A DATE has been set for a farewell party for the Crown Hotel, and landlord Martyn Edwards is inviting townsfolk to come along to say goodbye to a piece of Marlow history.

The event will be held on June 28. Celebrations will go on until 2am and there will be a toast at midnight.

Mr Edwards said: "Anyone can come along. It'll mainly be regulars and local townsfolk "We're trying to get some of the old landlords and staff as well. People can come and go as they please."

Last week we reported the building had been sold and will become a kitchenware shop next month.

The Crown holds a special place in the heart of many Marlovians. For many years it was one of the most popular drinking venues in the town.

Recently the name was changed to R Home, but many people still knew it as the Crown.

Built in 1807 by Marlow landowner and politician Thomas Williams, the Crown was first intended as a town hall, market house and assembly room.

There was a large open space on the ground floor where a market could be held, and the building even served as the town jail. A number of dusty cells exist to this day.

Marlow's fire brigade also used the building to store its engine.

Eventually the market declined and the fire brigade moved out. The owners of the original Crown Hotel, which was housed in the building next door (currently Boots), bought the building to extend its facilities.

Many political meetings have been held there over the years. The building had strong connections to the Williams family, who had a long running political legacy. In 1880 the windows were smashed as a protest against them.

The hotel has also featured in a work of literature - the protagonist in Jerome K Jerome's humorous 1889 travel novel Three Men in a Boat stayed there as his party made their way down the Thames on a fictitious boat trip.

During the 1960s and 1970s the upstairs gallery was the venue for dances and balls.

John Boot, now 64, has been visiting the Crown since he was in his 20s, and remembers the period fondly. "When it was a dance hall upstairs they had a proper orchestra and they had beautiful dances," he said.

"We'd go down there on a Saturday to get the local papers for the sports results and we'd see all the ladies in their fine dresses and the men in their dress suits."

The freehold of the land has now been bought by the Steamer Trading Cookshop, which will be taking over and turning the building into a kitchenware shop.

The plans include turning the upstairs gallery into a café, thereby improving access for the public.

Derek Done from the Marlow Society was at a presentation where the Steamer Trading Cookshop revealed the plans. He said the plans were received well.

"Most of the properties they own are listed buildings so they know what they are doing in terms of looking after the heritage," he said Ben Phillips, managing director of the Steamer Trading Cookshop, said: "What we are intending to do is restore it beautifully and make it so that Marlow can really be proud of it."