The historic King’s Arms inn, restaurant and hotel in the Gloucestershire market town of Stow-on-the-Wold has been sold.
The 500-year-old former coaching house is famous for shelteringKing Charles I in 1645 before the Battle of Naseby.
Built from Cotswold stone, it retains a number of period details such as stone fireplaces, oak beams, and slate floors.
The King’s Arms, which overlooks Market Square, offers 10 en-suite bedrooms, a lounge bar said to be haunted by an old lady, and the 45-seat Naseby restaurant on the first floor.
There are also two staff bedrooms on the first floor and a staff studio flat in the attic while outside facilities include a covered yard, an inner courtyard and a car park.
The new owners are Samuel O’Kane and Peter and Joanna Creek, who have worked in the past with Hilton, Foxhills Golf and Country Club, Oddbins Wentworth Club and St Georges Hill Lawn Tennis Club. They plan to introduce jazz nights, a 1656 Luncheon Club and themed weekends.
Their new head chef, Thomas Creek, worked under Dorchester-trained Stephen Errington and was voted the Young Chef of the Future 2003.
The Bristol office of Christie + Co sold the Greene King leasehold (which runs to May 2022) off a guide price of £145,000 on behalf of Darren Hiscock and Paul Helliwell of the Slak Group, who plan to focus on their hotel rather than their pub businesses.
By Angela Frewin