History

The Crown Hotel is one of Denbigh's most historic inns and, together with the Bull, in Hall Square, served the needs of the polite visitor during the C18 and C19. In the latter century the Crown gained a reputation as being a Whig (later Liberal) inn, whilst its rival, the Bull, was usually frequented by those with Tory sympathies. Sir Richard Colt Hoare, the famous antiquary and traveller, stayed at the Crown during his visit to Denbigh in 1815 and did a watercolour of the High Street from his chamber window. Earlier, in 1794, Dr Johnson's Mrs Thrale and her new husband Gabriel Piozzi rented rooms at the Crown during the construction of their new house Brynbella, and made daily visits to supervise the building works.

The building is in origin a timber-framed structure and is probably the building shown prominently in Crown Square in John Speed's 1610 depiction of Denbigh. A fragmentary staircase of the second-quarter C17 testifies to the building's early origins, as do various chamfered ceiling beams. The staircase, originally of well type, has similar newel-post decoration to the (complete) contemporary example at the Bull Inn. The inn appears to have been remodelled in the C18 and the facade was given its present appearance in the second-quarter C19.

Exterior

Large inn of three-and-a-half-storeys. Of rendered brick and rubble construction with timber-framed origins; medium-steep slate roofs with central chimney. The facade has a 3-bay symmetrical main section with a single bay advanced at right-angles to the L. The ground floor has stucco rustication and the windows all have moulded stucco surrounds, those to the ground and first floors with consoles supporting moulded labels; raised stucco quoins. Central entrance with open wooden porch supported on simple Tuscan columns; deeply-recessed 6-panel door with panelled reveals. Large plain Victorian sashes flank this on the ground floor, with three plain casement windows with marginal glazing. The second floor has early C19 unhorned 15-pane sashes, with blind framed rectangular panels in between. The returned bay, on the L, has tripartite windows with glazing as before to the first 2 floors, and a 15-pane sash to the second floor. The roof has hipped dormers corresponding to the bays, with sashes having plain-glazed lower and small-pane upper sections. The gable end of the returned bay, advanced into the square, has plain bargeboards and a finial which apparently correspond to the creasing of a formerly adjoining lower building.

Interior

The public bar has a lateral beam with mortising evidence for a former post-and-panel partition. Large central brick chimney breast with later fireplace bressummer (now an alcove). In the room to the rear of the public bar are ogee stopped-chamfered ceiling beams of second-quarter C17 character. In a hallway to the L of the bar is a straight-flight stair to the first floor. This was created in the C19 from second-quarter C17 elements which originally formed a well stair; square newel with S-carved relief decoration to the front and flat, shaped and pierced balusters; geometric finials. The stair continues to the top floor with some further reused elements though mostly C19 copying the original. The first floor rear has a C19 addition with 3-bay function room having (bizarrely) braced king post trusses.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as an important and historic town-centre inn with good C19 external character and significant remains internally of its early origins.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29481415

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)