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The Ormond's Head is thought to occupy a building dating from the 1400s. In the late C17th it was an inn named The Lamb, perhaps a reference to the market activities in the town, or as a mark to the Knights Templars, who had a lamb as part of their Heraldic device. Further on in history, the Jacobites used to meet in the inn to drink the toast of the Pretender. Lord Ormond was a Jacobite supporter and the inn was named in memory of him. It was a popular coaching inn and housed large stables at the rear, with resident blacksmith.
In 1891 the building was demolished to make way for a more modern hotel building. The inn was used by the American army during the second World War, as they prepared for the Normandy landings.
The Gentle Gardener was completely refronted in 1891 as the Ormond's head hotel.
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