The Cross Keys Inn is a pub-restaurant and former coaching inn, trading since before 1750, on a corner of Midford Road in

Odd Down Odd Down is an area of the city of Bath, Somerset, England. A suburb of the city, Odd Down is located west and south of the city centre. The city ward population taken at the 2011 census was 5,681. A section of the Wansdyke medieval earthwo ...

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in the English ceremonial county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

. It is since 2014 a free (untied) house. It is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

building, having been added to the register on 11 August 1972.

History

The current building was erected in the late 17th or early 18th century. The site was owned by Bath Priory until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was then owned by Hugh Sexey. An inn is known to have stood on the site in 1718 when it is described in a document as "a new erected tenement or dwelling house...now a Public House on Odwood Down". At that time, the lease cost forty-two pounds and there was an annual rent charge of one pound ten shillings. In the mid 18th century the lease was held by

Ralph Allen Ralph Allen (1693 – 29 June 1764) was an entrepreneur and philanthropist, who was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. Allen was born in Cornwall but moved to Bath to work in the post office, becoming the postmaster at ...

who was the postmaster of Bath and made a fortune by reforming the postal delivery system. The inn was situated strategically on a crossroads, with major roads going to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-century Minster Church of S ...

, Bath and

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada * Wells, British Columbia England * Wel ...

. It served as a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

. The front of the building was altered in the 19th century.

Sexey's Hospital Sexey's Hospital in Bruton, Somerset, England was built around 1630 as almshouses. The West Wing and chapel have been designated as a Grade I listed building. The East Wing and gateway are grade II listed. Hugh Sexey (1556–1619), was a loc ...

was the owner until 1896 when it was sold to

Oakhill Brewery Oakhill Brewery was a brewery in Oakhill, Somerset, England, that was founded in 1761 by John Billingsley. History In its heyday the Oakhill Brewery was a major producer, known for Oakhill Invalid Stout. In 1904, due to its volume of production � ...

. It remained under the control of breweries or pub management companies until 2014, when the freehold was purchased privately. It is now a free house and restaurant.

Architecture

The building has late seventeenth century or early eighteenth century origins, and was extensively modified in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was built out of squared off rubble stone and has a roof of Roman style tiles. Originally the building was a single room deep with two gable ends and a stair at the centre of the rear wall. It had coped front and end gables, with cross saddle-stones, and an ashlar chimney stack at each end. Since then, right and left wings have been added to the building at the rear and an

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitr ...

extension with entrance added at the front. The building consists of three storeys and a cellar, the front extension is two storeys high and has a flat roof. There is a central tall chimney stack at the front, between the two gable ends. The interior of the building is reported to have an original staircase and fireplace.

References

{{reflist Grade II listed buildings in Bath, Somerset Grade II listed pubs in Somerset

History

Architecture

See also

References