Greyhound Hotel With Milestone And Mounting Block

The Greyhound Hotel, originally a coaching inn, is located on Main Street in Shap. It features various datestones, including one inscribed "August the 27 1680" with the initials R. & W.A., a bar fireplace dated 1696 with initials A.W., and a panel over the carriage arch from 1703 with initials A.W. & W.W. and a bas-relief of a greyhound. These initials belong to the Whinfell family, whose crest is a greyhound. The building is constructed of wet-dashed rubble on a plinth and has a graduated slate roof with a stone ridge. It is two storeys tall with seven bays overall, and a wing from 1680 projects to the rear.

The 1696 addition has a four-bay design featuring a panelled door in an open, flat-roofed porch supported by cast-iron columns. There is a recumbent sculpture of a greyhound on the roof, likely created by Thomas Bland of Reagill. The left side has two tripartite sash windows on each floor, with one additional sash window above. The symmetrical extension from 1703 on the right side includes a central segment-headed carriage arch, which is now partly blocked with a fixed window, and sash windows on either side on both floors. All windows have glazing bars set in stone surrounds, and there are rendered mid and end chimneys.

To the right of the entrance, there is a milestone with a shaped head, likely from the mid-18th century, marking distances to Kendal and Penrith, painted black with white lettering. A stone mounting block is located to the right of the former carriage arch. The adjoining cottages to the south are not of special interest.