The Limes Hotel

The Limes Hotel is a building dating from around 1500, with later alterations from the late 16th century and late 18th century. The front section is a high-quality, two-cell timber-framed structure from circa 1500, which is encased in red brickwork believed to have been added in 1771. It features a red brick parapet with a wooden moulded and modillioned cornice, a plaintiled roof, and flat-roofed dormers with leaded casements. The rear chimneys are also made of red brick. The building has two storeys and attics, with six windows that include 18th-century sashes set beneath flat arches of gauged brick and small panes.

The entrance is notable, featuring a good 18th-century doorway with an open pediment supported by engaged Roman Doric columns, with an entablature decorated with fretted patterns. The door itself is a six-panelled design with panelled reveals and a semi-circular fanlight that has scroll-patterned glazing bars. Access to the doorway is via seven stone steps with wrought iron railings.

Inside, both cells of the front range have a large room on each floor. The ground floor features ceilings with richly-moulded joists from around 1500, and the main beams are embattled. The upper storey rooms, which have been subdivided and have attics inserted, contain an open truss with an octagonal crown post that has a moulded capital and base.

To the rear right, there is a long range divided into three sections: a short section from around 1600 with a massive internal chimney, a longer mid-16th-century range with a five-bay roof supported by square crown posts and long straight braces, and a 17th or 18th-century extension beyond. Additionally, a two-storey block was added to the rear around 1771, creating a double-pile plan with hipped plaintiled roofs. The first storey features original small-pane sashes with flush frames. There is also a large single-storey extension from the mid-20th century at the rear.

According to the Ashburnham Estate Map of 1772, the premises were known as The Bull Inn, and extensive ranges at the back enclosed a courtyard.