Royal Hotel

MATERIALS: the main materials are brick with incised stucco render at ground floor. The roof covering is slate.

PLAN: the building has a rectangular plan.

EXTERIOR: the Royal Hotel is a corner building with south and east frontages. It has two and a half storeys plus a basement, and has a parapet and modillion cornice. The east elevation, facing the High Street, has been extended to incorporate two C19 houses and the south elevation has been extended to incorporate two houses of Royal Terrace (Nos. 1 and 2). The original building has a five window range on the east elevation, and a three window range on the south; both elevations have double-hung sashes with vertical glazing bars and straight, gauged brick heads. There are three, projecting semi-circular entrance porches on the ground floor and six-panel entrance doors with semi-circular fanlights with radial glazing bars and fluted architraves. The first floor has a large assembly room with a Venetian window on the east elevation, above which are the words 'ROYAL HOTEL' embossed and painted on a moulded stucco panel. The first-floor windows on the south elevation open onto a cast iron covered balcony. There are box dormers above the parapet on both the south and east elevations. Nos. 1 and 2 Royal Terrace are three storeys with a parapet and modillion cornice. The first-floor windows on the south elevation open on to a Victorian ornamental cast-iron-covered balcony, similar to that on the hotel.

INTERIOR: at the ground floor there is a small entrance foyer with a late-C20 interior door, leading to a refurbished public house interior dating from the early C21, including a bar and drinking area, raised seating in the south-east corner, and a separate dining room. The basement below has been converted into a night club in the late-C20. The space has been sub-divided with partition walls to create a bar, dance floor and seating areas. None of the C20 and C21 fixtures and fittings on these floors are of special interest.

On the western side of the building is a hall with an open-well stair with a wreathed hand-rail leading to the upper floors. The stairwell is lit by a glazed, domed roof lantern. At the first floor is a large ballroom with C18 fixtures and fittings including matching fireplaces with marble hearths and moulded timber surrounds on the east wall, at each end, and heavily moulded Italianate cornices and ceiling mouldings. There are also moulded doorcases, jewelled wall-lights, heavy, gold-coloured chandeliers, hardwood floor covering and deep skirting boards. At the first floor there is also a kitchen and store area which retain decorative plasterwork features. The floors above have been separated from the hotel and have been incorporated into the adjoining building on the High Street; access was unavailable.