About The Old Bell, Malmesbury
Historic Architecture, Architecture, Accomodations, Interesting Places, Other Hotels, Pubs, Foods, Tourist Facilities, Other Buildings And Structures
The Old Bell is a hotel and restaurant on the edge of the Cotswolds in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. Built on the remains of outbuildings of Malmesbury Abbey, it lays claim to being the oldest existing hotel in England, standing on foundations dated to 1220, and is a Grade I listed building. It is located in Abbey Row adjacent to the abbey, which was built to accommodate scholars studying at the abbey. The bell of the inn sign refers to St Aldhelm's bell, the great bell in a peal of ten that once hung in the former west end tower of the abbey church, noted by John Leland's Itinerary and in William Camden's Britannia.