High Street, Ross-on-Wye

Image: © HelenK Taken: 17 Jun 2023

The name 'King George's Rest' on the building on the right commemorates an unhappy visit by George IV: "In 1821, King George IV came through the town after doing some business in Ireland and a dray man had parked his wagon on the corner between the High Street and Old Gloucester Road whilst he unloaded at the Nags head and the horses had been removed from the wagon to allow them to rest. This blockage meant that the King had to wait until it was moved. He was not at all pleased and he went to the pub opposite called 'The Butchers Arms'. He then set about planning the town's future and he threatened to remove the town from the main coaching route unless this was kind of problem was sorted out. This was a serious threat as the coaches brought a lot of revenue to the town. So to avoid this fate, in 1825, the current Gloucester Road was constructed and, later, 'The Butchers Arms' was renamed to 'King George's Rest' in commemoration of the visit." http://www.ross-on-wye.com/index.php?page=rdev_720-The_Nags_Head The premises have had a high turnover of occupants in recent years: see Image (2008), Image (2009), Image (2011), Image (2017). Currently half of the ground floor is occupied by a dog groomers and half is empty. In front is Cafe Zam Zam https://cafe-zam-zam.co.uk/.

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