Walk down between London Plane trees on your left, and Georgian buildings on your right, to the Salutation Inn.

This dates from about 1778 and is sited on the Great North Road, it was an important racing and coaching inn. Notice the tall arched entrance on the left of the building to allow stagecoaches into the area at the rear.

'The Salutation is the only building on South Parade that retains its original use. In 1831 the inn was extended by the addition of the wing with a bow window which lit a dining room 50' long.

Accommodation was also provided for families travelling "or as a retreat for those wishful to spend a few days in this most delightful town, being, in point of pleasantness, superior to any between London and Edinburgh." William Hurst, the architect, owned the inn at the time it was enlarged.

In 1939 plans for a new Salutation to replace the old one with a new road from South Parade to Chequer Road were approved; only the outbreak of war saved the inn from demolition.

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From the Salutation, continue walking up Hall Cross Hill. You can see the Hall Cross at the highest point on the Hill.

There are many Listed Buildings on Hall Cross Hill.

Numbers 9, 10, 11, 12 and 12A, date from 1795 to 1812.

Further up the Hill, number's 7 & 8 dates from the late 18th Century, and number 6A was built in 1869.

Number 6 South Parade is a later building, early 19th Century as were Number 4 & 5. The house numbering system would arrive much later, hence the ages of the buildings are out of sequence. The remainder of the buildings on Hall Cross Hill date from the late 1700s, apart from Number 3, which is a Regency building dating from 1813.

When you arrive at the next location, click the next button at the foot of the page, to find out more about this interesting building.