Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel food hygiene rating
Hotel/bed & breakfast/guest house · Durham
Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel holds a 3: generally satisfactory. The hotel met the legal standard, but the inspector recorded enough minor issues that it fell short of a good or very good rating.
The rating: 3 - Generally satisfactory
The rating dates from 4 March 2026, 4 months ago. Councils typically re-inspect higher-risk businesses every six months to two years, with well-run, low-risk places visited least often, so this is a normal gap.
Address: Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel Front Street, Shotley Bridge, DH8 0HU
How it compares in Durham
In Durham, 75% of rated places manage a 5, so Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel sits behind roughly 3,770 nearby businesses. 7% of the borough shares its 3.
| 5 out of 5 | 3,086 | 75% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 out of 5 | 684 | 17% | ||
| 3 out of 5 | 286 | 7% | ← Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel | |
| 2 out of 5 | 50 | 1% | ||
| 1 out of 5 | 25 | 1% | ||
| 0 out of 5 | 2 | <1% |
A further 512 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.
What the inspector found
- Hygienic food handling Generally satisfactory
- Cleanliness & condition of the building Generally satisfactory
- How well they manage food safety Good
An inspection scores three things: how food is handled, the physical condition of the premises, and how much the inspector trusts management to keep standards up. At Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel none of the three raised a concern, the overall rating is only ever as strong as its weakest area, so a clean sweep is what produces a high score.
Questions about Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel
What is Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel's food hygiene rating?
Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel has a food hygiene rating of 3 out of 5 (generally satisfactory), given by Durham Council on 4 March 2026.
Is Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel safe to eat at?
A 3 means the hotel met the legal standard, so it is lawful to eat there, but the inspector recorded issues that stopped it scoring higher. It is the middle of the scale.
When was Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel last inspected?
Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel was last inspected on 4 March 2026, 4 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by Durham Council rather than by the business.
What did the inspector find at Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel?
The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "generally satisfactory", the cleanliness and condition of the building "generally satisfactory", and confidence in the management of food safety "good". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.
How does Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel compare to other places in Durham?
75% of the 4,133 rated food businesses in Durham hold the top rating of 5, while Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel holds a 3. 286 places in the area share that rating.
Who decides the rating?
Durham Council inspects Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel and sets the rating; the Food Standards Agency publishes it. Neither the business nor this site can change a rating, a business that disagrees can appeal to its council, and can request a re-inspection once it has fixed the problems.
Tell me when this changes
The Food Standards Agency publishes only a business's rating today, not what it scored before, and not when it moves. We check every UK rating each night. Watch Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.
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Understanding this rating
More food hygiene ratings near here
Durham inspects and rates 4,645 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in Durham →
The official record is held by the council: http://www.durham.gov.uk
Rating from the Food Standards Agency under the Open Government Licence. Ratings reflect standards found at the time of inspection and can change. If you think a rating is wrong, the official record is held by the FSA and the local authority; corrections there flow through here. How ratings work →