Star Inn / Dinneywicks Inn / Village Inn, The Chippings, Kingswood, nr Wotton-Under-Edge GL12 8RT

The Citizen: Friday, September 8th, 1989 – Pub toasts its history: The Star Inn at Kingswood, near Wotton-under-Edge, has reopened after a multi-thousand pound facelift with a new name from centuries ago. Regulars John Norton and Edith Knight, who won a competition to chose the name, helped Whitbread Flowers brewery bosses unveil a brand new sign at the Dinnywicks Inn.

Dinneywicks is the Anglo-Saxon name for a hill close to the pub and the sign depicts a former Duke of Beaufort who dodged payment at a toll gate by jumping over it on his horse. The Dinneywicks has been given a major refurbishment to create one large lounge area, from the two former bars, with the addition of a family room.

Image courtesy Matt Bigwood

The Dinneywicks was acquired by Wadworth, brewers of Devizes, Wiltshire, in 1991. It was said then that the name referred to the name of a field at the back of the village. The owner of the field levied a toll because it straddled a highway. Another local story is that the nearby Dinneywicks Hill was a burial ground for horses in the English Civil War.

The pub, free from tie, is now known as the Village Inn.