MEM21912 - The Lamb Hotel, Dulverton (Building)

It was popular for people to stay at the Lamb Hotel during the sporting season. It was previously called the Ram. [1] A 'Hotel' is marked on the Second Edition Ordnance Survey map. [2] The Lamb Hotel provided stabling and livery. [3] The Lamb Hotel had a dance hall in the courtyard. [4] The Lamb was one of 10 licensed premises in Dulverton, in 1790. [5] The former Lamb Hotel is now converted into housing and renamed 'Lamb Court'. It consists of a large block of buildings of 18th or 19th Century character on the street frontage, which formerly included a portico. The former inn yard to the rear is surrounded by buildings on three sides, approached by a lane. The three cottages in Lamb Back lie on its southeastern side and are believed to have formed part of the inn complex before being converted into private houses. [6] A former employee of the Lamb Hotel has provided further information on the establishment from when he worked there between 1965 and 1972. At the time, the hotel was owned by the Liley family who had purchased it from a small hotel chain (?Caterers Ltd). William Liley was a former Royal Marine captain who had been injured in service; his wife, Margaret, dealt with the catering side of the business and they were eventually followed by their younger son John, who learned the trade from them. He returned to run the hotel, married and kept it on until its sale for conversion into apartments. The family took over the Woodcote Hotel (MEM21925) in the late 1960s and lived there, using the hotel as an annex to The Lamb in busy months. This gave the hotel a total of 36 rooms, with one large room on the first floor of The Lamb (known as the "Market Room") converted into hotel rooms in 1966/67. The Woodcote gardens supplied the hotel with fresh produce. The dining room had around 60 covers and offered a menu with French influences, whether or not the chef was French. Waiting staff from a hotel school in Italy provided summer cover for the busy periods – they and the chefs lived in the cottages at Lamb Back. The hotel had its own stretch of fishing water on the River Barle and attracted many fly fishers. There were occasional hunt metts at the hotel and the management always provided a stirrup cup for the riders. The hotel side of the business was, of course, highly seasonal but the bar business and local dinner and dance functions kept the business afloat all year round. [7] The building is shown in photographs taken in around 1900. At that time, the main entrance had a pillored portico with a lamb on its flat roof. The building is noted to have been converted to flats in the 1980s. [8]