The Red Lion
The Red Lion
Meet the Landlord
Miles Hall and his wife Emily Poll had both been in service with Robert Woods Purdy at Woodgate House for 28 years, Emily as cook and Miles the coachman, groom and accomplished horse trainer. Trunch Brewery sold the pub to Hall in January 1908 for £1,400.
The Red Lion in 1908
This is Miles Hall outside the pub in 1908. Miles was the publican there from about 1902. He and his wife Emily stayed at the Red Lion until Miles retired in 1924. After he retired, he sold the pub back to the brewery. He died in 1934 aged 79.
Closure in 1972
Taken just after the pub's closure, the pub closed in February 1972 and was converted into shops in 1975. The yard was developed into housing in the late 1990s.
The Red Lion
There have been nine drinking establishments along Red Lion Street during its history – 13 if you include the pubs and wine bars that are currently there! This is the site of the only pub on the west side of Red Lion Street. The pub was initially known as The Globe. It took the name The Red Lion in 1701 giving the name to the road it stands on which had previously been known as Market Street, George Street or Bull Street
The food at the Red Lion seems to have been popular! In 1811 a report in the Northampton Mercury describes the visit of Joseph Lemmon who stopped for ‘a little refreshment’. He apparently managed to eat 6 ½ pounds of beef steaks, devour a rabbit and eat one pint of fried bacon, together with a 6d loaf and a gallon of beer. He finished his meal by drinking the grease the rabbit had been fried in!
The Inn had a facelift in 1820 when William Weaver announced that he had refitted the inn and that it now had good beds, excellent stabling, neat wines, foreign spirits and that music could be provided for Quadrille dances and assemblies.
When John Cooper took over in 1863, the inn was being run as a ‘Family and Commercial Hotel and Posting House’. They also employed an ostler which shows how important the carriage trade must have been.
By 1930 the Red Lion was no longer trading as a hotel just a busy pub. The Red Lion had a large club room over the coach house which was used by a variety of different groups for meetings and functions, including the Aylsham Fire Brigade annual dinner, Aylsham Town Football club and supper for the C Company of the 3rd Norfolk Volunteers.
Another publican, Albert Murton, was a retired policeman and apparently kept a sabre behind the bar in case of trouble!
During the war, it was highly popular with both locals and billeted troops. An amusing regular joke during the blackouts involved watching strangers exit. Trying to avoid letting light escape, they would carefully step inside and shut the door, only to find themselves trapped in the broom cupboard.
In the years just before its closure, the Red Lion was known for its large dance floor, and bands would regularly play in the Blue Room in the yard.
Jude Smith
Design Smith is a small independent illustrated goods studio based in Norfolk. Jude and Tina make things they care deeply about - hand-drawn cards, prints, notebooks and tea towels rooted in vintage design and popular culture.
Jude leads on illustration, hand-drawing every design that sits at the heart of what they make. Tina leads on making the studio work. The decisions, the direction, and everything in between - that's both of them.
Drawn by hand. Made with intention. Sent from Norfolk with love.
For more, follow Jude and Tina on Instagram and visit the Design Smith website
All historical images reproduced here courtesy of Aylsham Town Archive, a part of Aylsham Town Council
