Royal Oak, Frindsbury
| Royal Oak public house | |
|---|---|
|
The Royal Oak in 2009 taken from the northwest showing the top of the catslide at rear | |
| Location | Frindsbury, Kent, England |
| Coordinates | 51°24′24″N 0°30′00″E / 51.406531°N 0.500128°ECoordinates: 51°24′24″N 0°30′00″E / 51.406531°N 0.500128°E |
| OS grid reference | TQ7398570466 |
| Official name: Royal Oak public house | |
| Type | Grade II |
| Designated | 24-May-2016 |
| Reference no. | 1434926 |
  Royal Oak shown within Kent | |
The Royal Oak in Frindsbury, a Medway town in Kent, is a Grade II-listed public house ("pub") in the United Kingdom.[1] It is one of a few pre-Victorian buildings on Cooling Road in Frindsbury,[2] and one of the last remaining coach houses in the area.[3]
The pub was sold by Enterprise Inns to a property developer in 2015 who closed the pub and proposed demolition. In 2016 the pub was registered as an asset of community value[4] by the "Save The Royal Oak, Frindsbury" who, as of 2016, are seeking funding to try and to buy the pub to reopen it for the community.[5][6]
The pub featured in a BBC magazine article on the future of UK pubs.[7]
History
The building was likely first built around the late 17th century as a house, given the layout of the rectangular lobby entrance and the chamfered beams, and had a timbered frame.[1] By 1754 it was in use as a public house.[8] It was mentioned in the Melville's Directory of 1858, with Joseph Charlton as the licensee.[1]
In the late 18th or early 19th century it was given a Flemish Bond brick face, and the rear was extended with a catslide roof. The tile roof has weatherboarded gables. The main part of the building is two storeys high, with an attic and cellar.[1]
The front ground floor was remodelled sometime between 1900 and 1930, with a doorcase removed and a fascia and cornice added, and again remodelled later in the 20th century. Single-storey extensions were added to the north in the 1960s, and also to the rear (both with flat roofs), and the south in the 20th century. A large amount of the pre-1840 fabric of the building, including first floor joinery, survives into the 21st century.[1]
It was possibly named after the 17th-century warship HMS Royal Oak, and local rumours say that one of the beams in the pub comes from the ship.[3][4]
The pub was closed and sold by Enterprise Inns to Interesting Developments in September 2015.[9] It was threatened with demolition in order to construct 6 new homes. A petition against the demolition was signed by over 1,000 people.[9] It was subsequently listed as an asset of community value.[4] The building was then Grade II listed on 24 May 2016 due to its architectural interest and the intactness of the pre-1840 parts of the building, excluding the later extensions (aside from the first extension to the rear), and modern bar fittings.[1] Plans to demolish the building were subsequently withdrawn,[4] and the "Save The Royal Oak, Frindsbury" started seeking funding to try to buy the pub to re-open it for the community, alongside a loan from the UK Government's "Pub Loan Fund".[5][6]
Architecture
The building was based on a timber frame structure that partially survives although refaced in brick and affected by later extensions.[1]
Exterior
The front of the original building consists of three bays with a central door. Above the door is an oculus window that originally had glazing bars. The windows to either side have segmented arched heads and timber sills. The original windows have been replaced; that to the north probably in the early 19th century, that to the south in the 20th. The ground floor windows are modern but within the original openings.[1]
The sides of the original building are hidden by the modern extensions up to first floor level. Above the plain wall the gables are weatherboarded with double casement windows opening into the attic.[1]
The rear has a prominent late 18th century extension covered by the catslide roof. The rest of the rear is a series of flat-roofed extensions.[1]
The roof is steeply pitched, tiled and half-hipped with over-hanging eaves, with a catslide roof over the extension to the rear.[1]
Interior
On the ground floor the two bars (one either side of the door) have been knocked through into the extensions to the rear. Some of the principal timbers survive but most of the joinery is new. At the back of the bar studding may be the original rear wall. The central stack exists, but the fireplaces have been blocked. Upstairs there were two rooms, the southern one having been partitioned. Some of the original chamfered beams are visible but in the northern room they have been boxed in. The attic also has two rooms with modern fittings. The roof is thought to be from around 1800 but has subsequently been strengthened.[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Historic England. "Royal Oak public house (Grade II) (1434926)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ↑ Cox, Lynn (4 May 2016). "Campaign to save Royal Oak pub in Frindsbury from bulldozers gathers pace". Kent Online.
- 1 2 Jordan, Nicola (21 March 2016). "Beam inside threatened Frindsbury pub could be from famous ship HMS Royal Oak". Kent Online.
- 1 2 3 4 Cox, Lynn (31 May 2016). "Frindsbury pub, The Royal Oak, saved from demolition". Kent Online.
- 1 2 "Save The Royal Oak, Frindsbury". Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- 1 2 "Campaigners plan to reopen historic Royal Oak pub". Kent Online. 5 July 2016.
- ↑ Low, Harry (31 March 2016). "Should there be a crusade to save British pubs?". BBC News Magazine. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
- ↑ Harris, Stephen (26 April 2016). "Royal Oak, 53 Cooling Road /Bill Street, Frindsbury, Rochester". UK Pub history and street directory. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- 1 2 Cox, Lynn (1 February 2016). "Bid to keep historic pub, The Royal Oak, in Cooling Road, Frindsbury out of developer's hands". Kent Online.
External links
Media related to Royal Oak, Frindsbury at Wikimedia Commons