rear is a massive wraparound beer garden, itself larger than the interior of many pubs. On our visit it was hosting a small village fete with gazebos and food stalls, again quite unusual for a Wetherspoon.
As soon as you enter The White House you’re greeted by a huge lobby area, offering seating options to the right, left and ahead, or a grand dark wood panelled staircase leading up to the toilets. Through to the main bar area three large octagonal extensions combine to make a large, open drinking area, with a long bar to the side and plenty of large windows drawing in natural light.
To the side of the lobby is a cosier second bar, again decorated classily with dark wood panelling, parquet flooring and fireplaces.
Unsurprisingly, the toilets continue the stylish and dignified theming of the pub, with contrasting dark and light marble tiling throughout.
Perhaps most impressive though is the staircase and landing area, with its grand chandelier and dark wood panelling continuing to immerse you in the Georgian mansion experience.
It’s not uncommon for JD Wetherspoon pubs outside of town and city centres to have car parks, but they’re typically pay and display car parks. The White House has an absurdly large free car park, stretching the full length of the grounds and helping it to maintain its family-friendly feeling.
Ratings (out of 5)
We both rate the pub based on three criteria; the building, the interior and the toilets. These scores are averaged out to give the pub its overall rating. You can read more about the rating system here.
Building: 5.0 & 5.0
Interior: 5.0 & 5.0
Toilets: 4.5 & 4.0
Wetho Wanderers 