The Grapes Tavern

The Grapes Tavern is a building that originally served as dwellings and is now an inn. It dates from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The exterior features stucco with a Welsh slate roof and a brick stack at the rear. The building has three storeys and a cellar, with a five-window range that includes early 19th-century 6/6 sash windows and a 20th-century tripartite 2/2 sash window. There is a hoist door, a 20th-century two-light casement window, and an early 19th-century 3/6 sash window above. To the left are two stuccoed openings. The entrance is located to the centre right and features a 19th-century four-panel door with a blocked overlight, flanked by grooved pilasters and the remains of a flat hood. To the right is a blocked shop window, likely from the 19th century, with grooved pilasters and a canted return supported by a cast-iron pillar. The left side has three blocked openings and late 19th-century double doors with moulded architraves. The right returned side has a band at the second floor and a stuccoed opening above.

Inside, the tavern has been extensively restored to reveal the original 17th-century timber frame on all floor levels. It incorporates a 17th-century two-light mullion window on the second floor and a six-light mullion window on the first floor. There is a 19th-century staircase with stick balusters and an early 19th-century dogleg staircase with turned balusters. The second floor features two and four-panel doors, while the first floor has similar door styles. The cellar has a plank door. Historically, the weekly "London Letter" was read in the ground floor principal parlour by a chairman appointed annually. The original 18th-century armed bench seats in the parlour have been restored and remain in place.