Royal Hotel and ranges to rear

This is a late 18th-century hotel that has undergone significant transformation over more than a century. It was extensively updated and rebuilt in 1878, extended between 1896 and 1899, and altered further during the 20th century.

Construction and Materials

The building is constructed of brick laid in Flemish bond with stone dressings beneath a slate roof. The earlier late 18th-century section, visible on the north elevation, is built of ironstone.

Layout

The hotel faces east, with its principal façade fronting Market Place. The building extends southward with the post-1896 extension following the road as it curves around West Street to the west. Behind the hotel to the west stands the former stable range, which forms a U-shape around West Street and a northern alley. The former yard between the hotel and stable block has been partially infilled during the 20th century.

The Main Hotel Building

The hotel is designed in a Jacobean style with Queen Anne influences. The principal façade is red brick framed by two bays with Dutch curved gables. A further bay with Dutch gable appears to the west on West Street. The substantial building rises three storeys above a basement and continues southward before wrapping around West Street.

The Dutch gables on the principal façade feature stone cylindrical pinnacles attached at their centres. The northern gable displays a carved date stone reading 1878. Stone quoins mark the façade's bays, each topped with a pinnacle. Stone plat bands run between the floors.

The northern bay of the façade projects forward and contains pairs of sash windows on the upper floors—the second-floor windows are replacements—and a large plate glass window at ground level. All windows are framed by projecting stone hood moulds and sills.

To the south is the hotel's main entrance with a projecting single-storey porch. This features a classical arrangement of Ionic pilasters supporting a stone frieze with dentilled cornice above the entrance arch. The round stone entrance arch is supported on stone piers. On both upper floors above the entrance is a six-over-six sash window, with the second-floor window topped by a stone moulded pediment. Between these windows is a stone relief carving of the royal coat of arms, referencing the hotel's name.

Further south are two identical bays with canted bay windows extending across all floors with mullions and transoms. Beyond these is a narrower bay with a sash window and an additional door, with the building then continuing around the corner onto West Street with another Dutch gable.

The West Street Extension

The West Street elevation dates to the 1896–1899 extension period. It features a mixture of six-over-six sashes and replacement double-glazed frames in sash style on the upper floors. The building is canted as it turns the corner onto West Street, with a slender curved oriel window projecting from the upper floors containing six-light transomed and mullioned windows. The first-storey oriel window has replacement glazing and frames.

Between the floors, the oriel bears a stone relief carving reading 'ROYAL HOTEL' with foliate surround. Above the second-floor window is another stone relief carving featuring winged lions and foliate detail. To either side of the oriel on each floor are pairs of six-over-six sashes with stone hood moulds. Only the right-hand windows on the second floor appear to retain their original horned frames. Elsewhere, and to the left as the building continues down West Street, windows have been replaced with sash-style uPVC frames.

The ground floor of this elevation is dominated by the former late 19th-century shopfront, though the main frontage and glazing were removed in the late 20th century. The stone pilasters with carved consoles and egg-and-dart cornice survive, with the fascia removed at the eastern end as of September 2021. The ground floor features large replacement multi-pane windows with small glazing and replacement brickwork in stretcher bond.

The building continues westward with another pair of sash-style windows on the first and second floors, with matching details to the original façade such as quoins between bays and pinnacles. The final bay at the western end of West Street has a matching Dutch gable to the front elevation, with an entrance door and window at ground level, both with stone hood moulds. The building finally curves northward to continue to the former yard, with brick gate piers and stone ball finial on the right. The left-hand example features a stone console attached to the stable block.

The remainder of the former yard is now covered by a 20th-century steel frame structure with corrugated metal cover. A second early 20th-century steel frame structure stands to the west, currently uncovered as of 2021. From inside the courtyard, alterations to the stable block are visible, with inserted steel beams widening the original openings to accommodate cars. On the upper floor, original openings have been retained.

