TOWN history buffs have raised two-and-a-half cheers to the owner of an historic inn who has restored its old name.

Bewdley Civic Society is among those who have welcomed the return of three centuries of tradition in the name of the old bailiff's house in High Street ... but say it is a pity about the spelling.

The new sign "The Bailiff's Howse" has hit a raw nerve in a town puzzled by a previous re-naming of the inn as "James' '' under the previous owner James Steele.

As the Shuttle/Times and News reported in August last year, town councillors, with four teachers in the ranks, were worried the bad grammar enshrined on James's sign would confuse schoolchildren.

When new owner Ronnie Wilson moved in Mayor Bill Mason saw the chance to put the matter right. He suggested restoring the old name that stemmed from the days when the inn was the house of the town bailiff.

The council minutes record the mayor's pleasure at reporting to a meeting the change of name but also councillors' "puzzlement" over the spelling.

Civic Society chairman Ken Hobson said members "raised a cheer" when Mr Mason also reported to a society meeting the change of name.

But he said he had found no record of the word "howse" being written in olden days. He thought it "rather extraordinary" but it was "at least a step forward".

Councillor and Harry Cheshire High School teacher Tony Clay was sanguine, however. "If schoolchildren can cope with 'labor and color' on their computers, they can cope with funny pub signs," he said

Mr Wilson, like James Steele before him, and with a brand new sign in place, stuck to his guns. "This place dates back to 1610 and I have looked it up and that is how it was spelt," he said.