PUB operator JD Wetherspoon is to open its new pub in Earlestown later this month with the creation of 60 new jobs. 

The company has spent £2.28 million developing the outlet, on the site of a former pet shop, previously a chapel, in Legh Street.

The Wetherspoon pub, which will be called The Nine Arches, will be managed by Philippa Hampson.

The pub, which is on two floors will feature one bar, as well as a beer garden to the rear of the premises, were smoking will be permitted in a designated area.

Historical photos and details of local history, as well as artwork and images of local scenes, are displayed in the pub.

There is also a historical poem about Newton-le-Willows, hand painted on the wall, as well as an historical timeline of the building, burnt into the floor planks.

The pub’s rustic interior design is inspired by the agricultural history of the area.

Large exposed trusses, with cast iron chandeliers are a feature.

Manager Philippa Hampson said: “Myself and my team are looking forward to welcoming customers into the pub and we are confident that it will be a great addition to the Newton-le-Willows community.”

A Wetherspoons spokesman added: "In the mid-19th century the Earlestown area of Newton-le-Willows, then Newton-in-Makerfield, barely existed.

"It grew as a result of industrialisation, in particular the arrival of the railways and the wagon works popularly known as the Viaduct Foundry, to become ‘the first railway town’.

"The wagon works was named after the nearby Sankey Viaduct, built by George Stephenson to carry the Liverpool and Manchester railway over the Sankey Valley.

"The viaduct, itself, is a Grade I listed structure with nine arches, each 70-feet high arch has a 50-feet span. 

"Known locally as 'the nine arches', it is the world’s oldest railway viaduct still in operation."

Earlestown Councillor David Banks, the Mayor of St Helens, will officially open the pub at 2pm on Tuesday, June 28.

Representatives from the local community centre will also be in attendance. The pub opens at 8am.

It will be open from 8am until 12midnight Sunday to Thursday and 8am until 1am on Friday and Saturday. Food will be served throughout the day, from opening until 11pm, every day.

The Nine Arches will specialise in real ales, as well as craft and world beers, serving a wide range of different draught ales, as well as bottled beers, including those from local and regional brewers.

It will be open for family dining, with children, accompanied by an adult, welcome in the pub up until 9pm, throughout the week.