Slug And Lettuce Public House

The Slug and Lettuce public house, now an inn, likely dates to around 1600, with additions and alterations made in the 18th century and a renovation in 1994. It is constructed of stucco over brick, with a plain tile roof and a tall brick stack to the rear. The building has a U-shaped layout, including a ground-floor infill, and stands two storeys high with four first-floor windows. The first floor features 6/6 sash windows in shallow reveals. The ground floor incorporates a tripartite window to the left and two 6/6 sashes to the right; all are in shallow reveals. The 6/6 sashes have sills and the tripartite window has a plank below. An off-centre left entrance is framed by an architrave with fluted pilasters and a frieze. A four-raised-and-fielded-panel door with an overlight is located at the far right. The return range to the right has a pair of 8/8 sashes under a cambered arch on the ground floor, and a blocked small elliptically-arched window above, alongside an 8/8 sash with an elliptical arch in a wider elliptically-arched surround.

The interior retains some original features including a moulded cornice to the front left section, some boxed beams and large exposed stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops. At the rear, there is a bolection-moulded fireplace and an eight-panel door. A dogleg staircase with stick balusters and a wreathed handrail connects the ground to the first floors; a further closed-string, dogleg staircase with rod-on-chunky-vase balusters and a moulded handrail rises from the first to the second floor. The right return features an exposed roof truss with a collar beam, upper collar, queen posts, and upper struts.

Historically, the site was owned by the Dean and Chapter from around 1300, leased to a clothier in 1376, and later to a weaver. By 1659, it operated as an inn known as 'The Sheaf', and around 1700, it was occupied by a maltster. Richard Bullock was the licensed victualler in 1776 and the building was known as The Rodney in 1778. From 1810-15, it housed a coffee and liquor shop; it has also been known as Dingles Coffee House, The Tubs, The King Charles, and The Barrels before becoming The Slug and Lettuce in the early 1980s. The listed buildings in Cornmarket form a notable group.