The "Save The Royal Oak, Frindsbury" campaign opposed its demolition, and the pub was subsequently registered as an asset of community value by Medway Council and as a Grade II listed building by Historic England in 2016.

In early 2017, the campaign was seeking funding to try and to buy the pub to reopen it for the community; the developer was subsequently granted planning permission in June 2017 to convert the building into residential use.

[8] The nearest other listed building is the Grade II Tudor Cottage around 210m to the north, although neither are located in a conservation area.

[9] The date that the building was first constructed is uncertain, with best estimates putting the build date during the Georgian era around the late 17th century[10] as a timber-framed house; this is determined by the chamfered beams and the rectangular lobby entrance[1] with the front door centrally-located, opening to back-to-back fireplaces with main rooms to the left and right, known as a 'baffle-entry' layout.

Local people say that one of the beams in the pub comes from the ship, the remains of which may have been broken up at a nearby shipyard after the battle.

[7][12] Another theory is that it was named after the Royal Oak that Charles II of England hid in following the Battle of Worcester.

[6] In the late 18th or early 19th century it was given a Flemish Bond brick face and the rear was extended with a catslide roof.

Later in the 20th century, single-storey extensions were added to the north in the 1960s, and also to the rear (both with flat roofs) and the south,[1] including a uPVC conservatory.

[10][3] Although initial indications from Medway Council were for the development,[10] the "Save The Royal Oak, Frindsbury" campaign started, led by Joe O'Donnell, who organised a petition against the demolition that was signed by over 1,000 people.

The asking price was £450,000 plus VAT (excluding the garden),[13] significantly more than the developer purchased the site for and was seen as unreasonable, despite several expressions of interest.

[17] Following from draft plans in August 2016,[2] a new planning application was submitted by Interesting Developments on 16 January 2017[18] to convert the pub back into a house as it appeared around 1900, demolishing the 20th century extensions and modifications and restoring historic features such as the interior fireplaces and the oculus window,[8][19] A separate part to the planning application included three two-storey two-bedroom terraced houses[18][19] to be constructed on the pub garden, along with a redesigned and landscaped car park[8] to include a charging station.

[20] As of 2021[update] it was for sale after conversion to a four-bedroom house, with two bathrooms, three parking spaces and an electric car charging point, with an asking price of £580,000.

The building was based on a timber frame structure that partially survives although refaced in brick and affected by later extensions.

[8] The car park has a covenant that prevents it from being built upon, with underground channels, cables and pipes, and an adjacent substation.

Some of the principal timbers survive, such as some original chamfered beams that are visible except in the northern room, however most of the joinery has been replaced over the years.