The Pack o' Cards Hotel

Known at this time as The King's Arms

George Ley of Combe Martin became overseer to the poor . He enjoyed a game of cards and, legend has it that in 1690, after a big win, he commemorated the event by having a new house built symbolising the features of a pack of cards. It has four floors, to represent the four suits, each floor having thirteen doors representing the number of cards in a suit, and fifty two windows o some of which were blocked up in 1784 at the time of the so-called window tax., It was supposedly built on an area measuring fifty two feet square. Note the village postie making his rounds with his pony and trap - the village street is very, very, long!

Photograph from our collection blieved to be c..1900