Which one of England’s ‘oldest hotels’ is actually the oldest? | theguardian.com
When news broke last weekend that the Royal Clarence hotel in Exeter was burning down, it was met with an outpouring of public sympathy – and confusion. The building was repeatedly referred to as the oldest hotel in England, leading some people to wonder: “Hang on – I thought I’d stayed at the oldest hotel in England. And it wasn’t in Exeter.”
Establishments in Norwich, Derbyshire, Cambridgeshire, Gloucestershire and more all claim the title – and at least two, The Old Bell, in Wiltshire and The Olde Bell in Berkshire, even share a name. Which begs the question: just how many oldest hotels in England does England have?
