Building record 727/26/1 - No.219 Watling Street West (The Saracens Head)

Hotel and public house, formerly coaching inn. Early C18 with older origins. Made famous by Charles Dickens.

{1} Hotel and public house, formerly coaching inn. Early C18 with older origins. Coursed squared ironstone, plain-tile roofs, brick ridge stacks. 2 storeys and attic; 7-window range. Central carriage arch with timber lintel and double-leaf panelled doors, that to left with wicket. 15-pane sash windows to left of arch and to right, with stone lintels and keyblocks. Canted bay window between windows to ground floor left, otherwise 12-pane sash windows to ground and first floors with stone lintels. Round-arched window above arch flanked by niches holding fine lead statuettes of Venus (left ) and Apollo with harp (right), reputed to have come from Easton Neston. Chamfered plinth, storey band and moulded stone eaves. Hipped roof dormers with diamond leaded windows. Single-storey extension to right, probably added as an assembly room. Interior: barrel-vaulted plaster ceiling to dining room. Recommended by Sam Weller in Pickwick Papers as a place where a 'very good littl ' could be got ready in half an hour. (Charles Dickens, 'Pickwick Papers', 1837, Chapter 50, p.544).

{2} Former hotel, the Saracens Head, and public house took over from former inn on site. Date of change of use unknown.

{3} 'One of its inns has the best custom, it is generally said of any single inn upon the Chester Road'.
In the 1730s the Saracen’s Head offered ample accommodation and stabling for 86 horses. The facilities were not dissimilar from those provided at the Tabard in the late C15th and early C16th, with pasture and arable land adjacent, kitchens, parlours and ground rooms for drinking. The inventory of the proprietor in 1742 listed 22 rooms, among them the ‘Best Yellow Room’, ‘The Peacock Chamber’ and ‘The New Chamber’. The inventory of the goods of Thomas Bland, dating from 1668, allows a glimpse of a C17th inn. The rooms listed included the hall, spence, parlour, buttery, kitchen, brewhouse, ‘Green Chamber’, ‘Graye Chamber’, stable, barn and loft.
In 1742, the landlord of the Saracen’s Head offered his customers brandy from London, cider from Stratford on Avon, and meat from a local butcher.

{4} Saracen's Head (Pomfret Arms Hotel). Made famous by Charles Dickens . The building is currently in use as Saracen's Head Public House and Hotel. The main building is retained including its large carriage arch, but there has been some modernisation to the rear of the structure. A number of ancillary structures do remain in place. Film 1, photo 4-8; Film 2, photo 8.

{5} Three undated photos.

{6} Building survey undertaken during renovation and extension of the hotel. The cellars had been largely filled in, at some in the recent past. A brick barrel vault to a cellar, of probable mid-late C19 date, was noted. Extensive stripping out of historic features, including the fireplace in the assembly or ball room, had been undertaken. Two dog-leg staircases were noted as being original, although painted in modern gloss. The roof was noted as having a good set of collar trusses. Recommendations provided.

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 13/200 (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F08 p.91 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN45262.

<3> Taylor J.; Foard G.; Laughton J.; Steadman S.; Ballinger J., 2002, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Towcester, 3.5.3 (checked) (Report). SNN103132.

<4> Ballinger J., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Towcester (Industrial), 3.4.2 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN100255.

<5> Photographs of buildings in Towcester (Photographs). SNN114425.

<6> Brushe, J, 1989, The Saracen's Head Hotel- 17th century coaching inn- Watling Street, Towcester: Historic Building Report, September 1989 (Report). SNN115909.

Record last edited

Mar 25 2025 10:55AM