The Feathers Hotel, Ledbury

The oldest parts of the timber-framed Feathers Hotel, Ledbury, date from c.1560-70. This comprises the first three floors of the leftmost part of the building. The fourth floor of this section, with the five small gables, is an addition of the early 1600s. So too is all of the rightmost part, from the coffee shop sign. The hotel is close-studded throughout with none of the box-framing that is a characteristic of Herefordshire and adjacent counties. The building is quite deep with timber-framed extensions accessed from within the building, and through carriage arches. It must always have been the town's premier hotel and it remains so today.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Feathers Hotel, Ludlow

I've seen old timber-framed buildings in many places in England and Wales but I've never seen one anywhere as ornate as The Feathers Hotel, Ludlow. Every piece of wood on the double-jettied facade is embellished in one way or another. Standing in front of the building it is impossible to stop your eye wandering across its facade in search of each carved delight. The frontage was added to an existing building in 1619. The hotel gets its name from the crest of the Prince of Wales.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100