Crown And Mitre Hotel

The Crown and Mitre Hotel, located on English Street in Carlisle, is a hotel with shops situated beneath. It was constructed between 1903 and 1905 for Walter Scott, designed by George Dale Oliver of Carlisle. The building is constructed of rusticated red sandstone ashlar on the ground floor, with brick walls above featuring flush stone quoins. Other architectural details include stone dressings, string courses, an eaves cornice, and an open balustraded parapet. The roof is a greenslate mansard roof with dormer windows, and red brick chimney stacks.

The hotel is four storeys high, with eleven bays, and the central and end bays project above the eaves, featuring shaped gables. The main entrance is centrally located, consisting of a round stone arch with panelled soffits and original round-arched side lights. Above the ground floor, two-storey mullioned and transomed bay windows are present, incorporating a carved panel depicting Art Nouveau figures and scrolled vine leaves. The ground floor shop windows are recessed within original rusticated pilasters and decorative carved panels. The bays between have a first-floor open-balustraded balcony, with non-original urn finials. Upper-floor windows are mullioned and transomed, with the second floor having three lights and the first floor having two transoms; some end bay windows include side lights. The carved details of the projecting end bays depict a Crown and Mitre.

The interior retains significant original features including rib-panelled plaster ceilings with modillioned cornices, banded marble walls in the hall, dado panelling, marble columns, and an Art Nouveau relief plaster panel depicting Peace and Plenty. A staircase has wrought-iron balusters and a moulded wooden handrail. A stained-glass window on the staircase incorporates a Crown and Mitre theme. The ballroom features two rows of painted stone composite columns and pilasters, coved aisles, and a musicians' gallery. Original plans and a section dated 1902 are held at the Cumbria County Record Office. The Carlisle Journal of 1905 noted the hotel was scheduled to open on June 6th and cost over £50,000. Situated on the ground floor, one shop, located at No. 54 Castle Street, is incorporated into the building.