The Golden Ball
Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire

The Golden Ball is a distinguished Cotswold stone coaching inn, in the picturesque village of Lower Swell. The interior retains many of its original features, including exposed stone walls and black beam-a delightful setting for relaxing with a glass of Donnington's real ale. Maureen Heath, who runs the inn with her husband Steve, keeps visitors happy with her fine home cooking, which she offers on printed and blackboard menus every lunchtime and evening. The inn also has three en suite guest rooms, one of them in an adjacent building with its own entrance. A quiz takes place on one Sunday each month, and in summer Aunt Sally is played on Thursday evenings.

Stow-on-the-Wold, an historic English market town in the county of Gloucestershire, sits on top of an 800 ft (244 m) hill, at the convergence of a number of major roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429). Stow-on-the-Wold, an historic English market town in the county of Gloucestershire, sits on top of an 800 ft (244 m) hill, at the convergence of a number of major roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429). Stow on the Wold is said to have originated as an Iron Age fort on this defensive postion on a hill. Indeed, there are many sites of similar forts in the area, and Stone Age and Bronze Age burial mounds are common throughout the area. The town began to grow as a result of trade along the Fosse Way (a Roman Road). Originally the small settlement was controlled by Abbots from the local Abbey, and when the first weekly market was set up in 1107 by Henry I, he decreed that the proceeds go to the Evesham Abbey. In 1330, Edward III set up an annual 7-day market to be held in August. This was replaced by Edward IV in 1476 with two 5-day fairs, two days before and two days after the feast of St Philip and St James in May, and similarly in October on the feast of St Edward the Confessor (the saint associated with the town). The aim of these annual fairs was to establish Stow as a place to trade, and to remedy the unpredictable passing trade. These fairs were located in the Square, which is still the town centre.