The Royal Oak

The Royal Oak is a public house, probably dating from the 15th century, with alterations and extensions likely occurring in the early 18th century and the 19th century. The building has a timber-framed core, largely surrounded by brick additions, with a rendered and painted white facade and red tile roofs. It is arranged in a T-plan with cross-wings: the original main range runs at right angles to the street, with extensions to the sides and projecting cross-wings.

The front of the building presents two storeys and 2:3:2 bays, with a plat band (rendered and painted black). The recessed three-bay centre features a central doorway with a pilastered architrave, a pediment supported on fluted consoles, and a door with six raised and fielded panels. There are two 16-pane sash windows at ground floor, with thick glazing bars (a ventilator is inserted in the right-hand window), a large name-board above the band, and three 4-pane sashes at the first floor. The left wing has two 4-pane sashes at ground floor, while the right wing has a doorway and a 9-pane fixed window. The first floor of each wing features a 4-pane sash in the outer bay and a blind window in the inner bay. The wings have hipped roofs, with the outer side of the left wing joining directly with the roof of the adjacent property at number 18. At the rear, the central range projects, and its north side displays some exposed timber framing, mostly hidden by a lean-to addition in the angle between it and the gable wall of the right wing. A cottage, not included in the listing, is attached to the rear gable wall of the main range.

Inside, the first and second bays of the main range retain remnants of late-medieval timber framing. The ground floor features four wallposts, with blocked mortices of a former rail and jetty-bressummer in the southeast corner (the corner opposite being concealed). Very large joists have shallow trenches where they overlapped the jetty-bressummer. An inserted chimney stack with an inglenook fireplace is located within the second bay. On the first floor, there are wallposts, rails, wallplates, and arch-braces on the north side. In the south wing, part of a close-studded wall with a passing down-brace is visible. The roof space contains part of a crown-post roof, including one undecorated crown-post with arch-bracing to the collar purlin, and collars and coupled rafters of substantial size (though interrupted by alterations to the front and the inserted chimney stack to the rear). Elsewhere, there is a staircase balustrade from around 1700 with thick turned balusters, a broad handrail, and a ball-finial on the newel post. The kitchen has a built-in corner cupboard with a round-headed doorway and fielded panel doors. Both front doors are fitted with H-L hinges.