JANUARY OPENING HOURS:
The Duke Pub, restaurant & rooms
JANUARY: reduced menu from the 7th-18th of January 2026
Cakes, teas & coffees available at the bar.
The Duchess Lounge CLOSED: 7th - 18 January
Hilmarton is the perfect spot for weddings and ceremonies.
The village itself won an award in 2009 as "BEST KEPT VILLAGE" in Wiltshire. You can get married at St. Laurence Church (right in front of the pub), and have your wedding hosted at The Duke Hotel.
With AA 4**** rated boutique hotel rooms, delicious food (2AA rosettes), an amazing building dated 1843.
Our dining room can be hired as "private room" for functions to up to 25 people.
The Duke dining space (dining room and bar) can fit 50 people max. Our beer garden can extend the capacity to up to 100 people. We can host any events.
The Duke Hotel
RESERVATIONS
For tables of 6 and above, we do require a pre-order at least 5 days before your reservation day.
Due to the nature of our listed building, for now, we are regrettably wheelchair inaccessible.
We currently don't have baby change facilities.
Seating is limited and allocated on a first-come basis between the bar and restaurant.
The history of our pub
The Duke Hotel is a Victorian pub and hotel that dates back to 1843.
Originally, it had its own brewery out back, and the coach house,
now referred to as "The Duchess Lounge",
is used as Coffee shop & tea room in the morning, and,
as function facility for private dining, classes and events in the evening.
It is said that The Duke is named after Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of
Wellington, as his portrait has always been used for the Duke's pub sign.
Some others say that The Duke's name refers to Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort
because his coat of arms is used as a logo for the old coach house.
There is also a story about The Duke of Beaufort, which, at the time of the construction of the pub, his name was taken into consideration to be used as the name of the pub;
however, at that time, he was reluctant to associate his name with a pub insisting,
instead, that it should be called, simply, The Duke Hotel.
We know that both Dukes lived during the time of the pub's construction and that The Duke of Beaufort helped the Duke of Wellington during the war in Portugal between 1812 and 1814.
Rumour has it that the first incarnation of the village pub was actually next door to the church, a stone’s throw across the road. However, its location displeased a Victorian vicar, and he had it rebuilt in its current spot around 1843. Intriguingly, there still remains a secret passageway buried deep in the beer cellar, connecting The Duke to the basement of the church. The stone walls of the pub have been built using the original stone coming from the village' old Manor house which was destroyed from a terrible fire some time before the construction of the pub. Some of our neighbor houses also share the same stone walls history.
Today, all we know is that The Duke Hotel is an independently run Free-house pub,
restaurant and hotel set in the quaint village of Hilmarton
a largely rural village on the north side of Wiltshire.
The Duke offers 4 stunning en-suite boutique rooms, a private function building, 5 caravan pitches and a beautiful back garden all with a view of Hilmarton's scenic beauty.
Upcoming eventss
