Ludlow's Feathers Hotel closure ‘disastrous’ for town
Ludlow's landmark Feathers Hotel has been forced to close. Jordan Reynolds looks back at its long history - and forward to an uncertain future.
It was once the home of a high-flying lawyer, has been used to make political speeches and is now integral to the economy of the town, almost 400 years after it was built.
The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow is known world-wide and has been described as "the most handsome inn in the world". But the Grade I Listed building was forced to close as a result of "difficult trading conditions", after a guest's death was linked to Legionella bacteria found in the plumbing.
The hotel was built in 1619 to be the home of a wealthy solicitor. No expense was spared when the timber frames and carvings were put in place, which have drawn the eyes of visitors for hundreds of years afterwards.
Roger Furniss, organiser of Ludlow's town tours and volunteer at the Ludlow Historical Research Group, gives talks at The Feathers to coachloads of visitors to the town.
He said: "The present building was built by an ambitious local attorney called Rees Jones who took over the site in 1619.
"He built it as a private house, he was trying to say that he's the greatest attorney in town when Ludlow was the effective captial of Wales.
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"It was a no-expense-spared timber-framed building. All of the carvings, the plaster work and the fireplaces, everything was no expense spared."
The Feathers has royal connections and symbolic imagery throughout, and has expanded over the years to cover the shops below.
"It became an inn in 1670, and Mr Jones probably lived in it until about 1651, after then he rented it out before he sold it about 1687," added Mr Furniss.
"Its timber frames were once adorned by motifs of feathers, showing loyalty to the Prince of Wales, hence its name. The Ludlow coat of arms has also got three feathers on it.
"Gradually over the years it has taken over the adjoining properties and expanded north and south over the shops on the ground floor.
"The Prince Charles assembly room was added in 1800. The hotel has great royal connections and a lot of the interior decoration has royal imagery.
"It was built at a time when England and Scotland joined together so there are symbolic drawings in the hotel.
"It was quite a political place, where politicians would stand on the balcony and shout down to residents at election time.
"It was a great horsing inn and they could have more than 100 horses in the Georgian times."
Concerns about future Ludlow's economy
The hotel closed this month after going into administration, leading to the loss of 16 jobs. It was put on the market for more than £2.6million in January, and the administrators said they are working to find a buyer for the hotel.
Concerns have been raised about the future of the economy of the town without its most famous building.
Mr Furniss labelled the closure a "disaster".
He said: "Economically it's a disaster for the town, The Feathers had two coach parties a week staying three-and-a-half days, which is about 100 people a week that are no longer coming into the town.
"You couldn't possibly not have it as a hotel. This should be treated as a good opportunity for a potential buyer.
"These marvellous historic buildings, they all struggle, there's a limit to what you can charge and they're very expensive to run."
Mayor Tim Gill said the town had seen a drop in footfall since news about The Feathers emerged, and said he hoped a buyer would reopen it as a hotel again.
Mr Furniss said: "Jan Morris in the New York Times in 1983 said 'it's the most handsome inn in the world. Everyone knows of it and it's one of the prime images of Olde England'."
