The Red Lion Hotel
The Red Lion Hotel is a Grade I listed hotel in Salisbury , England .
location
The hotel is located in Salisbury city center and comprises a complex of buildings located between Milford Street to the north and Brown Street to the east. The north entrance to the hotel is spanned by the arch in front of the Red Lion Hotel .
Furnishing
The Hotel The Red Lion belongs to the Best Western chain and has 60 rooms, a restaurant and a bar. There are several event and conference rooms with capacities from 5 to 110 guests.
history
The history of the hotel goes back to the Middle Ages and the then White Bear Inn ( German meaning: Gasthaus Weißer Bär ). This previous building is said to have been built for the architect of Salisbury Cathedral . From the end of the 13th century, visitors to the cathedral or Salisburys are said to have been accommodated in the house. In the hotel's own presentation, it describes itself as the oldest still existing hotel in Europe , with a history of more than 800 years.
At the beginning of the 18th century the name was changed to Red Lion and Cross Keys (German meaning: Red Lion and crossed keys ). In 1766 Daniel Pearce Safe took over the hotel from Ralph Musselwhite. Safe was the Salisbury postmaster and moved the post office into the house. As a result, the hotel became the destination and starting point of all stagecoaches that went to or from Salisbury. Safe then changed its name on January 30, 1769, so that it has only been called Red Lion since then . From the 18th to the 20th century, the hotel was an important address, especially for business travelers on the route from London to Exeter . In the late 1770s, much to the displeasure of the hotel owner, troops were quartered in the house, which had a detrimental effect on the hotel's operations. There were also merchants and farmers visiting Salisbury Market.
After the founding of the Salisbury Rugby Club , the hotel also became its clubhouse. During the First World War , the house was also used by Australian troops stationed in Codford . They were remembered negatively because when they left in 1918 they also stole a double bed from the hotel as a souvenir.
The arch has been listed as a monument since February 28, 1952 and is listed as a building of national importance and special interest in category II of the English list of monuments .
architecture
The oldest part of the hotel that still exists today is the south wing. An open gallery originally existing here, from which one could see into the inner courtyard, was closed in the 19th century.
The facade of the three-story north wing along Milford Street dates from the early 19th century. In the right half of the building there is a two-storey high building passage with pilasters on the side . The facade to Brown Street was changed in the 18th century.
The Red Lion Hotel in Literature
Molly Maidment was born in the hotel and in 1989 she published Child of the "Red Lion": An Hotelier's Story .
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 51 ° 4 ′ 6.9 " N , 1 ° 47 ′ 36.2" W.