The King William has been a traditional ale house since 1830 when a local miller, Edmund Collins, bought 2 adjoining Georgian cottages and knocked them together, to create a dwelling space for his family and room to brew the ale.

Being a miller he was already in possession of the raw ingredients and he took full advantage of a new law that the then King of England, George IV, had proclaimed – that anyone could obtain a license to brew ale and sell it from their homes.

This law was a direct reaction to the sudden emergence of ‘Gin Houses’ and the Gin drinking epidemic that was stealing across England at the time, destroying the working classes through addiction. The drinking of good old fashioned English Ale was considered a much healthier alternative and was widely supported by the government!

As a dedication to the King, the miller named his establishment after His Royal Highness, as did many other newly created ‘landlords’ across the realm.

Edmund Collins and his daughters brewed the ale in the back of their cottages and sold to through the front windows of the pub to thirsty passers by!
This led to the family creating a prosperous, thriving business and eventually opening up their home to customers, who literally sat in the front parlour,
drinking the homemade brew.

In time, Edmund Collins passed on his business to one of his sons in law, and the Collins’ family descendants became the Pub ‘landlords’; expanding the property in 1910 by building what is now termed the ‘Barn End’ of the Pub, to create a
‘Tea Room’ space for travelling cyclists, as was the fashion of the day.

These significant events in the Pub’s history are recorded for prosperity by dated photos on the wall for all to see. The original windows still remain, as does the active encouragement of passing customers to pop in and sample a jug of locally brewed ale!