From pub to period home – a Dorset property that's brimming with character

This property in the Dorset market town of Bridport is right in the thick of things, situated inside the former Cross Key’s pub and packed to the rafters with period features.

Bridport dates back to the Doomsday book and is best known for its net-making and twine trade, which supplied fishermen across the south coast for hundreds of years. And while Cross Keys is no longer an active public house, the Grade II-listed former tavern retains its sense of convivial cosiness.

Living spaces unravel across three levels, with the 1,500 sq ft Georgian property accessed via a quiet passage and courtyard. A small flight of stairs leads to the brightly lit living room where there’s a wall of original 16-pane sash windows and patinated timber beams overhead.

A 19th-century cast iron fireplace is the room’s focal point, which is finished in cool cream shades that complement exposed local stone between the windows.

Three bedrooms fill the levels above, with the main bedroom on the first floor and a guest bedroom set beneath the sloping beams of the attic roof.

Inigo is listing the Dorset property for £350,000. Bridport is home to a mix of small stores, bookshops and eateries, while the golden cliffs of West Bay Beach and the Jurassic Coast are on the doorstep.