Building record EBG 057 - The Kings Head

The property is listed at grade II as a timber-framed structure encased in later brick and dated ‘probably’ to the 17th century, but in fact there is no evidence of timber-framed walls and the building is unlikely to pre-date the mid-18th century at the earliest. The presence of an integral lean-to beer cellar against its western gable and rear wall suggests it was designed as a Public House from the outset, and the enclosure map of 1817 shows the building as the Kings Head but with a very different outline. Until the recent addition of two rear extensions the existing outline was identical to that shown on the Ordnance Survey of 1882, with a two-storied structure containing a central chimney flanked on the left (east) by a former stable range and on the west by the beer cellar. A small two-storied rear extension was also present by 1882, indicating a major mid-19th century remodelling that included the main roof and chimney, but so few historic fixtures and fittings exist internally that it is impossible to determine whether the lower walls survive from 1817. A small number of plain door surrounds are consistent with a late-Georgian origin but cannot be dated with any precision. The double-pile stable range retains a half-hung door in its facade and two loading hatches for hay lofts in its twin eastern gables but was altered beyond recognition internally when it was converted into the inn’s WC block, and the entire upper storey has been extensively refitted as a modern flat. The building’s chief historic significance now derives from the visually distinctive ‘wrap-around’ cellar and the external appearance of the stable range, both of which are highly characteristic of Public Houses and distinguish the building as a purpose-built inn (S1).