Royal Oak Inn

The Royal Oak Inn is a public house located on Rye Road in Hawkhurst. It dates back to the 16th century, with alterations made in the 18th century, around 1869, and again in 1900. The building features a timber frame that is rendered and has been extended with painted brick. The roofs are covered with plain tiles and slate.

The main section of the inn is two storeys high and has six glazing bar sashes in box frames on the first floor. There are oriel windows from around 1900, with mullioned and transomed windows on the ground floor to the right. The entrance features half-glazed doors to the right and to the centre left within a tall gabled porch, along with a mullioned and transomed pentice to the left.

To the left of the main building is a three-storey extension with a gabled roof and stacks on both sides. This extension has two sashes on each floor and a mullioned and transomed pentice with glazed doors in a gabled porch to the right on the ground floor. There is also a one-storey and attic hipped extension to the left, which includes a flat-roofed dormer.

Inside, there is late 17th-century wainscotting in the rear room, which may have been imported. The projecting wing contains extensive late 17th-century style wainscot panelling, fluted and enriched pilaster surrounds, a frieze, and a turned baluster stair, all dating from the early 20th century. Originally, the building was a row of houses, and historical photographs show a large stack on the centre right, which has since been truncated, along with tile-hung return elevations.