With the exception of the sandstone frontage in Station Road, nothing on the site pre-dates 1984, the date of the accurate copy of the original and imposing façade.

The original King's Arms, however, was full of history.

It could have claimed to be Kenilworth's second oldest inn, it was certainly around in the sixteenth century and its prominent position on the road to Warwick and Leamington was instrumental in it becoming an Excise Office and Posting House by 1813.

The King's Arms was instrumental in securing Kenilworth's worldwide fame, for it was here that Walter Scott stayed, probably in 1815, to gather information and, so legend has it, to start writing his famous novel Kenilworth published in 1821.

He was remembered during his visits as a lame old gentleman who leaned on a stick, he rambled amongst the castle ruins alone for a couple of hours and also spent time chatting to its custodian, farmer William Boddington.

The Scott novel is credited with creating a huge interest in the castle and for wandering amongst its ruins as recalled by Charles Dickens, another probable King's Arms visitor, in Dombey and Son.

The King's Arms was by then the main meeting place for town functions. A room for this purpose on the first floor overlooking The Square was in regular use for gatherings such as meetings to oppose the building of the railway line and the celebrations of weddings, as well as a place of entertainment with musical and other performances.

Before Station Road was built, access to the stabling and coach house at the rear was via a narrow entrance between the King's Arms and the next building. Several buildings were demolished to make way for Station Road and the single-storey side extension was built on the site of the original entrance way.

The building of Station Road gave a second frontage to the inn and a stable block was converted into a refreshment room and wine vaults downstairs and a new assembly room upstairs.

This was further improved in 1884 when the redundant sandstone from Kenilworth's first railway station was incorporated in a refurbishment - this is the sandstone that survives today.

During the 1870s, Castle Hotel was added to its name.

By the mid 1890s, the King's Arms had a rival, the Abbey Hotel, in a very prominent position overlooking the Abbey Fields. It featured more and more comfortable rooms with full gas lighting and a function room at the rear that quickly became well-used. With reduced bookings due to this competition the King's Arms assembly room fronting Station Road became Kenilworth's first cinema in the years preceding the Great War.

Despite its best days being behind it, in the 1970s 'The Kings' as it was affectionately known, was the favoured venue for Kenilworth's younger socialising drinkers.