Royal Oak Public House

The Royal Oak Public House is a building that has been a public house since the 17th century, though it likely originated in the 15th century and has undergone various additions and alterations in the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The structure is timber-framed and clad in red brick in a Flemish or irregular Flemish bond on the east elevation, with painted brick and tile-hanging on the west and north elevations. It features plain tile roofs and brick chimneys.

The building consists of two 2-storey, 3-bay parallel ranges running east-west. The southern range includes a partial undercroft, while the northern range shows evidence of a former 2-bay open hall or solar. There is also a gabled north wing that runs north-south. The east elevation, which displays elements from several periods, has stepped dentilled eaves, a 20th-century entrance with a Tudor-arched door, and a bricked-up entrance with a pointed-arched chamfered surround.

Inside the southern range, the undercroft has walls made of flint cobble and some clunch, along with large-scantling joists. One exposed queen-post roof truss can be seen. The central (hall) range on the first floor features a framed wall running north-south with posts, a mid-rail, and an arch brace. On the ground floor, there is a beam with slots from former studs and a deep hollow moulding on the arris, which is returned on an adjacent beam. Although the roof was not inspected, it is recorded to have one arch-braced collared truss, purlins, curved wind-braces, rafters, and plastered wattle truss-infill between the east bay and hall/solar.

Documentary records related to this property or its predecessors date back to the 14th century, making it a well-documented medieval building that retains a significant amount of its medieval fabric.