Rose and Crown Inn

The Rose and Crown was designed to represent the best of the historic inns of the Peak District, which features many centuries-old inns set amongst tranquil countryside and quiet villages. They are usually stone-built (often limestone), and offer welcoming accommodation and hospitality at the centre of their communities. There is an extraordinary amount of variety and I have always appreciated the unique layouts and characteristics that they have, which inspired me to build a Lego inn combining many of my favourite features.

The Rose and Crown (a common name, not representative of a specific inn) features multiple fireplaces, a kitchen, a cellar, three traditional rooms (the lounge, the vault, and the snug), the innkeeper's room, two guest rooms, and a serene riverside garden area. The Rose and Crown motif appears over the welcoming porch. A traditional cart pulled by shire horses is featured, as this was the way the breweries delivered ale to the inns until the last century. There is a hatch directly into the cellar to facilitate the delivery. Some of the smaller details include a light brick in the dual-aspect central fireplace, a cave gouged into the riverbank (with secret access from the cellar), a dartboard that can be hidden away, and a piano. There is a small ground floor loo and a more spacious one upstairs for overnight guests, including a bath and a waiting area outside.

As a lego set, this would be a great complement to some of the medieval themed sets and offer villagers accommodation and hospitality, as well as the opportunity for leisure in the sunny riverside garden. The variety of rooms and spaces would also suit those looking to imagine and enact play scenarios.

It will be apparent to some which sets I have used to source the ~2000 pieces in this idea, which also limited what mini figures I could include - ideally, I would like to represent people from a variety of backgrounds enjoying each other's company, and perhaps a meal, in the inn. As a set, the selection of mini figures could enable it to be set anywhere from the medieval period to the 19th century.