The Eighth Marquess of Ailsa visited an 156-year-old pub in St Margarets to unveil his family coat of arms, which is part of the venue’s new sign.

Archibald Angus Charles Kennedy, who is the great, great, great-grandson of the First Marquess of Ailsa, who the pub is named after, attended a formal ceremony at the Ailsa Tavern on Sunday, April 15.

The outside of the pub is being redecorated by Shepherd Neame brewery, which is changing the old signs to its own brand.

The chief of the famous Kennedy Clan in Scotland visited the pub on the way to Heathrow, on his way to America to open the Lock Norman Highland games in North Carolina.

Mark Davis, from the pub, said: “It was an honour for us to receive Lord Ailsa and we were grateful that he took time out of a busy schedule to visit. His presence was a real link to our local history.

“We wanted to change the pub sign from the old, nondescript sign to the Ailsa Coat of Arms, which it apparently used to be some 10 or so years ago and the brewery have kindly agreed to do that for us. We want to reconnect the pub to its local history.

“I made contact with the Marquess of Ailsa in order to establish if we needed his authority to use the coat of arms and he was extremely helpful and enthusiastic.

“The First Marquess built and lived in St Margarets House, which gave its name to the local area, however, the house, which was across the road from the pub, was destroyed during the war.

“The Ailsa is the oldest of the three main pubs in the area. The Ailsa Tavern was built on a plot of land where a public house previously stood and was first properly licensed in 1856. Despite the Ailsa being a little off-the-beaten-track, it is really at the historic heart of the whole area.”

Lord Ailsa has promised to visit every time he comes down to London, following the visit.