Ranscombe House Hotel

Ranscombe House Hotel is a detached house, dating from the early to mid-19th century, with mid-19th century additions. The main block is constructed of solid rendered walls under a hipped slate roof. It has a double-depth plan, consisting of two rooms wide with a passage behind the front rooms, separating them from service quarters. An entrance and stair-hall are located to the rear right. Short, single-room wings extend from either side, likely added later. The building is two storeys high, set on a high basement, with an inserted garret.

The symmetrical front has three windows, flanked by single-window wings. The ground floor of the main block features a round-arched, semicircular niche in the centre. French windows with transom lights are positioned on either side; each leaf has six long panes with splayed corners, incorporating diamond-shaped panes at the intersections. The transom lights have four panes in the same style. Upper-storey windows are 2-light wooden casements with square panes and splayed corners. The outer windows have six panes per light and four-paned transom lights. The central window, possibly altered, has 12-paned French windows. A mid-19th century, two-tiered cast-iron balcony with ornate railings and moulded posts, featuring traceried brackets at the top, runs across the front of both storeys. A raised band sits between the storeys. The building has a deep, flat eaves cornice, which continues around the side and rear walls. Two flat-topped dormers were added in the mid to late 20th century.

The right wing is single-storeyed and has a curved parapet sweeping up to the main block. It contains a pointed-arched window with a 2-light wooden casement, divided into two panes with intersecting Gothic tracery in the head. A mid-19th century entrance is on the right side, flanked by pilasters and a moulded cornice resting on consoles, topped with a gable featuring pierced bargeboards. Adjacent to this entrance is a late 20th century window with small-paned wood casements. The left wing is two-storeyed and has a lean-to roof. Pointed-arched windows with small-paned sash windows are present on each storey; the ground floor window has 3 over 3 panes with intersecting Gothic tracery in the head of the upper sash, while the upper-storey window has 2 over 2 panes with glazing bars forming two pointed arches in the head of the upper sash.

The interior ground-floor rooms retain moulded cornices and panelled shutters; the front rooms (now combined) have raised moulding on the shutters. The rear passage and the room in the right-hand wing also have moulded cornices, the latter with simpler panelled shutters. A geometric wooden stair features cut strings, moulded nosings to the treads, thin square balusters, and a handrail voluted at the bottom. The entrance lobby has a moulded cornice and a half-glazed inner door with coloured leaded glass, leading to a segmental arch on consoles.