Cross Keys Inn

The Cross Keys Inn is a pub-restaurant and former coaching inn on a corner of Midford Road in Odd Down, Bath, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II listed building and has traded as a public house since at least 1718, making it one of the older licensed premises in the Bath area. The current building was erected in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century, and the site itself was owned by Bath Priory until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, after which it passed to Hugh Sexey of Bruton. The inn's early history is documented in leases. A document of 4 June 1718 describes it as "a new erected tenement or dwelling house...now a Public House on Odwood Down", with a downpayment of £42 to take the lease and an annual rent of £1 10 shillings. In the mid-eighteenth century the lease was held by Ralph Allen, postmaster of Bath and a leading figure in the development of Georgian Bath, who made a fortune by reforming the postal delivery system. The inn stood strategically on a crossroads on the routes between Bath, Wells, Bristol and Warminster, and it served as a coaching inn. The front of the building was altered in the nineteenth century, and the building was extensively modified in the second half of that century. Sexey's Hospital owned the inn until 1896, when it was sold to Oakhill Brewery. It then remained under the control of breweries or pub management companies until February 2014, when the landlord Clive Prescott and Samantha Prescott bought the freehold. Since then it has operated as a free house and restaurant, offering food and drink to local residents and visitors. The pub has also offered an NHS staff discount of 10% off the whole bill on the main and lunch menus. The Cross Keys Inn is built of squared-off rubble stone with a roof of Roman-style tiles. Originally a single room deep with two gable ends and a central stair at the rear, it has since gained right and left wings at the rear and an ashlar extension with entrance at the front. The building has three storeys and a cellar; the front extension is two storeys high with a flat roof, and a tall central chimney stack rises between the two gable ends. The interior is reported to retain an original staircase and fireplace. As a Grade II listed building, it is recognised for its architectural and historic interest within Bath and North East Somerset.

The Cross Keys Inn stands on a site that was owned by Bath Priory until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, after which it was acquired by Hugh Sexey of Bruton. The current building was erected in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. The first record of the Cross Keys as an inn dates from 4 June 1718, when it was described in a lease as "a new erected tenement or dwelling house...now a Public House on Odwood Down". The lease required a downpayment of £42 and carried an annual rent of £1 10 shillings. The inn was strategically located on the crossroads of the route between Bath, Wells, Bristol and Warminster, and it served as a coaching inn. In the mid-eighteenth century the lease was held by Ralph Allen, postmaster of Bath and one of the leading figures in the development of Georgian Bath, who made a fortune by reforming the postal delivery system. A lease from 1739 to 1760 was held by Ralph Allen. The front of the building was altered in the nineteenth century, and the building was extensively modified in the second half of the nineteenth century. Sexey's Hospital owned the inn until 1896, when it was sold to Oakhill Brewery. It remained in the hands of breweries and pub management companies until February 2014, when the landlord Clive Prescott and Samantha Prescott bought the freehold. Since then it has operated as a free house and restaurant. The pub has offered an NHS staff discount of 10% off the whole bill, valid on the main menu and lunch menu. The building is Grade II listed. It was built out of squared-off rubble stone and has a roof of Roman-style tiles. Originally it was a single room deep with two gable ends and a stair at the centre of the rear wall, with coped front and end gables, cross saddle-stones, and an ashlar chimney stack at each end. Right and left wings have since been added at the rear, and an ashlar extension with entrance has been 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. A central tall chimney stack stands at the front between the two gable ends. The interior is reported to have an original staircase and fireplace.

• 2014

  In February 2014, landlord Clive Prescott and Samantha Prescott bought the freehold, making it a free house.

• 1896

  Sexey Hospital sold the pub to Oakhill Brewery.

• 1739

  Lease held by Ralph Allen from 1739 to 1760.

• 1718

  First record of the Cross Keys as an inn, described in a lease dated 4 June 1718 as "a new erected tenement or dwelling house...now a Public House on Odwood Down".

Historic Grade II listed free-house pub-restaurant in Bath, offering food and drink in a heritage coaching-inn setting.

• Main menu

  Food menu offered at the pub-restaurant.

• Lunch menu

  Lunchtime food menu.

• NHS staff discount

  10% off the whole bill for NHS staff, valid on the main menu and lunch menu.

1. 1Cross Keys | Restaurant | The Cross Keys, Midford Road, Bath, UKcrosskeysbath.co.uk
2. 2Cross Keys Inn - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Cross Keys Inn, Odd Down - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org