Old Ship Hotel

OLD SHIP HOTEL, CASTLE STREET

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Overview

Heritage Category:
Listed building
List Entry Number:
1130748
Date first listed:
06-Jan-1966
Statutory Address:
OLD SHIP HOTEL, CASTLE STREET
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Location

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Date:
2001-06-30
Reference:
IOE01/02473/13
Rights:
© Mr G.M. Cotton. Source: Historic England Archive

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed building
List Entry Number:
1130748
Date first listed:
06-Jan-1966
Date of most recent amendment:
07-Jul-1989
Statutory Address 1:
OLD SHIP HOTEL, CASTLE STREET

Location

Statutory Address:
OLD SHIP HOTEL, CASTLE STREET

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:
Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:
Mere
National Grid Reference:
ST 81219 32404

Details

ST 8032-8132 MERE CASTLE STREET (north side)

6/13 Old Ship Hotel (formerly 6.1.65 listed as The Ship Inn, Free House)

GV II*

House, now hotel. 1711 by Henry Andrews of Woodlands (q.v.), replacing earlier house of C17; some later refenestration and extension. Coursed squared limestone, flush ashlar quoins and dressings; back mainly in rubble, some rendering. roof stone slate to front slope, mainly plain tile to back but with 5 courses stone slate at eaves; wing has concrete double roman tiles. A handsome wide frontage at street line with wide central carriage way; to right the principal rooms and main staircase, and deep wing projecting back from this side. Two storeys and attics, 7 bay symmetrical front; at ground floor are three 24-pane, sashes, then, right of throughway a 24-pane sash, an 8-pane above a disused door with 25-pane top glazed part and a C20 horizontal 15-light. First floor has 7 two-light stone cyma mullioned casements with transome and small-scale leading; numbers 3-6 seem to be careful replacements of originals; there are 5 roof-lights in the plane of the roof. Centrally is a wide through- way with chamfered arch to imposts and pilasters beneath a cyma-moulded string the full width of the front, above the sashes and raised over the arch; chamfered plinth dies to rise in pavement left; two-course stepped stone eaves cornice; two large brick stacks to hipped roof. Back has varied fenestration, including one wood cross-window with some leading. Inside the throughway, left and right are 6-panel doors in eaves moulded architraves and to broken segmental pediments with central base formerly supporting finials. A further panelled door on right side, and a 2-light Yorkshire sash and 3-light glazing bar casements. Interior has in right half, grand dog-leg stair through 2 floors, with heavy handrail, square newels and turned balusters. Ground floor front, right has a fireplace with heavy bolection mould surround and under Jacobean panelling; behind this, in bar, an early C18 bolection mould fire surround under heavy Jacobean overmantel to C20 mantel shelf; central painting of Charles II Some upper rooms with enriched plaster cornices. The external wrought iron sign probably by Kingston Avery in mid C18 is large and of great elaboration. Formerly on main London to West Country route (old A303) now by-passed.

Listing NGR: ST8121932404

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
320142
Legacy System:
LBS

Legal

Ordnance survey map of Old Ship Hotel

Map

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End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

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