The story
The Bath Arms is a Modern British inn on Lodge Road in Horningsham, near Frome, and the Michelin Guide listed it as Recommended in 2026. It dates to 1736 and sits on the Longleat Estate, with a bar, several small dining rooms and a terrace.
Head Chef Jack Chapman joined the Beckford group at 17 as a kitchen porter and now runs the kitchen. His British cooking leans on meat and game from the Longleat Estate and local farms, plus fish landed daily on the south coast. Dry-aged Wiltshire steaks sit alongside bar snacks and a Sunday roast.
The Good Food Guide rated the pub Good in 2026, and its inspector singled out the cider-battered fish and chips and the Beck burger of dry-aged smashed patties. A late-May dinner opened with Wye Valley asparagus, chilli and lime butter, and heritage tomatoes with wild garlic emulsion. Roasted Brixham monkfish followed with Jersey Royals, and a botanical Eton mess with violet cream and rose meringue closed the meal.
Wine comes from the group's own Beckford Bottle Shop in Bath, and the bar pours local ales, including the house Horning Ale. Upstairs, the Loft is a private dining room filled with antiques and an open fire, seating up to 22 guests. Sixteen bedrooms are split between the main house and the converted stable block.
Recognition
Details
History
With its creeper-covered frontage, enchanting terraces and beautiful village setting on the Longleat Estate, this handsome and substantial inn with rooms (circa 1736) is a dream ticket – especially when the sun is shining. Whatever the season, everyone feels right at home in the tasteful shabby-chic country house interiors – thanks to soft, warm lighting (candles, lamps), winter fires, vintage finds and walls layered with old prints and paintings. A public bar caters for drinkers, while those who’ve bagged a polished wood table in one of the small dining rooms can indulge in a fulsome line-up of pub classics and more creative ideas based on carefully sourced produce. Everyone enjoys the cider-battered fish and chips, and the 'Beck burger' (dry-aged smashed patties in a glazed sesame bun), but those with more inquisitive palates home in on exemplary starters such as Wye Valley asparagus served with chilli and lime butter, heritage tomatoes and smoked salt with wild garlic emulsion – a dish that opened our late-May dinner. To follow, roasted Brixham monkfish was teamed with Jersey Royals, a crispy courgette flower and a dill, orange and caviar dressing, while a botanical Eton mess with violet cream, rose meringue, lemon and elderflower cake, lavender gel and raspberry sorbet provided the ideal finale. Friendly, professional staff are perfectly on point, and the decently priced, wide-ranging wine list (arranged by style) offers plenty of interesting options by the glass and carafe. In addition, there are 16 individually designed bedrooms in the main house and stable block.
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