The Plume Of Feathers Public House At Junction With Gilston Lane

The Plume of Feathers Public House, located at the junction with Gilston Lane, is a 17th-century house that has been converted into a public house. It features a wide timber-framed structure with plastering and stands two storeys tall, facing south. The building has a steep old red tile gabled roof, a brick plinth, and a prominent central chimney made of large red bricks with four conjoined diagonal shafts.

To the east, there is a narrower, early 18th-century extension that is also two storeys high, with a higher painted plinth and a lower roof ridge. At the northeast corner, there is an original single-storey rear service wing with a steep tiled roof and a cranked northern gable made of brick. There is also a later two-storey northwest rear wing with a hip roof and a northern lean-to that is now covered in wainy-edge boarding.

The building originally had a two-unit, baffle-entry plan, with the best room located on the east side and four heated rooms in total. The staircase is now situated within the original rear wing, although it may have originally been on the north side of the chimney. The eastern extension includes a parlour with a cross beam and a northern lateral fireplace.

The southern front features chevron-patterned panelled pargetting and three early 18th-century wooden mullioned windows with iron casements. There is a central plank door set in a heavy frame beneath a large timber porch with a hipped tiled roof and seating. To the right of the porch, there is a single-storey shallow three-light canted bay window with a slate roof.

The western gable facing Gilston Lane is plastered to resemble ashlar and has a three-light mullioned window on each floor, along with a raking brick plinth. Inside, the room to the east of the stack has chamfered and ogee-stopped joists, an axial beam, and a chamfered lintel above the open fire. The western room is simpler, featuring squared joists and a side purlin roof.

The Plume of Feathers is noted in Justices records from 1697 and was used for holding manor courts starting in 1702. It was known as the Plummer-Ward's Arms in 1849 when it was sold as part of the Gilston Park Estate.