2 January 2025
I’ve written a fair bit about the buildings archaeology of pubs. This blog contains articles looking at the claims to antiquity of places such as Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Bingley Arms and Sean’s Bar. I’ve also contributed a blog for Historic England, an article for History Extra, and there was a viral thread on Twitter last summer. Also, I penned a lengthy chapter on the claims to be the oldest pub in the country in the Historic Building Mythbusting book.
It has struck me for a while that I should probably have a deeper look at Porch House (formerly the Royalist Hotel) at Stow-on-the-Wold (Gloucestershire) in more detail. This is a site that keeps coming up as a claimant to be the oldest pub in England. There is virtually nothing available about the pub’s history on its website, but the sign hanging over the main entrance to the building says it all: ‘The Porch House England’s Oldest Inn c.947AD’. This claim is repeated, without question, across media outlets too numerous to name, but include Gloucestershire Live, The Daily Telegraph and Exploring GB.
Porch House signage (Picture Source: The Happy Wonderer)
Yet Another Oldest Pub Claim
This is one of those claims that is widely repeated, but it seems quite difficult to get at the source of the data. Mostly, what we are probably witnessing is a lot of circular referencing as one media outlet repeats or links to another. However, there is one, apparently reputable, website which develops the history of Porch House – the Stow and District Civic Society. This is the online presence for an organisation, founded in 1971, which ‘promotes the history and amenities of Stow-on-the-Wold’.
The Civic Society make the following claims, on behalf of Porch House, which can also be found in other widespread reporting of the building:
- The site was originally founded as a hospital, in 947, by Athelmar, Duke of Cornwall.
- A five-bay timber-framed structure was later erected by the Knights Hospitaller
- The building was enlarged in stone after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, in 1536
- A stone porch was added by Thomas Shellard in 1615
- There is a three-foot-deep animal fighting pit under what is now the restaurant
- ‘It is said to be the oldest pub in England, with timbers that have been carbon dated to approximately 1000 AD.’
An enquiry to the Civic Society, made by the author via email during the summer of 2022, indicated that the information on their website largely derived from a book entitled The History of the Royalist Hotel by Ruth Stratton. Beyond this email, I have not been able to track down any further reference to the book. However, my correspondent did acknowledge that the author was “inevitably speculative at times” (Stow Civic Society, pers. comm. email, 13/05/2022). Unfortunately, there may be some inaccuracies in the presentation of the pub and it is these possible inconsistencies which will be the subject of this blog.
Athelmar’s Hospital
Tomb of Edward, the Black Prince, at Canterbury Cathedral. Kent (Picture Source: Tilman2007 / Wikimedia Commons)
There does not seem to have been such a person as Athelmar, duke of Cornwall in the mid-tenth century, who had connections to Stow-on-the-Wold. The Duchy of Cornwall was founded for Edward, the Black Prince, in 1337. It was preceded by the Earldom of Cornwall which went through various ad hoc creations and revivals between 1068 and 1336 (Ormrod 2011, 138). Crucially, there does not seem to have been either an earl or a duke of Cornwall during the early mediaeval period.
The story of Athelmar was made popular after publication by the Victorian antiquarian David Royce. However, his identification of ‘Ethelmer’s Hospital’ as Porch House was probably plucked out of thin air in a flight of whimsy (Royce 1861, 57; Elrington 1965, 142-65). The traditional belief that Athelmar / Ethelmer granted a hospice at Stow-on-the-Wold cannot be traced any earlier than the seventeenth century. Furthermore, there may have may be a confusion over grants of land at Stow in Lincolnshire by Aethelmaer, ealdorman of Hampshire, to Eynsham Abbey in Oxfordshire (Elrington 1965, 142-65; Baggs et al 1990, 65). The presence of an early mediaeval hospital on the site seems quite suspect.
Although there does seem to have been a late mediaeval hospital in Stow, it is unlikely to have been connected to either the Knights Hospitaller, who do not seem to have had an interest in the town, or to Porch House. Instead, it was linked to the guild or chantry of the Holy Trinity which was founded in the mid-fifteenth century and then re-founded in 1476 (Elrington 1965, 142-65).
