Former White Lion Public House

Former White Lion Public House

A public house of 1896 designed by James and Lister Lea, with an attached late 18th-century building to the north.

Both buildings are constructed of brick. Number 34 has limestone dressings and iron railings beneath a slate roof, while number 36 lacks stone dressings and is roofed in tile. The plan shows number 34 as rectangular with a canted corner addressing both Horse Fair and Thorp Street, while number 36 continues northwards along Horse Fair. Both buildings have large single-storey flat-roofed extensions to the rear that have infilled former courtyards; these later additions are not included in the listing.

The main public house is executed in Elizabethan Revival style with brick facades punctuated by limestone plat bands. It rises three storeys, with a central entrance door at the corner bay marked by a clock, spirelet and iron weathervane above. On the first and second storeys of the corner bay are central two-light mullioned windows with fluted pilasters; the first floor windows carry two transoms. To either side are additional single-light windows with curved glass following both roads around the corner. The first floor window on the right appears to retain leaded glass, while the left-hand example has lost its lead. A balcony with decorative wrought iron railings occupies the second storey of the corner, continuing around the building to connect with the adjacent windows.

To the left of the corner, fronting Horse Fair, the building continues with giant fluted Corinthian pilasters and a central shaped gable bearing a carved panel with the initials J D & S for John Davenport and Sons Brewery. This facade displays a roughly symmetrical composition with a wide central bay containing a double-height Renaissance-arched architrave framing the first and second-floor windows. The first floor opening is a four-light mullioned and transomed window with the central mullion carved as a column with foliate capital, appearing to support the second-storey oriel balcony above. The balcony features decorative wrought iron railings and a four-light mullioned window, with the central mullion continuing the column effect and supporting a keystone. To the north, the building extends with an additional pilaster and first and second-storey windows, the first floor opening carrying a transom.

To the right of the corner, along Thorp Street, the public house continues with an additional shaped gable bearing mouldings and a carved date stone of 1896. Beneath this gable is a further oriel balcony with railings of similar design to that on Horse Fair but slightly smaller, with three-light windows at first and second floors. Further east is a mullioned and transomed first-floor window with limestone dressings, surmounted by two single-pane sash windows. The eastern end of this facade is separated by a brick pilaster with a sash stair window to the left, featuring a rubbed brick arch and limestone keystone. To the right are two further timber sash windows, those at first storey level also having rubbed brick arches and keystones. The ground floor of this eastern section is unenclosed brick with two small casement leaded windows. A late 20th-century single-storey flat-roofed extension fronts Thorp Street to the east and is not included.

Number 34 exhibits greater spacing between floor plates than number 36, and although both rise three storeys, number 34 is significantly taller. Number 36 is roofed in pitch and displays a series of four four-light horned sashes at first-floor level and four four-light casements at second floor. The facade is symmetrical and its origin as two separate buildings remains clearly legible. A central scar in the brickwork indicates that the north end has been rebuilt, with only the south end retaining original brick segmental arches above the first-floor windows. At ground floor the facade has been enclosed by the early 21st-century frontage of a gentleman's club, though some elements of the original frontage may survive beneath. The right-hand bay now forms the principal entrance.

The ground floors of numbers 34 and 36 are mostly open-plan following considerable alteration to create a large, open bar space extending through to the 20th-century extension to the rear (not included). Some internal joinery survives in the bar area, including dado rails and cornicing, although some sections and applied panelling are later additions designed to match the original. The principal bar is a later insertion with applied panelling. The back bar retains a deeply moulded cornice and may be original, though it has been altered. Brick steps descend from ground floor to the basement, which contains the pub's services including a surviving barrel chute accessed via Thorp Street.

The upper floors of number 34 are accessed by a late 19th-century newel post stair. The stair features a fluted post with heavy moulding and foliate carving at ground-floor level, becoming plainer in design as it rises. The open-string stair has curved tread ends and a pendant with two balusters to each tread. An arch opening at first-floor level, now partly infilled, leads to a large function room occupying the southern and western end of the building with views over Horse Fair. At the northern end of this room an elegant late 19th-century fireplace surround with egg-and-dart cornice survives, though 20th-century tiling has been inserted to the interior. Original cornicing and moulded window architraves remain, as does the skirting. A dado rail features decorative indentation above and below the moulded string, with Lincrusta wallpaper in situ below the dado. Remnants of a gas lamp are attached to the wall above the entrance door. The remainder of the first floor has been subdivided to accommodate cloakroom facilities, though original cornicing remains. A further room, likely an office, survives at the very rear of number 34, equipped with built-in cupboards.

The second floor of number 34 retains both decorative cast-iron fireplaces. Although the space has been altered and adapted to create a self-contained flat, much original joinery survives, including four-panelled doors, skirting and moulded window architraves.

The first floor of number 36 has been removed to create a double-height space, while the second storey is now accessible only via the roof of the 20th-century extension and contains spaces used for storage and a 20th-century timber roof structure.