The Royal Goat Hotel

Cadw's description

Location

Prominently located on the roadside towards the NW boundary of the village.

History

The Royal Goat Hotel was originally built as the Beddgelert Hotel in 1802 by Thomas Jones, whose wife had inherited the Beddgelert estate. It was conceived specifically to cater for the increasing numbers of tourists of the Picturesque who were coming to Snowdon. The first tenant manager, David Pritchard promoted the story of Gelert, the loyal hound of Llewelyn, mistakenly slain by his master; in a nearby field he created the monument henceforth known as Gelert's Grave in an attempt to boost tourism. The hotel became the Royal Goat in the 1870s to commemorate a visit by Prince Arthur.

Exterior

Large hotel complex of roughly T-plan. Of rubble construction with hipped slate roofs and with the main, front-facing elevations stuccoed. The complex consists of a main 4-storey 4-bay section with an L-shaped 3-storey section adjoining to the L and projecting to the front; the latter has 3 bays to its advanced section, with the entrance to the R. This has a large decorative fanlight and partly-glazed late C19 double doors contained within a large single-storey modern porch, open to the front. 12-pane original recessed sash windows to the L and upper floors, save to the centre where the windows are blind; plain stringcourses between the floors, returned around onto the sides. The attic has 2 lead dormers with modern tilting windows to the front and L return of this entrance block. The 4-storey section, set back to the R, has windows as before to all save the ground floor where there is a 4-bay modern projecting arcade with enclosed verandah; the end bay to the R has a square projecting porch. The unstuccoed rear wing, recessed to the L of the entrance section, has windows as before with slate lintels. On its hipped return there is a 2-storey canted bay window with marginally-glazed sash windows, a later C19 alteration. Largely modern openings to the rear with a single-storey modern addition extruded in the space formerly occupied by the service court. Adjoining to the rear is a 2-storey slated former coach house, much altered.

Interior

Plain, largely modernised interiors.

Reason for designation

Listed for its special architectural interest as a purpose-built early C19 hotel of imposing scale and retaining much original external character, and for its special historic interest as the source of the Gelert's grave legend.