The notion that there was any form of foundation, whether hospital or inn, at the town during the tenth century is also open to question as the settlement did not exist then. Stow-on-the-Wold was not developed as a town until the period c 1086-1107 (Elrington 1965, 142-65; Professor Chris Dyer, pers. comm. email 06/05/2022). Meanwhile, Michael Hare, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, has suggested that the date 947 may have been carefully selected to coincide closely with the period of an early documentary reference to the region. This took the form of a land grant to Evesham Abbey, made in 949, which included the area that eventually became Stow-on-the-Wold. However, this was a transaction of open land and makes no mention to any settlement or structure (Elrington 1965, 142-65; Michael Hare, pers. comm. email 06/05/2022).
Bell tower at Evesham Abbey, Worcestershire (Picture Source: James Wright / Triskele Heritage)
The selection of a chronicled early date, followed by the apparent assumption that there must have been a pub locally at around that period, is a common phenomenon when looking into the claims to great antiquity of pubs. This was observed with regard to several other businesses in the Ancient Publore blog article on this site, including the Mermaid Inn at Rye (East Sussex), Old Man & Scythe at Bolton (Lancashire), and the Bingley Arms at Bardsey-cum-Rigton (West Yorkshire).
The real problem, of course, is that a hospital is a significantly different foundation to an inn. Even if it could be demonstrated that there was a mediaeval hospital on the site it would do nothing to back up the claim of Porch House as the oldest inn in the country.
Buildings Archaeology
Despite concerns about the alleged connections of the building to Athelmar / Ethelmer / Aethelmaer’s hospital or the Knights Hospitaller, the development of the structure of Porch House can be coherently described. The earliest extant fabric on the site seems to be a timber-framed domestic house, four bays wide, with close-studding to the rear and an open arch-braced collar truss beam between the two eastern bays of the roof structure with queen post trusses recorded elsewhere. This framing has been dated stylistically to the fifteenth or early sixteenth century. In the early seventeenth century, probably 1615 by reference to an in-situ date stone, the street frontage was clad in rubble stonework, a porch was added, and stone chimneys were inserted internally. Further remodelling took place in the eighteenth century when the property was briefly converted into an inn called the Eagle and Child. However, the building did not remain an inn for long and by the end of the century it had been divided into two domestic houses (King 2013, Elrington 1965, 142-65; Pevsner & Verey 1970, 425; National Heritage List for England: 1170376).
Interior of Porch House (Picture Source: Wiltshire & Gloucestershire Standard)
I’m not entirely sure when the building became the Royalist Hotel. The Petty Sessions, which included matters concerning licensing, for 1891 and 1903 do not contain reference to a business on the site. The earliest reference to the Royalist Hotel in the British Newspaper Archive is an advertisement for entertainment offered at the property which is dated April 1969 (Birmingham Mail, Tuesday 29 April 1969, page 2).
The claims that there were animal fighting pits and timbers carbon dated to 1000AD fall into the remit of archaeological research. Such discoveries would ultimately make their way into the catalogues of repositories such as the Archaeology Data Service, National Heritage List for England, National Monument Record Excavation Index, Historic England Research Records, and the Gloucestershire County Council Historic Environment Record. However, none of these databases refer to such archaeological findings at the site. Furthermore, carbon dating is not routinely employed as a technique in buildings archaeology to date extant timbers. So curious was I about this claim that I contacted the Heritage Team Leader at Gloucestershire County Council (essentially the county archaeologist), Toby Catchpole, to find out more. After delving into the archives, he was able to confirm that there not any records of carbon samples being taken from the building or of excavations of animal fighting pits (Toby Catchpole, pers. comm. email 05/05/2022). This is despite the widespread claims to the contrary which can be found across the internet.
