A TOWN centre pub has had a change of name.

Lloyds No. 1 Bar, which is a Wetherspoon outlet, at Festival Place, and which opened in 2002, has been renamed The Angel.

Pub manager Lisa Roszkowski said: “The new name The Angel reflects the history of the area and we believe it will prove popular with the local community in Basingstoke.”

The new pub name refers to the Angel Inn, which stood behind Barclays Bank, in Market Place. Just like Basingstoke Town Hall, which is now The Willis Museum, it was the venue for dancing assemblies during the late 1700s.

Among those who attended such dances was novelist Jane Austen, who was born in nearby Steventon in 1775.

She lived in the village for the first 25 years of her life and was a frequent visitor to Basingstoke, dancing at both venues.

The Angel closed back in the 1860s, but a new Angel Inn was built soon after, on the corner of Wote Street and Potters Lane.

However, this was demolished in the 1960s during the redevelopment of the town centre.