When news broke last weekend that the Royal Clarence hotel in Exeter was burning down, it was met with an outpouring of public sympathy – and confusion. The building was repeatedly referred to as the oldest hotel in England, leading some people to wonder: “Hang on – I thought I’d stayed at the oldest hotel in England. And it wasn’t in Exeter.”

Establishments in Norwich, Derbyshire, Cambridgeshire, Gloucestershire and more all claim the title – and at least two, The Old Bell, in Wiltshire and The Olde Bell in Berkshire, even share a name. Which begs the question: just how many oldest hotels in England does England have?

“How long is a piece of string?” says Ben Johnson, of Historic UK, an online guide to heritage accommodation. “There are so many ways of categorising ‘oldest’ that, as a measurement, it’s rather subjective. You’ll get some [hotels] that are in very old buildings but have only been hotels for a short time. Or you’ll get very old hotels or inns but the building itself has changed down the years.”

In the Royal Clarence’s case, it comes down to terminology. Shortly after the venue opened in 1769, it became the first to use the French word “hotel”.

But at the Old Hall in Buxton, Derbyshire, they seem unimpressed with this rationale. They might not have adopted such continental airs and graces but this establishment had been keeping guests for two centuries by that time and, physically, it’s not changed much since a 1674 rebuild.

“I’d not heard of the Exeter hotel before,” says manager Sally Potter. “But I assure you no-one’s ever questioned our status.”

The Maid’s Head in Norwich dates back further still. The bar is mentioned in city records dating from 1287, and a Norman architectural feature (a pillar) suggests it may predate even that.

“There has been continuous hospitality on this site since the 12th century,” says operations manager Andrew Shorthos. Except this is a vast, sprawling place – eight buildings and 84 rooms – all red brick and glass. Sceptics might ask, can one small inner bar really make it England’s oldest hotel?

Meanwhile, the Porch House in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, looks more the part, with portions thought to have been built, as a hospice, in the year 947. A ripe age undoubtedly – except it only became a hotel in the 1970s.

So, which truly deserves the title? “If I answered that I’d get complaints” says Johnson. “And I’m not sure it matters. These superlatives are a way of promoting a good local business and attracting visitors, especially from overseas. If that means a little historical confusion, I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.”