Wellington Mayor Marcus Barr has gifted a replica of The Rifle's 'Freedom Scroll' to the Iron Duke.

The original scroll was presented to The Rifles regiment when they were awarded the freedom of the town, and is now on show at the regiment's Winchester museum.

The Town Council had a replica made and presented it to the manager of the Iron Duke, where it will go on display, to thank the venue and its staff for their help with council events.

The Fore Street Wetherspoons has made their services available to and provided free drinks for council staff, councillors and volunteers over the past couple of years. Cllr Barr visited the pub on Tuesday morning to recognise them for their contribution. He said:

"The whole thing was to present the Wetherspoons with a Freedom certificate. It's really important there's somewhere that the public can come and see it. What better place than the Iron Duke?"

Cllr Barr expressed his gratitude to the Iron Duke's manager, Matt Turner, and credited Wetherspoons with saving the historic building:

"Before Wetherspoons took this over it was a clothes shop with a kebab shop at the back. They brought it back to life and I'm really grateful to them for doing that because it's really important that we saved this building."

It came after a copy of a 1917 painting depicting a scene from the Battle of Waterloo was unveiled in the pub on Monday. The painting was selected by local history enthusiast and member of the Waterloo Association, Chris Penney.

Titled "The Morning of Waterloo", the picture shows a rifleman offering up a drink to the Duke of Wellington before the commencement of the famous battle. Mr Penney said:

"I went to Winchester to speak to The Rifles Museum and raised the issue of getting some new artwork in the pub. I saw this painting and thought it was a really appropriate scene - it's the Duke of Wellington on his horse being given a cup of sweet tea by a rifleman just before the battle of Waterloo.

"The rifleman is from the 95th regiment, which is an antecedent to the modern Rifles regiment. They became the Rifle Brigade after the Battle of Waterloo, and the Duke of Wellington was invited to become their colonel in chief, which he remained until his death."

Mr Penney was also responsible for proposing that the Rifles be awarded the Freedom of the Town. Asked about his latest initiative bearing fruit he said:

"I have to thank Wetherspoons for backing this, funding it and getting it put up. It's great that it's in the Iron Duke pub which commemorates Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, I think it's great and I hope people will come and take a look at it."