The Courtenay Arms

The Courtenay Arms is an early 18th-century public house with later 18th-century alterations, situated in Kenton. The building is constructed of Flemish bond brick on a stone plinth, with rendered and colourwashed front elevations, and has a slate roof, hipped at the ends, along with end and front lateral brick stacks. It has a roughly L-shaped plan, with the main block facing the road, a disused entrance on the front, and a single-storey block to the left. A rear wing overlooks the railway line immediately behind the pub. The internal layout has been significantly altered.

The building is two stories high, with a single-story block at the left end of the main block. The asymmetrical front has a 2:4 window arrangement, featuring regular fenestration. Deep eaves are present, along with a moulded and dentilled cornice, and a platband at the first-floor level. A porch, with a blocked door, is located in the first bay from the right, and is topped with a canopy supported by columns. The windows are 18th-century sashes, with segmental arched heads; the first floor has 12-pane windows, while the ground floor windows have 2 panes, although some original glazing bars have been lost. All windows have shutters. A Courtenay coat of arms is displayed in a stone frame with scrolled brackets above the porch. The left-end block (formerly a stable) has two 16-pane sashes and two attic dormers. The rear elevation of the main block and the inner return of the wing feature similar cornices and platbands, along with 16-pane sash windows with segmental arched heads, keyblocks and shutters. A large oriel window, supported by brackets, is located at the rear of the main block, with a tripartite small-pane sash and four-pane sashes to the returns. Two attic dormers are present on the wing, and one on the main block. A ground floor window in the wing has been converted into a door. A 20th-century glazed porch is situated in the angle between the wing and the main block. The end of the wing is particularly notable for its two-story bow window, featuring a moulded and dentilled cornice below the bow parapet and a balcony with a cast iron railed parapet. The ground floor bow window has three 12-pane sashes, while the first floor has three 6 over 9 pane sashes.

The interior was not thoroughly inspected, but the ground floor of the main block has been extensively altered. The wing retains 18th-century doors with fielded panels, and an 18th-century staircase with turned balusters, an open string, and a flat handrail. The old list description dated the building 1790 and attributed the bow window to that year. Literary records show that Fanny Burney dined at The Courtenay Arms in 1773, noting a dining room overlooking a river.