The Penn Bar at The Crown at Wells

Home	Rooms	Anton's Bistrot	Penn Bar	Special Offers	What's On
Weddings/ Private Parties	1450 Club	The Crown's History	Find Us	About Wells	Job Vacancies

History of The Crown
The Crown is believed to have been built around 1450, originally as houses, commissioned by the then Bishop Beckynton. Later on The Penn Bar was divided into two buildings providing a bar for The Crown coaching inn and a separate inn called The Royal Oak.

In 1695 from an upper window at The Crown, William Penn, a Quaker who later gave his name to Pennsylvania USA and our bar, preached to a crowd of around 2-3,000 below in the Market Place.

William Penn's speech was interrupted by a local constable with a warrant from the Mayor to arrest him for unlawful assembly. It took weeks for the matter to be settled but William Penn later returned to The Crown and public speaking.

We know little of the history of The Crown from Penn's time until 1900 when Tom Price became licensee of The Royal Oak at just 20 years of age. He left a couple of years later but returned to take over the running of The Crown in 1912, where he stayed for forty two years.

During the First World War troops were billeted at The Crown, taking over the front half of the building. Shortly after the war, Tom's first wife and son died as a result of the 'flu epidemic that swept the country at that time.

Tom later married May Bailey in 1922 and all four of their children, twin boys and two girls, were born and grew-up at The Crown.

In the 1930's The Crown was converted into a nine-bedroom hotel, the rooms having previously been used as long term lets. During market days The Crown also stabled between 60 to 70 horses for traders to use at the rear of the building.

During the Second World War, The Crown again was a temporary home to troops coming back from various conflicts, including the Dunkirk landings. After some rest and recuperation, they were kitted out and sent off to fight again.

Tom Price retired in 1954 as Wells' longest serving landlord and a very popular figure in Wells. We are grateful to his family for providing us with the information you have just read.

In January 1993 The Crown was boarded up and in receivership. Adrian Lawrence (licensee at The Fountain Inn) and his then business partner thought this a great shame. The hotel was purchased from the receiver and Adrian set about trying to improve its fortunes. Adrian and his business partner parted friendly company in March 1997. Adrian and his wife Sarah have owned and run The Crown ever since with the help of an excellent management team and staff.

A considerable amount of work has been carried out on the fabric of the building as years of neglect had taken its toll. We are now happy with the exterior and have recently completed major refurbishment of all of the bedrooms too.

We like to operate The Crown as an inn with rooms, offering traditional hospitality whether it be for a drink, meal or overnight accommodation.

We hope you enjoy your time with us at The Crown, no matter how brief, and that we'll have a chance to welcome you again in the not too distant future.

Our 10th Birthday ~ June 2003

Situated in the heart of Wells, the 15th century Crown coaching inn overlooks the medieval Market Place. With its striking façade, The Crown is one of the key focal points in Wells, offering something for everyone.

Sarah and Adrian Lawrence celebrated a decade at The Crown this year and were proud to take a step back and look what had been achieved during that time.

In June 1993 The Crown was boarded up and in receivership. Adrian Lawrence and his then business partner thought this a great shame. The hotel was purchased and Adrian set about trying to improve its fortunes.

Adrian and his business partner parted friendly company in March 1997. Adrian and his wife Sarah have owned and run The Crown ever since with the help of an excellent management team and staff.

A considerable amount of work has been carried out on the fabric of the building since 1997 as years of neglect had taken its toll. The exterior is now vastly improved and Adrian has started in earnest on the interior, which will be ongoing for many years to come.

Anton’s Bistrot - named after a local, well-known cartoonist who’s work regularly appeared in Punch Magazine - was refurbished at the end of 2002 to give The Crown’s restaurant a smart, yet informal, bistro-style feel and the adjoining lounge at the front of the hotel has just been completed to compliment the style of the bistrot.

Anton’s has built-up a well-deserved reputation for serving an excellent variety of mouth-watering dishes, including delicious vegetarian options and extremely tempting desserts, complimented by a superb selection of wines.

Lunch is served daily from 12pm, with two courses available from £8.95 per person and an à la carte menu is served each evening from 6.00pm.

Anton’s is able to cater for weddings and private parties either in the Bistrot or, in the case of larger parties, at the Wells Town Hall, adjacent to The Crown.

The Penn Bar has also been renovated to provide the popular pub aspect of The Crown with a more contemporary feel, whilst still in-keeping with the character of the building. Traditional pub fayre is served in The Penn Bar during lunch and early evening, giving customers a choice of their favourite snacks and light meals.

Throughout the day teas, coffees, cakes and pastries are served in The Penn Bar, making it the ideal place to meet or sit and watch Wells go by. Later in the evening the atmosphere in The Penn Bar livens to provide the ideal venue for the people of Wells to socialise.

All these aspects, along with the sympathetic refurbishment of the fifteen bedrooms, make The Crown the perfect meeting place both for locals and those passing through England’s smallest City.