5, St Sampsons Square

No. 5 St Sampson's Square is an inn that has been converted into a tea shop and is part of a department store. The front block dates from the early 18th century and incorporates a rear block that is likely from the early 17th century. There have been alterations made in the early and later 19th century. The rear block is timber-framed, while the front block features colour-washed stucco on the ground floor and rough cast and colour washed upper floors. It has a timber eaves cornice and roofs made of slate and pantile.

The exterior is three stories high with a three-window front set on a low plinth. The door, located to the right of center, consists of six raised and fielded panels with an overlight, framed by a doorcase with fluted half-columns and a moulded cornice supported by scrolled brackets. All floors have 12-pane sash windows in raised architraves, with sills on the ground and second floors. There is a broad fascia band beneath the first-floor windows and a plain eaves band under a moulded modillion cornice. A wrought-iron lantern hangs above the door.

Inside, the ground floor features a 19th-century boarded dado, along with exposed spine beams and joists in the front part. The rear part shows remnants of timber-framing, with studding visible in the left wall and an exposed segmental fireplace arch on the right. The first-floor staircase to the attic has a moulded close string, tall turned balusters, and a heavy moulded handrail that rises to square newels with attached half-balusters. In the rear part, the head of a jowled post and a truncated wall plate can be seen. On the second floor, the front right room has a corner fireplace with a moulded stone surround and a deep moulded shelf, while the front left room features a cupboard door with two raised and fielded panels. In the attic, the doors and partitions are made of planks, and the roof is underdrawn. This inn was known as The Golden Lyon in the early 18th century.