A PUB believed to be one of the last public inn owned by the Ministry of Defence, has called time on its military past.

The Bolton Arms in the picturesque hamlet of Downholme in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, was bought by the MoD in the 1930s to serve thirsty servicemen and woman using the surrounding military training area.

Throughout the Second World War it served a steady stream of recruits and other military personnel being equipped for military manoeuvres overseas on the training ground.

At one point the MoD owned the entire village of Downholme, but last year sold off its last remaining homes and a farmhouse in the community.

Now the stone-built, traditional country pub only receives occasional visits from servicemen and women and its roots in the armed forces comes as a surprise for most people who visit it.

Its military ownership also meant technically the pub was owned by the Queen.

But this week it was sold to its current landlords, Stephen and Nicola Ross, who have rented the inn from the MoD for the past 15 years.

“It’s a typical country pub,” said Mr Ross.

“The MoD was our landlord and we rented it from them. But I think it just got to a point where possibly they don’t need it anymore, so they gave us first refusal.

“We still occasionally get personnel from the training camp near us during the summer, but it’s mainly used by people in the village and visitors. It’s good for us, and the village, that we’ve been able to buy it.”

The Ministry of Defence is one of the largest landowners in the country, with an estate that is equivalent to one per cent of the UK.

Its property and estate is run by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, which is responsible for everything from providing infrastructure in Afghanistan to military bases to family accommodation in the UK.

It is believed its estate is worth about £20bn.

A spokeswoman for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation said it was one of the last of its pubs to be sold off, but it had few pubs yet to sell.