Royal Anchor Hotel

The Royal Anchor Hotel is a hotel that was formerly a coaching inn, dating from the early 18th century and later in the 19th century. The two main facades are made of painted brickwork featuring header, Flemish, and English Garden wall bonds, with rubbed flat arches and a plinth. The rear of the building has rendered walls and sections of rubble stonework with brick dressings. The roof is a mansard style for the main block and plain elsewhere, with a large eaves cornice that includes modillions and bold egg and dart moulding.

The east front has two storeys and an attic, with a window arrangement of 1.1.3.2, including a two-storeyed bay in the middle. The north elevation is symmetrical, also with two storeys and an attic, featuring a window arrangement of 1.3.1, again with a wider two-storeyed bay set within a projecting centrepiece. The windows are sash, with casements in the dormers. There are three doorways, with the main entrance showcasing an 18th-century doorcase that features a pediment enclosing a small coat of arms on console brackets, thin pilasters, an arched opening with a radiating fanlight, panelled reveals, and a later half-glazed door. A wrought-iron sign bracket with scroll ornament projects from the upper panel of the bay.

The rear of the building has an irregular plan and elevation, displaying features from both the early and late 19th century, and includes a single-storey service area with stone walls. Inside, there is a Jacobean door that was a gift from Queen Victoria. Historically, the building was significant as a coaching station on the London to Portsmouth road and is known to have served notable figures such as Nelson on his way to Trafalgar, and Wellington and Blucher at the end of the Napoleonic War.