The Feathers Hotel, High Street, used to be a coaching inn on the Aberystwyth to Cheltenham mail route. A small room in the hotel was used as the Corn Exchange. A horse and cart conveyed visitors to and from the railway station.
The original building of the Feathers can be dated to about 1570. It was a three-storey building and divided into three bays, each marked off by architectural features. At the ground floor, only one architectural feature of that era remains: a fluted pilaster with a leafed cap forming a bracket. Above there are flowers in vases and at the second floor bulbous ionic columns on bases.
Facing the by-pass, at the bottom of Bridge Street,
Closed 2009, pending redevelopment
Reopened 2010
Originally probably 17th century, this three-storey timber-framed building in The Homend is set on a high plinth. It appears to be two bays long and there is a passageway through the south end. The ceiling beams on the ground floor over the south bay have wide chamfers. The front has imitation framing. 5-7 The Homend, of mid-17th century construction, was formerly the New Inn which was one of most important coaching inns in the latter 18th/19th centuries.
The Homend Mews, nowadays a collection of small shops facing a paved inner courtyard, were the outbuildings of the New Inn.
The Homend Mews, nowadays a collection of small shops facing a paved inner courtyard, were the outbuildings of the New Inn.
Circa 1709, this "onion" bottle, which would've been used for wine, is one of approximately 30 similar bottles, as well as pieces of bone china and clay pipes, that have been uncovered during the archaeological dig alongside The Master's House.
Up until the 17th century bottles would have been made of pottery or leather, but by the middle of the century a 'new' black/dark green glass wine bottle came into general use. Early glass bottles were squat, broad and rounded sometimes referred to as "onion bottles".
Glass onions were large hand-blown glass bottles used aboard sailing ships to hold wine or brandy. For increased stability on rough seas, the bottles were fashioned with a wide-bottom shape to prevent toppling, thus making the bottles look somewhat onion-shaped.
According to the Ledbury Reporter (on-line Tuesday 27 January, 1.11 pm ) "Chris Atkinson, Herefordshire Council's community archaeologist, said some of the bottles are dated 1709 and bear the owner's name, John Patenall.
"We've found out that he was the owner of the Feathers," he said. "There was also a place called the Booth Hall and he owned that as well."
He said two medieval rubbish pits had also been uncovered, plus a medieval wall. Pottery has been found dating from the 14th century, including cooking ware and table ware.
A report on the dig is scheduled to be ready around Easter, he said."
Up until the 17th century bottles would have been made of pottery or leather, but by the middle of the century a 'new' black/dark green glass wine bottle came into general use. Early glass bottles were squat, broad and rounded sometimes referred to as "onion bottles".
Glass onions were large hand-blown glass bottles used aboard sailing ships to hold wine or brandy. For increased stability on rough seas, the bottles were fashioned with a wide-bottom shape to prevent toppling, thus making the bottles look somewhat onion-shaped.
According to the Ledbury Reporter (on-line Tuesday 27 January, 1.11 pm ) "Chris Atkinson, Herefordshire Council's community archaeologist, said some of the bottles are dated 1709 and bear the owner's name, John Patenall.
"We've found out that he was the owner of the Feathers," he said. "There was also a place called the Booth Hall and he owned that as well."
He said two medieval rubbish pits had also been uncovered, plus a medieval wall. Pottery has been found dating from the 14th century, including cooking ware and table ware.
A report on the dig is scheduled to be ready around Easter, he said."
Church Lane
As often on approach roads, there have been a number of public houses and inns on The Southend, although now only the Royal Oak remains.
A plaque on the wall inside the pub dates the plaster and light blue paint at 1520 AD
One of the oldest inns in Ledbury, the timber-framed, two-storey, late 16th century building in The Homend was seriously damaged by fire in 2001 and much of the original structure was lost. The framing on the front of the building survived along with the door frame. The south-west room was reported to have a plaster ceiling with fleur-de-lys, rosettes and Tudor roses. 
The Talbot, in New Street, is one of the oldest inns in Ledbury, although it is not certain how long it has borne that name.The building, dating from from the late 16th century, is one of the few in Ledbury to have a date carved into it. In the parlour a panel has the date 1596 and a date over the entrance door may be 1600.
Church Street