Arkell’s home page – pub accommodation, food and drink in the south of England
  • Host:
  • Robert and BarbaraFeal-Martinez
  • Where:
  • South Martson
  • Near Swindon
  • Wiltshire SN3 4ST
  • Telephone:
  • (01793) 822997
  • Facilities:
  • Architectural Interest
  • Car Park
  • Garden Or Patio
  • Children Welcome
  • Pool And/Or Snooker Table
  • Pub Food
  • Restaurant Or Dining Room
  • Disabled Toilet
  • Accommodation
  • Map:
  • Click Here for a Map to The Carpenters Arms, South Marston

The Carpenters Arms, South Marston

The Carpenters Arms, South Marston - Click to enlarge The Carpenters Arms, South Marston - Click to enlarge The Carpenters Arms, South Marston - Click to enlarge The Carpenters Arms, South Marston - Click to enlarge The Carpenters Arms, South Marston - Click to enlarge The Carpenters Arms, South Marston - Click to enlarge

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Train travellers returning to Swindon from London know they are home when they see the Arkell's Ales sign on the side of The Carpenters Arms. The track looks right down on the pub which, actually, was here before even the railway.

- En-suite accommodation
- Weekend breaks
- 5 twins/doubles, 4 singles
- Christmas specials
- Wireless broadband/DVD
- M4, Junct. 15 10 mins

The Carpenters' Arms is also particularly proud to be recognised for its high standards of hygiene and kitchen protocols.

The pub was awarded a 5* rating eating by the Food Standards Agency in 2007, putting the pub in the top 5% of eating establishment in the UK.

Parts of the building go back to the early 19th century and the pub - as well as Arkell's who bought the pub in 1881 - must have been well known to Alfred Williams, the celebrated 'Hammerman Poet'. Williams lived all his life in the village and books like 'Life In A Railway Factory' recall vividly what it was like in the area in the early years of this century.

Some parts of The Carpenters Arms would be unfamiliar to Williams. A £180,000 facelift in 1994, for instance, turned what had been a fairly small pub into a still comfortable but much roomier building. With its traditional, home-cooked Wiltshire food, it is now perfectly geared up for a new generation of family pub-goers who are also attracted by the small menagerie in the garden and the children's playground, where the excitement of the passing trains provides a bonus for the smallest visitors.

The pub also has a small caravan site behind it to cater for visitors from further afield.

On opening the Carpenters' new extension, James Arkell said: "Families matter - we know that being a family-run business - and that's why we have spent so much in making sure the Carpenters caters for families." Take that as an open invitation.

The Carpenters now also offers luxury accommodation with nine en-suite hotel-standard letting rooms, ideal for businessmen, couples and and families.