The Royalist has been confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest inn in Britain, dating back to AD947. It is a grade II listed building. Evidence suggests that the Royalist began life as part of a Saxon community as far back as AD 514. In AD 949 the Saxon Duke Aethelmar founded the Royalist as a hospice.
The Royalist became the Eagle and Child in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. The last battle of the English Civil War took place at Stow on the Wold in 1646. Legend has it that the Royalists were ‘mercilessly butchered where they lay’ in Digbeth Street – some 200 soldiers died in the street. However, it does not seem to have been a licensed property throughout its history and there are no records of it in the 1891 and 1903 petty sessional divisional records.
It is now trading as the Porch House.
This page will be updated with additional information.
Proprietors:
1990’s Graham Clarke
2000 Alan and Georgina Thompson
