Castle Hotel

Castle Hotel

This is an exceptionally tall early-Georgian hotel of four storeys and four windows, constructed of red brick under a slate roof with brick end stacks. The building has a double-depth plan with a rear wing. The brickwork is dressed with painted stone, including raised quoins, a modillion eaves cornice, plinth, moulded kneelers and raised copings.

The front elevation features flush hornless sash windows, mostly of 12 panes, set within flat-arched heads of gauged brickwork with prominent keystones and moulded sills with aprons. The entrance is positioned to the right of centre, with an eared architrave containing a panelled door that imitates double doors, topped by a plain overlight. A large flat porch canopy, supported on curved brackets with pierced quatrefoil decoration, also serves as a balconette to the first-floor window. The balconette features wrought iron railings in a semi-circular plan with wave bars and scrollwork. Behind these railings is a full-height window comprising a 12-pane sash over a 2-light small-pane casement, set within a substantial eared architrave with cornice. The remaining ground, first and second-floor windows are 12-pane sashes, except for the window to the right of the entrance which has 16 panes. The fourth storey is lit by four small gabled attic dormers with waved barge boards and small-pane top-hung windows. Below the eaves are short blind windows in the form of raised panels. An iron sign bracket with scrollwork is attached to the front to the right of the balconette.

The gable ends are roughcast. The south end has a small plain-glazed casement to each gable, lighting the attic, with a further building adjoining beneath. The north end also has small attic windows, the left one having been converted to a fire-escape. To the second floor, offset to the far right, is a tall 8-pane window with keystone and apron. Similar aprons mark blocked windows aligned to the first and ground floors.

The rear elevation is of brick with sash windows asymmetrically arranged. The top floor has three sashes at different levels. To the first floor, connected with the staircase, is a lean-to oriel supported on a pillar, with a sash to the front and a 4-pane sash to the left-return. To its left is a 12-pane sash. The ground floor has a margin-glazed stair-light beneath the oriel and a small lean-to to the left.

A large three- and two-storey rear wing is offset to the right, built in several phases with alterations. It is constructed of brick, partly rendered, under slate roofs with brick stacks. Various wooden windows include sashes, small-pane casements, plain-glazed casements and top-hung lights. A three-storey block has its roof hipped against the main range, with a truncated brick ridge stack and external brick end stack. A 4-over-8-pane sash is positioned to the right of the end stack. The north side has asymmetrical twentieth-century windows and a fire-escape; the south side has 2-light casements and a lean-to at ground floor. Adjoining to the east is a lower two-storey range, roughcast under a slate roof with clustered end stack. The north side has two tall small-pane windows at ground floor and a 6-pane sash at the centre of the upper storey. The rear wing of Castledene adjoins it to the left.

Interior

The front lobby contains half-glazed double panelled doors with small-pane glazing, similar side-lights and overlight. The entrance leads into a stair-hall with a narrow open-well staircase to the right, featuring turned balusters with swept handrail coiled to the base and decorated tread ends. The ceiling of the stair-hall displays exceptionally fine sixteenth-century plasterwork, said to have been brought from the Seven Eyes next door, with foliage, acorns, concentric circles and bosses. The ceiling has moulded coving with cornucopia.

To the left of the stair-hall is a wide doorway leading into the bar, with margin-glazed double doors, overlight and panelled reveals. The bar ceiling has a substantial plastered cross-beam and narrow moulded coving, with panelling beneath the windows. A small classical-style fireplace on the north wall may have been added later. The staircase continues to at least the second floor. The doorway to the principal bedroom on the first floor, which has the balconette, features fluted pilasters and panelled reveals. Panelled doors are found throughout.