King Charles Inn, Thames Street, Poole

This building comprises a partially rebuilt double-gabled Tudor (late 16th century) inn, with to its left a gabled building which was in former years a warehouse. The ground floor of the latter are today still used for onion storage by a French onion seller. Poole Quay is only a few yards distant: part of one of the yellow Poole Harbour ferries can just be discerned to the left of the photo.

The inn is reputed to be haunted.

The inn was originally called the New Inn. It is now named after King Charles X of France: in 1830 Charles landed in Poole when he and his family fled from France into exile. They lived for a short while at Lulworth Castle (in Dorset), before making Holyrood Castle in Edinburgh their new residence.

Charles' original title was that of Count of Artois; in earlier years a bet between him and Marie Antoinette had led to his building of the Bagatelle in Paris.

The large flag flying from the wall of the inn is that of the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institute), which has its headquarters in Poole.