Kings Arms Hotel

www.kingsarmsuk.com

Wedding at The Kings Arms.

Welcome to the Kings Arms Hotel, Melksham, a 17th Century
coaching inn, which stands proudly in the centre of Melksham.

The perfect venue for weddings and other special occasions
offering superb food in an Authentic 17thCentury location with an experienced
team to look after your every need.
“Here at the Kings Arms Hotel we take pride in making your day a
truly memorable one,” said Pam Lugg who has been running the Hotel
with her husband, Colin, since 2006.
“All our friendly staff are here to help make your Wedding Day the
happiest day possible and we will endeavour to ensure your day runs
smoothly and free from hassle and stress.
“We want you and your guests to relax and unwind, and share this
wonderful occasion.
“We offer fabulous food with a superb dinner and buffet menus and can
cater for up to 65 guests at a formal wedding or up to 85 guests for
a buffet reception.
”Reasonably priced, individually designed to suit the
occasion, the service is warm and welcoming with a genuine desire
to please all our guests.”
For more information, telephone 01225 707272.

The King’s

The King’s Arms was built in the 17th Century and in its early years,
was used as a coach house where a change of horses was kept. We do
not know exactly at what date it became an inn but it was certainly
one by 1762. The king whose arms are referred to in the name is
therefore probably George II.
The Royal Mail from Devonport called at the King’s Arms every evening
at half past seven on its way to London and coaches between Bath and
Bristol and London, Reading and Exeter also stopped there.
In its heyday, ten coaches a day were calling at the King’s Arms and
every journey was an adventure, with unlit roads, tired horses and
drunken coachmen as common hazards – and that was before you met a
highway-man!
The earliest licensee whose name we know is Thomas Nalder who held
the licence in 1793.
At this time a cattle market was held in Melksham every Monday
fortnight and the town was renowned for the manufacture of superfine
clothes and kerseymere.
By 1830 the King's Arms was advertised as a posting and commercial
house, and auctions of property were often held there.
A large fair was held in the Market Place every year on July 27th at
this time. The town pump and the local lock-up and town stocks were
also in the Market Place near the inn.
The Melksham tithe map of 1838 shows that all the present buildings
of the inn had been constructed and there were two courtyards at the
rear surrounded by extensive outbuildings.

These were boom days for the inn. But the era of coaching lasted less
than a hundred years and its years of decline hit the King’s Arms
hard. The Great Western Railway reached Chippenham in 1841 and the
days of the coaching inns were numbered.
The inn, though, continued to be a centre for local affairs. For
instance, for the General Election of 1865, the hustings where
candidates spoke was erected on the forecourt of the inn.
The disturbance was such that the militia had to be called out and
Captain Justly Awdry, a local solicitor who lived almost next door to
the King's Arms had to read the Riot Act.
By the 20th century, instead of the old horse-drawn coaches, the
buses from Devizes to Bath now stopped outside the King's Arms as the
Hotel got a new lease of life.
The hotel was even featured in a Punch cartoon, drawn by the well
known cartoonist G.D. Armour who lived nearby.
In 1962 plans for a complete remodelling of the interior of the
King's Arms, described as Melksham's foremost hotel, were approved by
Melksham magistrates.
Today, it retains many of the original features from the days of the
old coach and horses.It is now a traditional Country Inn offering
fresh county food and pleasant, first class accommodation and acts as
an attractive centrepiece for Melksham's Market Place – a constant
reminder of days gone by!