The Red Lion Public House

Summary

Public house. Built in 1821 but largely re-fronted in 1871 to the design of the architect W H Rawlings, when the interior was also altered and decorative diamond-cut mirrors by Walter Gibbs and Sons of Blackfriars fitted.

Reasons for Designation

The Red Lion, St James’s, London, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a relatively rare surviving example of a late C19 public house lavishly decorated in the manner of a gin palace;

* as an early C19 building given an impressive, highly decorative, new pub frontage in 1871 with heavily moulded doorcases, fluted pilasters, elaborate frosted and etched glass, brass lanterns, and a wrought-iron balcony;

* for the quality of the interior fittings, especially the highly decorative late Victorian etched and diamond-cut mirrors in mahogany frames, thought to be the work of Walter Gibbs and Sons of Blackfriars, using some of the most advanced engraving and etching techniques available at the time;

*   for the legible plan form including the central island servery and the three entrances, engraved glass signage and remains of the partitions, clearly demonstrating the pub was originally divided into a central public bar, small side bar, and large private bar.

Historic interest:

*   as a rare surviving example of the way in which small urban public houses were arranged and fitted out in the later C19 to give a tangible sense of how it would have served at that time.

Group value:

* with the mid-C19 and Edwardian lamp standards (Grade II-listed) on Duke of York Street and the mid-C19 shop fronts on Jermyn Street (Grade II-listed).

History

Pub architecture has historically been a compromise between peoples’ desire to drink and the authorities’ desire to control it: ‘the drink question’ was a politically sensitive issue throughout the C19 and C20. The 1830 Beer Act, a reaction to the perceived evils of gin, resulted in an increase in the number of pubs, often converted from private houses and barely distinguishable from them. Small and simple, often with no bar counter, they survive in small numbers in town and countryside. Further legislation and licensing controls encouraged the architecture and plan form that became prevalent, with multiple entrances and numerous rooms for different styles of drinking, often divided by low partitions rather than solid walls, served increasingly from a single bar. There was a distinct hierarchy of spaces with prices varying in each; the ‘public bar’ was the cheapest and the ‘private bar’ was typically reserved for a certain group of regulars. There could also be a ‘tap room’ and a more exclusive ‘smoking room’, variously also called the ‘lounge’ or ‘saloon’, as well as a ‘coffee room’, a club or ‘assembly room’, a concert or ‘music room’, a ‘ladies room’, ‘news room’ and ‘commercial room’ (among others). Pubs at this time were largely patronised by working class or lower middle-class men; the public bar would be occupied by the poor and labourers, whilst the better rooms perhaps by skilled labourers, clerks, or shopkeepers (Brandwood et al 2004, 65). Not all pubs were lavishly decked out but most had some of the fittings that, when brought together, created the iconic ‘gin palace’ (a misnomer for a lavishly decorated pub rather than a true gin palace): mahogany bar counters, shelving, mirrors, partitions, frosted glass windows, signage, decorative tiling, embossed ceilings, occasionally with public rooms upstairs. The high point of pub building was in the decades either side of 1900.

The Red Lion was built in 1821, although there is thought to have been a pub on the site since 1788. The building was altered by the architect W H Rawlings with a new pub frontage in 1871, although the internal fittings may be later. He installed three doorways to the facade, which indicates that the trading area inside was divided into separate spaces clustered around the central servery at this time. The middle doorway led to the public bar, the left-hand one to a smaller bar, and the right-hand one to a private bar and back room. The pub is lined with late Victorian etched and diamond-cut mirrors that are thought to have been the work of Walter Gibb and Sons of Blackfriars, using some of the most advanced engraving and etching techniques available at the time. There are drop-down panels to the servery counter front which were originally used to access the beer engines for servicing.

Details

Public house. Built in 1821 but largely re-fronted in 1871 to the design of the architect W H Rawlings, when the interior was also altered and decorative diamond-cut mirrors by Walter Gibbs and Sons of Blackfriars fitted.

MATERIALS: built of yellow stock brick with a timber ground-floor pub frontage and a slate roof covering.

PLAN: three storeys and attic roof mansard storey with the pub on the ground floor, a kitchen and office on the first floor, and a split-level apartment to the second floor and attic. The pub has a central island servery, which originally served three partitioned sections entered from separate doorways: a central public bar, a small side bar, and a private bar continuing around behind the servery. The partitions have since been largely removed to form a single space. There is a beer cellar to the basement.

