The Swan Revived Hotel, Newport Pagnell (Milton Keynes)
We've been running a Sunday breakfast meeting in Milton Keynes for over ten years, and have tried various restaurants in the city centre. Last year for various reasons we decided to move to Newport Pagnell and, in the absence of any of the well-known restaurant chains, we decided to try the town's hotel, The Swan Revived. This has proved very successful and they look after us well on our monthly visits.
Newport Pagnell might be better known for being the original home of the Aston Martin, and for being one of the first two service stations on the M1, but it is an ancient market and coaching town that predates the Norman Conquest and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Today it is rather overshadowed by the nearby new city of Milton Keynes, but it preserves its separate identity and small town charm.
The Swan Revived hotel is located on the picturesque High Street near the church. It is thought that an inn has stood on the site since medieval times, but the hotel was first mentioned in records in the 1540's as The Swan Inn. It was a coaching inn providing stabling, accommodation and food for travellers from London bound for the north. There would have been a number of other similar establishments but The Swan was the only one to survive. The current building dates largely from the 1600s, with the addition of a mid 19th century façade. It was fortunate to escape a fire in the town in 1880. Amongst its guests over the years were Samuel Pepys, Robert Hooke, and Benjamin Disraeli.
The change of name to "The Swan Revived" was the result of a licence renewal application in the 1950s in which it was listed as "The Swan (revived)" - but the name stuck.
Currently the hotel has 40 rooms and has a restaurant and two bars, however rather than taking over several tables in the restaurant, we usually ask for a table in the spacious front lounge, which has a more relaxed feel and more interesting décor.
Jo Sidebottom