Shepton prison hotel hopes caught up in legal row over name

By Laura Linham 23rd Oct 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 1 hour ago

Shepton Mallet Prison's owner has been drawn into a legal row over a possible hotel name — before building a single hotel or deciding who would run one.

Cove Group says it received a solicitor's letter alleging trade mark infringement and passing off after using "Cove Hotels" as a working name. The company has since confirmed that a hotel remains part of its ambitions for the former prison, although there are no detailed proposals in place at the moment.

In its social media statement, Cove said: "We're Cove Group. We're exploring hotels. We haven't even decided whether we'll operate the hotels ourselves, lease them to another operator or work with a hospitality partner."

It added: "We want to be very clear with our hotel update: Hotels built: 0. Rooms available: 0. Opening dates: Unconfirmed. Final brand: Undecided."

A spokesperson said: "A hotel has always formed part of the wider vision for Shepton Mallet Prison, alongside a range of other potential uses. This is not a new concept, and the ambition to create a sustainable, multi-use heritage destination has been in the public domain for many years."

The prison closed in 2013 and opened as a visitor attraction under Cove's management in 2017. The company says it purchased the site in 2025.

Cove said the scale and complexity of the historic buildings meant their future needed careful consideration. It said preserving the site had to be balanced with making it commercially sustainable and securing further investment.

The spokesperson added: "Our ambition is to build upon what has already been achieved, enhancing the site while securing its long-term future. There are no further proposals or timescales we are ready to share publicly at this stage."