The Lygon Arms: a Cotswolds hotel full of history

The Lygon Arms in Broadway is such an impressive hotel that some people never want to leave, says Matthew Partridge.

The Lygon Arms hotel
The Lygon Arms: a historic hotel
(Image credit: © The Lygon Arms)

“I’ve come here nearly every day for nearly a decade, and the view is different every time,” said Chris Rushton of My Broadway Tours, as we surveyed the view from the top of Beacon Hill early one morning. As well as the light, the weather conditions can also “change how everything looks”. While the mist can add an air of mystery, on a clear day “you can see no less than 16 counties, right through to Wales”. If you include Broadway Tower, the folly completed in 1799, it becomes the highest point in the entire Cotswolds.

While the view from the top may be spectacular, the town below is even more enchanting. Ruston believes that Broadway’s history can be divided into three epochs. From 972 until the reformation it was part of the estate of the Benedictine monastery of Pershore. Then from the 17th to the mid-19th century, it took advantage of its location to become one of the major staging posts for the coaching industry, before being forced to reinvent itself yet again when the railway reached nearby Evesham in 1852.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri