A cosy 17th-century village pub steeped in history, 

it has a long association with the battle of Trafalgar.

King William The Fourth; Formerly 'William IV' (built c1800).

A miners' inn [from Ding Dong], all the worse on pay day, when no miner left anything other than drunk. King William was a popular prince, and became more popular when crowned - as he removed tax from beer in 1830; looking at the building, it appears to have been built around 1800, though under what name is not known, perhaps it was a dwelling at first; the kerbs and granite wheel stops are in their original positions; those three windows look very 'mining era'; a number of inns were named after the prince before he came to the throne, using names perhaps including 'Clarence', because of his direct interest in Cornwall. The first Innkeeper in that name of William IV was William Bone, who would have been 24 years at that time in 1830; he seems to have been well established, because he remained until his death in 1863.

The news of the death of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson following the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 was received first in Britain by the arrival of HMS Pickle en route to Falmouth under the command of Lieut. John Richards Lapenotiere in Mount's Bay. It is believed a fishing vessel from Penzance passed the news to the shore which was formally announced from the balcony of the Assembly Rooms in Chapel Street, Penzance. Since the mother church of Penzance was at Madron, the mayor of Penzance took up a procession which made its way to Madron where a memorial service was held and the Nelson banner was paraded for the first time. On it was the epitaph "Mourn for the brave, the immortal Nelson's gone. / His last sea fight is fought, his work of Glory done". 

A tradition of an annual Trafalgar Service, held to commemorate the death of Nelson, was begun on 27 October 1946, when so many people attended that the service was relayed outside. These services continue to this day on the Sunday nearest to the 21st October. The Trafalgar Fields housing development was so named to reinforce the links with Nelson.