S&N sells historic Marlow inn to cookware specialist

Scottish & Newcastle has sold the Market Inn, which occupies a Georgian landmark building in the centre of the Buckinghamshire market town of Marlow, to a specialist cookware retailer.

Malcolm Reid of Steamer Trading Cookshop bought the freehold off an asking price in the region of £1.6m through the Milton Keynes office of Christie + Co.

The property sits on the junction of the historic Market Square and the High Street in Marlow, which sits on the River Thames between Henley and Windsor within the Chiltern Hills' Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

It was built as the town's Market House in 1807 and its turret houses the town's clock which was gifted to Marlow in 1805. It retains the original assembly hall with a musician's gallery supported (originally) on three open arches which once contained the market stalls, lock-up and fire engine.

Now, the building has an open plan trading area on the ground floor to seat 100 customers and a large, 80-seat function hall on the first floor, along with a two-bedroom manager's flat.

By Angela Frewin