The Red Lion
The Red Lion |
|
Occupying a prominent position in the village The Red Lion is opposite the church. Much folklore exists about the pub and it is supposed to date from Elizabethan times. Building work in the past has revealed a hidaway, possibly a priest hole, and there are rumours of a tunnel leading down to the backwaters suggesting a possible smuggling connection.
At some stage between the wars we know that two dormer windows were removed, although there is still accommodation in the roof space, and a fairly major rebuild after WWII set the shape for the pub as we see it today. What is now the restaurant was at that time the "tap room" which was a room for drinking - possibly with the beers served directly from the casks. The space now used as the car park was at one time occupied by adjacent cottages and a small butchers shop and a large shed stood in what is now the garden housing a large, steam powered threshing machine. It is clear even today however that parts of the building are indeed very old and although much altered over the years the pub still retains a great charm.
The pub today consists of an L-shaped drinking area on two levels (once separate rooms) and a separate restaurant (formerly the "tap room"). Low beams are a feature of the pub and patrons must "Duck or grouse" as they enter the lower drinking area.
Records go back to 1769 when the premises appear in ale house licensing records. We then start to pick up detail in the 19th Century directories and merging data from several sources gives the list of publicans and owners shown below.
| 1769 – 1826 | Alehouse – licensing records. |
| 1839 | Occupied by George Low (Pigot's). |
| 1845 | Occupied by Joseph Peck (Post Office). |
| 1848 | Occupied by George Lee (White's). |
| 1862 | Occupied by Charles Warren (Kelly's). |
| 1870 | Occupied by John Stewart (Kelly's). |
| 1878 | Occupied by Henry Cook (Kelly's). |
| 1894 | Occupied by Walter Brown (Kelly's). Owned by Alston and Sons, Brewers of Manningtree. |
| 1925 | Occupied by Eliza Brown (Kelly's). |
| 1933 | Occupied by Alfred Henry Rappitt (Kelly's). |
| 1944 – 1958 | Owned by Daniell and Co., Brewers of West Bergholt. |
| 1958 – 1988 | Owned by Truman, Hanbury Buxton & Co. Ltd./Truman Ltd./Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd. |
| 1988 – | Owned by Inntrepreneur and later Enterprise Inns. |
The transfer of ownership of the pub from Alstons to Daniells to Trumans and on to Grand Met./Inntrepreneur/Enterprise reflects the trend of larger brewers buying up smaller ones and then either being broken up or selling their tied estate to pub management companies.