1745 it furnished accommodation for the soldiers of Prince Charles
Edward, the Young Pretender, and was the head-quarters of the
Manchester regiment. One of the rooms is called "Ye Vestry," on
account of its connexion with the collegiate church. It is said that
there was a secret passage between the inn and the church, and,
according to the Court Leet Records, some of the clergy used to go to
the "Seven Stars" in sermon-time in their surplices to refresh
themselves. _O tempora!_ _O mores!_ A horseshoe at the foot of the
stairs has a story to tell. During the war with France in 1805 the
press-gang was billeted at the "Seven Stars." A young farmer's lad was
leading a horse to be shod which had cast a shoe. The press-gang
rushed out, seized the young man, and led him off to serve the king.
Before leaving he nailed the shoe to a post on the stairs, saying,
"Let this stay till I come from the wars to claim it." So it remains
to this day unclaimed, a mute reminder of its owner's fate and of the
manners of our forefathers.

[Illustration: The Bear and Ragged Staff Inn, Tewkesbury]

Another inn, the "Fighting Cocks" at St. Albans, formerly known as "Ye
Old Round House," close to the River Ver, claims to be the oldest
inhabited house in England. It probably formed part of the monastic
buildings, but its antiquity as an inn is not, as far as I am aware,
fully established.

The antiquary must not forget the ancient inn at Bainbridge, in
Wensleydale, which has had its licence since 1445, and plays its
little part in _Drunken Barnaby's Journal_.

[Illustration: Fire-place in the George Inn, Norton St. Philip,