The Bear Hotel

The Bear Hotel is a late 19th-century building that exhibits a mix of Jacobean and Georgian architectural styles. It is located on a corner site at the junction of High Street and the Parade. The hotel is three storeys high, constructed with grey headers and red brick dressings, while the second floor is stuccoed. The gable ends feature tiled roofs.

On the High Street side, the second floor has three gabled pedimented semi-dormers with 2-light casements, and there are moulded cornices supported by shaped consoles. Above the first floor, there is a brick cornice and frieze. The first floor has four tall transomed casements with fanlights above the bottom two lights, and keystones above flat arches. The ground floor features three sash windows framed by architraves, with glazing bars. The windows on the ground and first floors are set within common surrounds made of rusticated red brick. The entrance door is flanked by sidelights and framed by pilasters, topped with a curved hood on shaped brackets.

The Parade elevation has a gable end at the corner, with two bays similar to the High Street front. The remaining part of the Parade elevation shows brickwork on the ground and first floors, with paired tile-hung gables above the overhanging stuccoed second floor. The gables have decorative bargeboards. The second floor features two 4-light casements that project on three consoles each. The base of the overhang is supported by a moulded beam carried on four carved brackets. The first floor includes two wooden oriel bay windows, with bases supported by carved keystones from two ground floor windows, and a coat of arms positioned between them. On the ground floor, there are two large semi-circular arched windows, each with four mullioned and transomed lights. The central door has a moulded flat hood supported by long carved brackets, with sidelights flanking the doorway. To the left of the front, there is one architrave framed sash window with glazing bars on the ground floor.

The garden front features a gable end with a tile-hung second floor supported by a moulded beam that returns from the Parade front. The gable has wooden casements, while the first and ground floor windows are architrave framed sashes with glazing bars and flat brick arches. The Bear Hotel is part of a group that includes Nos 1 to 12 (consecutive), the Town Hall, Nos 131 to 144 (consecutive), and Midland Bank.