GRANTHAM: The Angel and Royal Hotel
Grantham boasts many historic buildings and one of the most famous is the Angel and Royal Hotel, which is widely regarded as the oldest surviving English Inn, with the main façade of the building that stands today was built approximately 600 years ago. The site then, however, had already been an Inn for 200 years, and was built as a hostel for the chivalrous Brotherhood of the Knights Templar. It was then that the beautifully carved building caught the eye of King John (“he of Magna Carta fame”) who decided it would make a suitable location for a visit of his Royal Court in 1213. An Angel was a common medieval sign that reflected the early connection between religious establishments and a travellers hostel. The Inn was extended in the mid 14th Century and again in the 15th Century. There then followed many royal visits, and the next appears to have been by Edward III and his Queen “Philippa” in the 14th Century. Evidence of this visit can still be seen today whe...