Old White Lion

Old White Lion

A late 19th-century public house with accommodation above, extended to the rear in the mid-20th century. The building is brick-built with stucco detailing, under a tiled double-pitch roof topped with a glazed pyramidal roof lantern. The front ground and first-floor windows, and rear upper-floor openings are timber-framed; most other windows are uPVC.

The rectangular footprint is oriented south to north, with the south elevation facing the street. The building rises three storeys plus an attic and cellar. The three-window front elevation has a parapet, with floors divided by moulded string courses. The two end windows project slightly forward between first-floor and attic level.

The ground floor features a central entrance with a two-leaf panelled door beneath a recessed arched and arcaded overlight supported by a pair of fluted brackets. The entrance is flanked by paired two-pane windows with arcaded overlights to match; the ground-floor openings alternate with rusticated stucco pilasters supporting bracketed metal lamps. The first-floor end bays each have an oriel window supported by pairs of fluted brackets; all window frames are two-pane sashes. The central first-floor window sits above a plinth with a sign reading 'THE OLD WHITE LION'. The central second-floor window has a floating pediment. The attic contains a small central full-dormer flanked by a large half-dormer to either side; these have squat pilasters supporting oversized pediments with raking cornices and raised cross-and-shield motifs within the tympanums. The rear (north) brick elevation has a mid-20th-century ground-floor lean-to extension and tiered first and second floors with rebuilt parapets. The upper floors each have three openings with blue-brick segmental heads. Most windows are two-over-two horned sashes; at each level, one window has been replaced by a fire exit, with attached 20th-century railings, fire escape railings and ladders. The exposed west elevation is largely blind.

The ground floor comprises a largely open-plan public bar to the front and two partitioned rooms with a mid-20th-century extension to the rear. Upper floors are arranged around a square stairwell.

The main bar is entered through a small lobby containing an early 20th-century internal timber revolving door, above which is a wooden plaque reading 'THE OLD WHITE LION'; a later fire-escape door is to the side. To the left is a former drinking lobby. Adjacent is a curving timber-panelled bar counter with a brass bar top (largely a later replacement). The timber bar back features small and large recessed arches decorated with stylised keystones and panelling. To the right of the entrance is a large seating area with fixed wall seating and a decorative timber fireplace, possibly a late 19th-century replacement, with tiles and a cast-iron grate flanked by two arched recesses with scroll detailing. The front ground floor has been opened up to create an open-plan arrangement, but various decorative ceilings and beams with egg-and-dart cornices and foliate plasterwork remain, indicating the original room configuration. The ceiling above the bar counter includes a rectangular recess below the upper-floor stairwell; now boarded over, it is understood to have originally been glazed and lit from above by the roof lantern.

To the rear are two rooms with decorative timber doorways featuring central panes of etched glass bearing room names and lion motifs. The 'Oak Room' to the right is lined with small-square timber panelling and a rectangular-panel frieze with carved motifs. At the centre of the east wall is a four-pointed arch fireplace with carved-timber surround, brown-tiled interior, copper hood and timber segments with shield motifs, topped by a carved mantelpiece. The overmantel has 17th-century-style carved decoration with an arcade incorporating a relief shield, and a rectangular carved panelled frieze above. The decorative geometric plaster ceiling incorporates Tudor-rose symbols picked out in deep red with green leaves, unicorns, stags, cockerels, birds and coats of arms in relief, plus a cornice of yellow and purple-coloured grapes and acanthus leaves. Fixed seating runs around most of the room, including a hinged baffle door at one end, with bell pushes above; seating is absent from one corner where late 20th-century panelling is visible. The south side has a large leaded stained-glass internal window featuring lions and swag designs; the north side has a more modest leaded stained-glass window. Opposite is the 'Commercial Room', now the pool room, with a large rear leaded stained-glass window truncated by a false ceiling. Between the rooms is a central corridor with doors at either end, one reading 'Toilets' (early 21st-century replica glass) and the other 'Back Entrance', beyond which is the mid-20th-century toilet block.

The main stairway to the right of the bar has a carved-timber arch, glazed-timber partition to the left and fluted column to the right. The curtail stairway has a large carved newel post, handrail and turned balusters, with a modern metal gate added at half-flight level. Above is a square stairwell lit by the roof lantern, with a timber cantilever stair including turned balusters and decorative open string; landings are enclosed by late 20th-century glazed partitions and fire doors. The upper floors retain some four-panelled doors with architraves. Two first-floor function rooms and a late 20th-century bar occupy the front and rear; the front room has moulded coving and panelling to the central window reveal, and the rear room has an inbuilt panelled cupboard. Further second-floor bedrooms and an attic-level manager's flat occupy the upper storeys.