Old King's Head Inn is a Grade II listed building in the Central Bedfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 17 July 1951. Inn. 5 related planning applications.
Old King's Head Inn
- WRENN ID
- ragged-paling-ash
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Constituency
- Mid Bedfordshire MP: Blake Stephenson (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 17 July 1951
- Type
- Inn
- Address
- Old King's Head Inn, 3, Woburn Street, Ampthill
- OS grid reference
- TL 034 381
- Coordinates
- 52.03189, -0.49327
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Old King's Head Inn is an early 18th-century building consisting of two storeys, constructed in brick with a chequered pattern using dark blue 'seconds'. It rises from a deep stone plinth, which still has iron hooks that were used to tie sheep on market days. The building at No 1 features shallow eaves beneath a partly-hipped gable end, with the ridge line continuing at the same level into the tiled roof of No 3, which is partly obscured by a brick parapet. The facade of No 3 is set back a few feet from that of No 1. The varying alignment and height of the tiled rooflines indicate that the combined facades cover three distinct earlier buildings, of which some interior features remain, including an arcaded row of small lights that form a window in one of the ground floor rooms.
No 1 has two windows, while No 3 has six windows, all of which are sashed in broad nearly flush frames. The entrance to No 1 features a six-panel door within a simple wooden frame topped by a light hood. In contrast, No 3 has a four-panel door enclosed by a simple yet massive classical stone case with a shallow hood. Above the door of No 3 hangs a large iron lamp, possibly from around 1800, which has a decorated pineapple finial. An ornate wrought iron frame for a hanging sign extends prominently over the door and lamp.
The Old King's Head Inn is part of a group that includes Nos 1 to 7 (odd), Nos 11 to 15 (odd), and Nos 21 to 37 (odd).
Local climate
Old King's Head Inn sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 86% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 85% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 53% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 5 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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