Sales Pitch
The first reference to the claims of the building, then known as the Royalist Hotel, to be the oldest pub in the country first appeared in a newspaper article in October 1974 (Birmingham Daily Post, Monday 7 October 1974, page 22). The timing is intriguing as the article was concerned with the sale of the business. It is entirely possible that the claim may have been concocted as a marketing strategy based on the premise that history can be a selling point. Prior to this no one connected to the building seems to have made a bid for the title of oldest pub. I’ve encountered such strategies elsewhere. The claims of Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem at Nottingham to be ‘The oldest inn in England’ were first made during a marketing drive in 1909-10 after the demolition of a much bigger pub next door allowed new prominence for the surviving business. Elsewhere, the claims of the Mermaid Inn at Rye to have cellars dated to 1156, with a rebuild above dated to 1420, seem to have first been made in 1993-94, after the acquisition of the business by the present owners. There is more on both of these businesses in the Ancient Publore Mediaeval Mythbusting Blog entry.
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Nottingham (Picture Source: James Wright / Triskele Heritage)
It is sometimes claimed that Porch House has been accredited as the oldest pub in the country by Guinness World Records. This assertion has been made by the Daily Express and The Sun. Porch House is not alone in being spoken of as a Guinness World Record holder, it has also been said of Ye Olde Fighting Cocks at St Albans (Hertfordshire) and the Bingley Arms at Bardsey-cum-Rigton (West Yorkshire). The issue with the contention is that Guinness World Records no longer maintain a category for oldest pub… anywhere. Although they may once have done so, their website is now completely empty for such a category. They have even confirmed this via their official social media account.
Ultimately, the claim to be the oldest pub in the country are legion. Most regions have a claimant, and Porch House is the candidate for Gloucestershire. The oldest pub in the county is probably the New Inn at Gloucester, dated to 1432. Meanwhile, on present evidence, the oldest continuously serving, purpose-built, inn in the UK is probably the George Inn at Norton St Philip (Somerset). The latter seems to have been founded during the later fourteenth century. For more on the oldest pub debate, please see my short article for History Extra and my book chapter in Historic Building Mythbusting.
Conclusions
Once again, I am leaning into the potential conclusion that the pub in question may not date to the period as claimed and may not be the oldest pub in the country. This has been something of a pattern on the blog! The origin of the claim seems to be a marketing strategy intended to sell on the property in the 1970s. This may have been coupled with pre-existing rumours, possibly based on a misunderstanding, about the presence of an early mediaeval hospital.
I’ve said this before, but its worth repeating: I think that it is probably a shame that so many pubs are marketed on histories that may not be accurate. It is usually possible to access good, reliable, data about the buildings archaeology and history of a pub. Would it be too much to ask some business owners and other interested parties, including the Stow and District Civic Society, to break the mould and present verifiable histories for these buildings? After all the truth is always more interesting than the rumour.
Dedication
This article is dedicated to an online persona “Harry Hawker” who just kept going despite the evidence.
Acknowledgements
Header image: Richard Law / Geograph
Volume 6 of the Victoria County History study of Gloucestershire proved invaluable in reconstructing the history of the town of Stow-on-the-Wold. Diana King’s heritage assessment of the site helped in clarifying some of the details of the buildings archaeology.
References
Baggs, A. P., Chance, E., Colvin, C., Cooper, J., Day, C. J., Selwyn, N. & Townley, S. C., A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 12, Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock. Victoria County History. London.
Elrington, C. (ed.), 1965, A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 6. Victoria County History. London.
King, D., 2013, The Royalist Hotel, Digbeth Street, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, GL54 1BN – Heritage Asset Appraisal. Unpublished archaeological report. Foundations Archaeology.
Ormrod, M., 2011, Edward III. Yale. New Haven and London.
Royce, D., 1861, The History and Antiquities of Stow: A Paper Read in the Assembly Room, Stow, January 31st 1861. T. Clift. Stow-on-the-Wold.
Pevsner, N. & Verey, D., 1970, The Buildings of England Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds. Penguin. London.
About the author
James Wright (Triskele Heritage) is an award-winning buildings archaeologist who frequently writes and lectures on the subject of mediaeval building myths. He has over two decades professional experience of ferreting around in people’s cellars, hunting through their attics and digging up their gardens. He hopes to find meaningful truths about how ordinary and extraordinary folk lived their lives in the mediaeval period.
He welcomes contact through Twitter or email.
The Mediaeval Mythbusting Blog blog is the basis of a forthcoming book – Historic Building Mythbusting – Uncovering Folklore, History and Archaeology which will be released via The History Press on 6 June 2024.
