History

Said to be a coaching inn dating back to the C17 and once to have housed the Court House and Prison

Exterior

Earlier C19 (shown on 1830/2 map); Georgian 3-storey stucco main elevations with plinths, to NW and SW; slate roofs, rendered chimney stacks, bracket boxed eaves. 3-window NW front facing up Dunraven Place; 3-window SW side opposite No 26 and 2-window NW facing elevation forming a set back angle for the main entrance; 1-window rounded corner leading to further 3-window front opposite No 22, pilaster strip to right end; lower 3-window front to right. Mainly 12-pane sash windows; some modern small-pane windows. Classical entrance on main front with console bracketed cornice and modern doors; similar shop front to left. Some blocked windows to northern elevation of right side; Edwardian quarter round Tuscan porch with balustraded parapet; classical doorcase opposite No 22. Stucco, scribed to ground floor, Cross Street SW gable end linked by 1-storey and attic service wing with flat roof dormers and broad classical entrance to 2-storey whitewashed coursed rubble gable end on corner with Elder Street: blocked segmented arched openings, one with modern window.

Corbelled chimney breast, to 2-storey Elder Street SE end, flanked by tall small-pane sash windows with raised segmental heads. Set back and slightly lower stuccoed 2-window front with similar glazing lighting main function room (Empress Suite). Lean-to side entrance, front stepped forward and up to adjoin the 3-storey gable end of the main front.

Interior

Interior retains Art Nouveau detail tot he bar and late Georgian / Regency Empress Suite to 1st floor; reeded architraves, high ribbed ceiling with gilded roundels and raised blocked lantern to SE bay. Also said to retain early C17 arches to one bedroom.

Reasons for Listing

Group value.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29489759

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

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)