Down the centuries, pub culture has been strong in Ledbury and this long history is reflected in stories attached to the town's watering holes and the names of premises.

The Royal Oak in the Southend, for instance, one of the oldest hostelries in town, shows that Royalist sympathies must have remained potent in Ledbury after the Civil War.

Charles II hid from Roundhead troops in an oak tree following defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. With the restoration of the monarchy, the oak tree became a symbol of loyalty to the Crown. The Royal Oak still has a stained glass window which shows the tree.

The Talbot in New Street, built around 1596, is almost certainly named in honour of one of the heroes of the Hundred Years' War, a figure immortalised by Shakes-peare in Henry VI.

Over 100 years after Talbot's death, into the Tudor Age, the great and loyal warrior was seen across the land as a symbol of Old English virtues. A type of hunting dog he favoured became associated with his memory, and a "Talbot dog" is now the hotel sign.

The Ring of Bells in New Street was named after handbell ringing, the hobby of one of its 19th Century landlords, Thomas Nott. From 1960 to 1987, a set of handbells were kept behind the bar, in his honour, and teams of handbell ringers often came to play.

Other pubs in Ledbury are undoubtedly old, but their history is more elusive. Local historian Peter Garnett, of the Ledbury and District Society Trust, has been unable to trace the name The Prince of Wales in Church Lane beyond the 19th Century.

But as fellow Society member Edna Dickinson said, this could be one of the oldest of Ledbury's inns.

She added, "According to tradition, buildings in the Church Lane and Church Street area, including the Prince of Wales and the British Legion Club, were built with timber from Spanish Armada ships."

However both Mrs Dickinson and Mr Garnett doubt the tale, given the transport costs involved and the amount of local timber in the 16th Century.

There is another mystery in The Feathers and The Prince of Wales. The three feathers are the symbol of the heir to the throne, but when both pubs were probably built, in the Elizabethan period, there was no male heir. So, when were the pubs named and after who?