EXTERIOR: the building forms part of a terrace facing Duke of York street. The ground floor forms the main pub frontage, which is three bays wide with a timber-facing and three separate doorways leading into the pub. At the centre is a heavily moulded square-headed doorcase set on a stone plinth. It contains half-glazed timber double doors with fielded panels, brass finger plates and kick plates, and decorative frosted and etched glass panes that are marked PUBLIC BAR. Set above the doorcase is a transom light with foliage decoration to the spandrels and a pair of console brackets. On either side of the door are fielded panels beneath two huge plate glass windows; set behind the lower half of these windows internally are decorative frosted and etched glass panels. The two side doors each have a doorcase with fluted pilasters set on moulded pedestals with egg and dart decoration to the capitals, which support a heavily enriched and moulded surround to a fanlight flanked by small pilasters with composite capitals. Over each doorway is a brass lantern; these originally contained gas lamps. Running across the front of the pub is a frieze with the sign THE RED LION, a moulded cornice and a highly decorative wrought-iron balcony. A pub sign featuring a red lion also hangs between the first and second floor. On the first floor there are three square-headed one-over-one sash windows set in recessed brick arched surrounds. On the second floor is a further set of square-headed sash windows, although the central opening is blocked and now contains gold lettering, as follows: The/ RED/ LION/ PURVEYORS OF/ QUALITY/ ENGLISH/ ALES. There is an attic mansard storey with round-headed dormer windows, a slate-covered roof and brick chimney stacks with red chimney pots.

INTERIOR: the three front entrances now lead straight into the public bar; originally this space was partitioned into three separate areas, but it has since been opened out. Part of the partitions survive next to each of the side doors; these are half-glazed with decorative frosted and etched glass. The right-hand partition is labelled PRIVATE BAR. The walls are fitted with highly decorative etched and diamond-cut mirrors in mahogany frames with lower fielded panels, and there is upholstered bench seating and drinking counters. A central servery with an original mahogany counter serves the front and rear of the bar. There are drop-down panels to the front of the counter originally used to access the beer engines for servicing, with the keyholes still visible. The gantry on top of the bar counter is a later addition. The bar back has decorative etched and diamond-cut mirrors set in mahogany surrounds carved with Corinthian pilasters, keystones and other forms of enrichment. A historic RED LION sign is situated above a frieze and moulded cornice that continues around the perimeter of the room. Flanking the servery are two arched and pedimented doorcases carved with fluted Corinthian pilasters set on pedestals. There is a lincrusta ceiling and brass lamps. The left-hand doorway leads to a cast-iron spiral staircase that provides access to the first floor and a wooden winder stair down to the basement. The right-hand doorway leads into the rear room, formerly a private bar, which is surrounded by etched and diamond-cut mirrors set in arched mahogany surrounds carved with pilasters. Beneath the mirrors are drinking counters and fielded panels. The basement has brick barrel-vaulted beer cellars and bathrooms with modern sanitary ware*, fixtures and fittings*. The first floor has a kitchen with late C20 or early C21 units*, fixtures and fittings*, and an office with modern fixtures and fittings*. On the second floor is a kitchen, water closet, lounge and dining room. Apart from some historic panelled doors and joinery, these rooms largely have late C20 or early C21 fixtures and fittings*. A wooden half-turn stair leads up to the attic floor where there are two bedrooms and a bathroom largely with late C20 or early C21 sanitary ware*, fixtures and fittings*.

EXCLUSIONS
* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest. However, any works to these features which have the potential to affect the character of the listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest may still require Listed Building Consent (LBC) and this is a matter for the Local Planning Authority (LPA) to determine.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

209535

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Brandwood, G, Davison, A, Slaughter, M, Licensed To Sell: The History and Heritage of the Public House, (2011)
Girouard, M, Victorian Pubs, (1984), 130, 174

Websites
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Historic Pub Interiors website, accessed 10 December 2021 from https://pubheritage.camra.org.uk/pubs/59

Other
Historic England Listing Selection Guide: Commerce and Exchange Buildings (2017). Available online at: https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/dlsg-commerce-exchange-buildings/

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.