The Blue Bell Hotel has been part of the village of Heversham for over five hundred years. It began life as the vicarage in 1460 when the Archbishop of York instructed the Abbot of St Mary's in York to provide a house and garden for the new vicar. You can still see the walls of the old vicarage, its low ceilings and thick oak beams in the portion consisting of the cocktail lounge, the kitchen behind and the upper floor and roofs of that area.

The building remained as a vicarage until 1843 when it was bought by the Woods sisters and converted into their home. During its life as a vicarage the building and the church survived the civil war and also the visit to nearby Kendal in 1745 of Bonnie Prince Charlie during his bid for the English throne.

It is believed that at this time the church silver was hidden in a purpose built hole which was discovered many years later beneath the now cocktail bar.

The Woods sisters called their home "Elm Tree Lawn". When they passed away many years later the building was purchased by the grammar school to use as a dorm. After twenty years the building became a residence again to a Mr Hunter who kept fighting cocks.
When a loop road was built dividing the garden, the house was sold once more to a Mr Dickinson who now realised it's potential as a hotel. Further changes in ownership brought development in cuisine and facilities culminating in Samuel Smith purchasing the hotel in 1989.

The hotel has held its present name since 1967 when it was transferred from the old hostelry opposite the church belfry. And so we have briefly told the tale of over 500 years of the Blue Bell Hotel.