The Stable Block

To the west of the gate piers stands the late 19th-century stable block in matching materials to the main hotel. At the eastern end, the West Street elevation features a simple Dutch curved gable with central lunette window beneath a semi-circular brick arch. Behind the gable is a truncated brick stack. At the eastern end of the building, a first-floor window indicates the location of a storage loft.

At ground floor level, accessed via the higher ground of the former yard to the north, is a series of small window openings between wide banded brick piers denoting seven bays. The windows have deep moulded stone sills and lintels above. Banded brick segmental arches feature at the top of the building in alternating bays.

The stable block then runs northward from West Street up an alleyway, where a visible building scar is evident in the brickwork, indicating an earlier range running westward. The elevation is otherwise featureless without any openings.

The North Elevation

The north elevation of the hotel and former stable block features a series of predominantly single-storey ranges of various dates with differing roof levels. To the east, the building rises to two storeys, revealing the earliest late 18th-century range, constructed of random rubble with a rendered end gable and brick stack. This range adjoins the principal hotel block to the east.

Interior Features

From the principal entrance, glazed internal double doors lead to a bar area. The bar is of 20th-century date but incorporates salvaged stained glass from the hotel's demolished late 19th-century West Street frontage.

To the left of the bar is the hotel's principal staircase from the late 19th-century remodelling, with heavy newel posts. These posts are square in section and feature squat Ionic fluted columns at their centre with urn finials above. The stair has a half landing with closed tread balustrade and continues to the two upper floors.

Opposite the bar is a large reception room with two bay windows facing Market Place. This room was created by knocking through two smaller late 19th-century reception rooms, formerly a commercial room and sitting room. Two fireplaces at either end of this room are 20th-century replacements. A decorative plaster cornice survives. To the north, a former coffee room is now an open seating area. Throughout the ground floor, several late 19th-century decorative cast iron fireplaces survive, with the examples in the reception rooms being larger and more ornate.

To the north-west of the bar, the oldest section of the building dating to the late 18th century houses an earlier staircase, likely from the early 19th century. The slender staircase rail has been removed between ground and first floor but survives above. The stair has an open-string design with plain stick balusters. To the west is the former kitchen range, where the original fireplace was knocked through, with double doors leading to the late 20th-century replacement kitchen.

The Southern Extension and Principal Historic Rooms

To the south of the principal late 19th-century staircase is the late 19th-century extension, with a hallway leading to the former nightclub featuring colourful majolica tiled walls and ceiling. The former nightclub also retains the same majolica tiles on the ceiling, though these have been painted over.

To the rear is the late 19th-century extension containing the former billiard room and bar, now in use as a restaurant. The room is richly decorated with a large lantern featuring glazing with a printed design lighting the large open space originally intended for billiard tables. Above door height the walls are tiled, with mahogany panelling below divided by fluted pilasters.

At the southern end of the room, a fireplace with ornate surround and classical overmantle with oval mirror sits beneath an arched recess. Fixed bench seating is in place around the perimeter of the room and continues into the arched recess. Further fitted benches and mahogany partitions survive to the south and east of the bar, with an additional fireplace with mahogany overmantle on the north wall. Above the fitted benches in the bar area are push buttons to gain the attention of bar staff.

The fittings within the room are by the renowned Birmingham bar fitters Gaskell and Chambers, with the exception of the bar servery itself. This is in a similar style intended to match the panelling elsewhere but is a 20th-century replacement. Ornate cast iron fireplaces and the original late 19th-century parquet flooring survive in the room.

To the rear (north) of the former billiard room is an additional function room, likely originally a ballroom, dating to the late 19th-century refurbishment. The room is more minimal in its decoration than the neighbouring billiard room and was intended for use by both men and women. The room features panelling beneath a dado rail and a pair of identical fireplaces on the south wall with classical Ionic pilasters, mirrored overmantles and printed tile surrounds. At the centre of the room, the ceiling appears to have originally had a glazed lantern which has since been covered.

The upper floors of the hotel retain some features from the 1896–1899 phase of alterations, including moulded arches along the first-floor corridor, stained glass matching the windows in the former ballroom, and further decorative cast-iron radiators.