Bell Hotel

The Bell Hotel is a coaching inn, now operating as a hotel, dating to the mid-15th century with 17th-century extensions and later alterations. The main block faces King Street, while 17th-century extensions extend to the south. The north facade is timber-framed, rendered and colourwashed, and features two storeys with the upper floor jettied. The ground floor has heavy timber studs on a brick and flint plinth, with corner braces to the west supporting dragon beams. A carriage arch, now with 20th-century doors, is located on the left, alongside a 19th-century cross casement and a late 19th-century canted bay window. Seven sash windows with 8/8 glazing bars are on the first floor, except for three central windows that have 6/6 glazing bars. The gabled roof is hipped to the west and has four saw-toothed 19th-century ridge stacks. The rear of this wing overlooks an inner courtyard. A 19th-century extension runs through two storeys, fitted with three mid-20th-century three-light cross casements, with a later entrance to the right.

A 17th-century wing is two storeys high with a dormer attic. A late 20th-century passageway has been added to the west facade. This wing has 2-light cross casements to the first floor and two 20th-century windows. Five hipped dormers are present, with the second and fifth from the left being 20th-century additions. The gabled roof has a ridge stack to the left of centre and a truncated internal gable-end stack to the north. The junction between the two wings is filled with a 19th-century range of one storey and a dormer attic, featuring 20th-century ground-floor fenestration and two through-eaves hipped dormers with casements, and a gabled machine tile roof.

The interior includes a cellar with reused tie beams displaying hollow chamfers and roll carvings. A former carriage arch, now the main entrance, has engaged colonnettes with scalloped capitals, arched braces, and wall arches; the external arch has knuckle braces. A gallery, originally open to the courtyard, now forms an internal feature, supported by wall posts with arched braces. The north range is now the main bar, exhibiting heavy timber framing with arched braces and a 4-centred arch in the south wall. A 20th-century internal staircase replaces the original external stairs. A first-floor west room contains a 16th-century wall painting depicting arches in perspective. An upper gallery displays a fragment of exposed wattle and daub, with wattles tied with twisted grass string. The main roof is 20th century. The 17th-century wing features a spine beam with sunk-quadrant mouldings and two fillets. This celebrated coaching inn was first mentioned in 1493 and remained a principal inn on the London-Norwich route until 1845, when the railway arrived.