Antelope Hotel

The Antelope Hotel, located on Cornhill, dates from the early 19th century, although it incorporates a structure from the late 16th century and contains a late 16th century fireplace. The front facade is constructed of yellow brick with a stone plinth and is divided into three bays by stone pilasters. The ground floor of the pilasters is rusticated, with a sunk panel treatment above. The pilasters are topped with deep, flat, moulded caps, which are returned and carried across the front as a cornice. A flat stone string course runs around the pilasters. The two lower storeys of the two outer bays feature segmental brick bows. The first floor has windows with bowed balconies supported by brackets and iron balustrades. Above each bow is a semi-circular window with a four-light casement. The central bay contains an opening providing access to a yard, featuring a pair of high wood grille doors. Above this opening is a French window with an iron balcony. The second floor has two-light casements.

The courtyard has been roofed over, but a right-of-way still passes through it. Two early 19th century doorways with elliptical fanlights open into the courtyard from the hotel.

The interior includes the Oak Room, which features reset panelling from the late 16th century. The panelling exhibits moulding on the muntins and the lower side of the rails; in the northeast corner, the rails are moulded on the upper side, suggesting the panels have been reset upside down. The uppermost rail has double notches, possibly a primitive rendering of triglyphs, and crescent motifs. A panelled frieze above this rail incorporates strapwork in shallow relief. A pilaster, also with this strapwork, is present on a high base, with an egg-and-dart capital and a scrolled console, topped by a moulded cornice to the ceiling. A cupboard door retains contemporary hinges. Two fireplaces are present, both featuring four-centred stone arches to the fireplaces, one concave and one with convex chamfers. The mantel shelves are supported by paired (north end) or single (south end) Tuscan columns with high bases; the south end column incorporates the “triglyph” motif. The overmantel features six paired ringed Tuscan columns with egg-and-dart abaci, an architrave (with modillions at the south end), a frieze with the strapwork, and modillions to the ceiling cornice. Between the columns there are two arches on diminutive colonnettes with egg-and-dart extrados at the south end and a hollow chamfer at the north end; semi-circular bosses are present in the spandrel, and pendant finials are on the north end.