ANOTHER nail was lodged in the coffin of Williton this week as the village's major hotel closed down and a piece of history was lost forever.

For more than four centuries Williton people have been raising a glass on the site of the Egremont Hotel in the centre of the village.

But in the face of stiff competition from the village's four other pubs, social club, supermarkets, off-licence and Indian restaurant, its owners have called it a day.

The Georgian hotel has been sold to the Magna West Somerset Housing Association. Contracts were exchanged before Christmas and completion is expected next Friday, January 17.

With a total purchase and conversion cost of £1.5 million, Magna will convert the Grade II listed building into 13 units of affordable accommodation.

With a start date of March, Magna anticipates the new homes should be ready by Christmas 2003.

Magna director Tony Murray said: "The hotel has been a Williton landmark for a great many years.

"We are aware that, for many people, its loss as a functioning hotel is a source of sadness, but a number of families are currently on the housing waiting list for a home in Williton.

"Our taking the opportunity to buy and convert means we increase the likelihood of local people being provided with an affordable home."

Keen bargain hunters were already queuing when the hotel doors opened on Tuesday at 10am for the start of a clearance sale.

Owners Angela Yon and Andy Wagstaff had laid out all the hotel equipment - tables, chairs, beds and bedding and even beer glasses were all for sale.

One sorry sight was the rows of chairs stacked forlornly at the side of the ballroom - even the hotel sign itself was sold.

Mr Wagstaff said they were very sad to be leaving but the volume of trade had not been good enough to merit continuing in business.

"As a family we've put a lot of effort and four years of our lives into this business," he said.

"We came into this to make it a lovely lively hotel. We've had different themes, different menus, but events have not been very well attended, not enough to make it a viable business. It's outlived its day.

"We're sorry to go, we've made a lot of friends here. We're going to have a well earned break in Spain and then think about what we do from there.

"We may come back and run another pub in the area. We love the countryside in West Somerset and the people are great. Or we may possibly buy a business in Spain."

In 2001 West Somerset planners gave the go-ahead to convert the hotel into nine flats and three houses. The former stables at the hotel's rear were earmarked as two houses and a bungalow with the skittle alley demolished to provide parking spaces.

The building's Grade II listed status ensures the hotel facade must remain untouched.

The report submitted at the time by chartered architect Trevor J Spurway said the scheme would take into account both the needs of the listed building and the community, and stated: "The overall appearance of the site will not dramatically change and the historical and architectural value will remain."

In 'The Book of Williton - a Portrait of the Parish' local historian and author Michael Williams says the earliest known inn in Williton was almost certainly the Blue Anchor, a 16th century alehouse on the site of the Egremont Hotel.

From there it became The Coach and Horses Inn, a centre for stagecoach activity in the late 18th century.

It was also a centre for the administration of law - police courts were held there and on court days such local luminaries as Parson 'Merry' Luttrell, Colonel 'Justice' Luttrell and Sir Peregrine Acland sat on the Bench.

In 1830, the present hotel was built with The Egremont Hotel Tap on the site now occupied by estate agents and a hair salon. Historically, this site was occupied by the Williton Poorhouse.

Originally named the Wyndham Hotel, it became the Egremont Hotel in 1842.

A chunk of village mediaeval history was discovered in the 1980s when then hotelier Mike Smith unearthed a carved cap stone from a centuries' old cross, believed to be the missing top of the Higher Cross.

The remains of this cross had stood at the corner of the Egremont Hotel but, after being frequently hit by passing vehicles, was moved across the road to Bellamy's Corner and can now be seen preserved in the garden by the NatWest Bank.

In the Wyndham estate property sale of 1919, the hotel was both sale venue and lot number one.

Mr Williams said he was sad to see the loss of such an essential and important part of village history: "The Egremont is an important landmark, and the closure of this coaching inn comes at a significant time of change in Williton, which many hope will remain the administrative centre of West Somerset.

"I think it's very sad when something which is a fundamental part of village life and history changes like this."

Mr Murray said: "The building is full of character and is an asset to Williton.

"We intend to take specialist advice, and can promise a sympathetic restoration that takes in the need to adhere to the traditional look while providing accommodation that fits with the living requirements of the 21st century."