A LANDMARK building’s colourful history will be celebrated with an exhibition at Bewdley Festival.

The George Hotel, in Load Street, has been in business for over 400 years and Kay Wood, visual arts director of the festival, has put together a display of photographs, artefacts and antiques, along with information on the hotel’s history.

The building’s mantelpiece once housed a Cross of Lorraine, which was used by the Free French troops during the Second World War. The cross was found in store at Bewdley Museum and will be on display at the exhibition.

A bell will also be on show which used to hang in the coaching entrance until 1957, donated by Matthew and Richard Barton, sons of previous licensee Don Barton.

Mrs Wood said: “It has been a fascinating journey through time and I have had the privilege of meeting many very interesting and generous people.

“At times, the wealth of information has been quite overwhelming but the history of this building has now been brought right up to date.

“There are facts about the hotel that people might not know - there used to be a swimming pool there, for example. The hotel has a ghost as well, which is quite famous in the area.”

The exhibition will feature an audio recording of the memories of Brian Woodward, who took his honeymoon at The George with his wife Jean in the 1960s.

Famous figures who have visited the hotel include then-Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, in 1923, and General De Gaulle, who went to Bewdley in 1942.

The exhibition will be on show in Bewdley Library from next Friday until October 30.