The Olde Bell | |
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General information | |
Type | Hotel, pub |
Architectural style | Elizabethan |
Address | High Street |
Town or city | Hurley, Berkshire |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 51°32′46″N0°48′36″W / 51.5461°N 0.8100°W |
Renovated | 17th, 19th and 20th century |
Landlord | Emina Estates Ltd |
Technical details | |
Material | Timber frame, painted brick infill, old tile gabled roof |
Floor count | 2 |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | 48 |
Website | |
www |
The Olde Bell is a hotel and public house in Hurley, Berkshire, England, on the bank of the River Thames. It is claimed to be the oldest hotel in the UK, and one of the oldest hotels in the world.
The Olde Bell was founded in 1135 as the hostelry of Hurley Priory, making it one of the oldest hotels in the world. [1] [2] [3] The coaching inn expanded in the 12th century to include a tithe barn and dovecote. [4] The hotel is said to contain a secret tunnel leading to the village priory [1] which was used by John Lovelace, who was involved in the Glorious Revolution to overthrow King James II in the 17th century. [4] The hotel was also used as a meeting point for Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II. [4] Because of its proximity to Pinewood Studios, the inn has seen a number of movie-star guests, including Mae West, Greta Garbo, Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. [1] [3]
The Olde Bell buildings are Grade II* listed. [5] The hotel has interiors designed by Ilse Crawford. [3] [6]
Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity and formerly St Peter's Abbey, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster, Gloucester Abbey, dedicated to Saint Peter and founded by Osric, King of the Hwicce, in around 679.
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Hurley is a village and rural civil parish in Berkshire, England. Its riverside is agricultural, except for Hurley Priory, as are the outskirts of the village. The Olde Bell Inn adjoining the priory is believed to date from 1135.
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Hurley Priory is a former Benedictine priory in the village of Hurley. Founded in 1086, the remains are located on the banks of the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire.
The Old Bell is a hotel and restaurant in the Cotswold market town of Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England. The hotel is in the centre of the town, immediately next to the 12th-century remains of Malmesbury Abbey. The Old Bell is a Grade I listed building because of its architectural and historic significance. Substantial parts of the fabric of the hotel date back to the 13th century, when it was the guest house of the Abbey. It has a claim to be considered as the oldest hotel in England. It was built in about 1220 on the site of Malmesbury Castle, which was obtained by the monks and demolished in 1216.
The Mermaid Inn is a Grade II* listed historical inn located on Mermaid Street in the ancient town of Rye, East Sussex, southeastern England. One of the best-known inns in southeast England, it was established in the 12th century and has a long, turbulent history. The current building dates from 1420 and has 16th-century additions in the Tudor style, but cellars built in 1156 survive. The inn has a strong connection with the notorious Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers, who used it in the 1730s and 1740s as one of their strongholds: Rye was a thriving port during this period. Some of the smugglers, their mistresses and other characters are reported to haunt the inn.
The Old Bell or Olde Bell may refer to:
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