The Cross Keys Milnthorpe. Dating from the sixteenth century, the inn was rebuilt following a fire in 1821. As 'the largest hostelry' between Kendal and Lancaster it served 20 Stage Coaches a day and also the 'carriage trade' of the nobility and gentry. Royal visitors included the King of Saxony, the Csarevitch of Russia and, on 24th July 1840, Queen Adelaide, widow of William IV. Though the coaching trade was ruined by the coming of the railway in 1846, the Cross Keys remained a centre of social life, having a ballroom to accommodate 70 dancers.