AN historic village pub which was closed down three years ago and rebranded as a guest house is reopening as an inn and returning to its original name.

The Wyndham Arms in Clearwell beside the village’s 14th century preaching cross shut its doors in 2016 when the then owners went bust.

It was subsequently acquired by the owners of Clearwell Castle who changed its name to The Clearwell and reopened it as accommodation for wedding guests with a private bar.

Last November it changed its name again, this time to the Crosswell, reflecting both the village’s cross and the anicient well nearby that gives the village its name.

Villagers and Newland Parish Council opposed the orginal name change from the Wyndham back in 2017, and urged the castle owners to reconsider.

Some two years on, they have finally got their wish, with the name steeped in history returning as The Wynd- ham Country Inn and the bar due to reopen to the public.

The building dates back to the 1600s when the Wyndham family acquired the Clearwell estate, and a reference in Salter’s Coleford directory of 1852 lists the pub as The Wymondham Arms.

In the last century, Louisa Maynard ran the pub for nearly 60 years from the early 1900s, before John and Rosemary Stanford bought it in 1972 as a ‘dilipidated cider house’.

They built the pub back to be one of the premier establishments in the Forest, employing more than 30 people, before retiring in 2002 when son John took over for a further five years.

It was later run until 2016 by a private company based in Bristol, which went into liquidation in May 2016.

The new Wyndham Inn name has already been put up on the building, and Newland Parish Council has welcomed the return to its origins.

Parish clerk Richard Crighton said: “The Wyndham is coming back. I have been advised that the owners of Crosswell House have had a re-think as to how it is run and have decided to open it to the public on a full-time basis as a country inn.

“They also believe that the sensible option would be to return it to its ancient name (with a slight tweak) as The Wyndham.

“They are currently applying for the name change and “trust it will be well received by the community based on the feedback received during the Crosswell name change”.