ONE of the most historic pubs in Devizes is to lose its hotel tag and return to its roots as a coaching inn.

Scaffolding now covers the front of the Black Swan Hotel in the Market Place but when it is removed next month the new wording will be uncovered along with a new hanging sign which will be created by a craftsman in the Wadworth workshop.

The hostelry, which was turned from a house into a coaching inn in 1737, is also undergoing a number of other changes that will be unveiled when it takes part in the Devizes Food and Drink Festival on May 21 from 1pm.

An Argentinian fire pit will be set up in the newly restored garden of the pub and a hogget will be roasted. Last year top chef Marco Pierre White was a surprise guest at the event and joined in the cooking.

Mr Pierre White has been a frequent visitor to the pub since it was taken over by sisters Florence Chapman and Amelia Heaton-Renshaw in 2014. A few weeks ago the pub, which is decorated in an eclectic mix of antiques and bric a brac, was named by the Sunday Times Style magazine as one of the coolest places in the country to visit.

Now chef Adam Brockman-More, who in a few weeks times is to go to work for Mr Pierre White at his restaurant at the Rudloe Arms at Corsham, is spending time at the Black Swan changing the menu.

Mr Brockman-More, 25, who grew up in Marlborough and is a former pupil at St John's School, learnt his trade a Michelin starred pub in the county. Now he wants to make sure the honest, simple and tasty food will always be cooked to the same quality.

He said: "I am developing a menu that can be produced consistently to a high standard. I will be here for two months to make sure everything is running smoothly."

It will then be left to young chefs Shaynee Davis and Danny Chapman to continue the good work.

Pub manager Neil Chandler said: "We are making quite a few changes all round. We think by losing the word hotel from the title of the pub and replacing it with inn will be more in keeping with what we offer. We have redecorated the rooms in the same style as the bar using antiques.

"We now have the only pub garden in the centre of town with an outside bar and we want to have more live music."

An outbuilding next to the garden is to be renovated so it can be used as part of outdoor events.

Previous tenants have put the Black Swan on the map by advertising its ghostly credentials. Mr Chandler said this is not something that is talked up but a number of people still booked because of its apparent haunted past.

The pub's 15th century cellars are to be visited next month by a group of schoolchildren taking part in a residential visit to Braeside, Devizes. The trip to the large cellar which still features props such as a coffin and giant spider will be part of a Frankenstein experience.