The Crown

THE CROWN

An inn of probably early 17th-century origin, located in Lanlivery. The building has undergone alterations and additions throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, with a probable early 18th-century cross wing added to the upper end, followed by 19th and 20th-century alterations.

The structure is built of painted stone rubble with a rendered rear elevation and a slate roof, partly renewed with some scantle slates remaining over the upper end; the cross wing roof is covered with corrugated asbestos. Gable end and front lateral stacks provide heating, positioned to the right gable end and to the front of the hall respectively.

The original plan comprised three rooms and a through passage, with the lower end to the right and the hall and inner room to the left of the passage. The lower end room is heated by the gable end stack, while the hall is heated by the front lateral stack. The inner room has been substantially altered. A cross wing of two-room plan was added to the upper end and appears to have been originally unheated. In the late 17th century, a stair tower was added to the front to the right of the passage. This was later partially enclosed by an outshut to the front right, and an outshut at the right gable end encloses the gable end stack. Twentieth-century additions to the rear and removal of internal partition walls have further modified the interior.

The building is two storeys in height. The front door to the passage is fitted with a glazed panel, timber lintel, and slate hood. To the right, the roof pitch extends over the stair tower, which has a six-pane sash window under the eaves. To the left of the passage stands the front lateral stack, finished with a cornice and shaped top. To the right, the roof extends over the outshut in front of the lower end, which contains two paired four-pane lights, a twentieth-century light, and two twentieth-century roof lights. The gable end stack to the right has a cornice and shaped top. The upper end features a cross wing with a gable end to the front at two storeys, positioned at the same roof level as the main range. The right end has a single-storey addition with a hipped slate roof, a loading door, and a two-light casement window. To the rear, the gable end of the cross wing is fitted with twentieth-century windows. The ground floor of the main range has a single-storey addition containing three twentieth-century windows, the central one formerly a door corresponding to the rear of the passage. At first-floor level, from left to right, there are two six-pane sashes and three casement windows of two and three lights respectively, plus a single light under the eaves; one blocked window under the eaves lies to the left of a twentieth-century stack. The outer side of the cross wing is fitted with twentieth-century windows.

Interior: The front entrance now leads directly into a room with twentieth-century partitions forming an internal porch with a granite and slate floor. A plastered stud partition to the left separates the hall. The stair tower contains a dog-leg stair, though balusters have been removed and nineteenth-century partitions have been inserted. The lower end room has a slate floor and a very wide gable end fireplace with a stepped granite arch. To the left side is an unusually deep granite-lined oven, with hooks for smoking remaining in the flue. In the rear of the fireplace to the right is a lancet window, chamfered on the outside and now concealed by a later addition, possibly serving as draught control. The front lateral hall stack has a twentieth-century fireplace. At first-floor level, the doorway to the room over the hall retains an early 18th-century two-panelled door. Above the hall, five feet of principal rafters are visible, chamfered. Three further principal feet are visible above the cross wing, which incorporates an earlier room with the same wall thickness as the inner room and hall. The remainder of the roof structure is not accessible.