Bull Ring
Ludlow
Shropshire
SY8 1AA
01584 875261
The Feathers is a stunning Grade I listed Tudor style hotel with extraordinarily detailed half timbering (photos 1 & 3). It dates from 1609 and was commissioned by a Welsh lawyer, Rees Jones who had come to Ludlow to work at the Council of Marches. It was the home of Jones and stayed as a private house until eventually becoming a hotel. The Feathers name comes from the coat of arms of the Prince of Wales, and the three feathers motif can be seen on the inn sign (photo 2) and on some interior carving.
The hotel is open to the public for drinks and meals, and I was served a tasty pint of Ludlow Gold in the bar. You enter the hotel through original 17th century doors with fine stained glass windows (photo 4). On each side of the corridor is a small dining room with the one on the right having timber panelling and a glorious carved mantelpiece. The corridor leads to the bar, which curiously seems 1970s in style with its bold patterned wallpaper, beige relief tiling on the bar counter and vinyl tiles on the floor (photo 5). A bit more in keeping with the hotel’s history is the suit of armour in the alcove (photo 6).
Beyond the bar is a modern extension which houses the plush Plume of Feathers restaurant and function rooms. The first floor bedrooms in the original building have exposed timbering and wood panelling, and with room prices starting at £95 a night it may well be worth it to see them.
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