Red Lion Square

Red Lion Square (Fig. 138)

The Square derives its name from the former Red Lion Inn, at No. 2 (278), which ceased to exist sometime before c. 1720. During the 18th century it was also known as the White Meat Market. Originally it probably extended further to the W. and S., but has been curtailed by early encroachments. By the 14th century the stalls which occupied open space had been rebuilt in more permanent form; these replacements were arranged in rows, called Butchers Street, Wollerowe and Byhindback. One tenement in Byhindback, described in 1340 as consisting solely of shop and loft (Peck XI, 35), was probably typical. These encroachments were progressively cleared during the later 18th century, the last ones being removed c. 1800.

The most notable building is No. 6–7 (280) occupying the S. side of the Square. Of considerable importance, its original status is uncertain but it is tempting to regard it as a possible guildhall.

(277) House, No. 1, two storeys and attics, timber-framed, rendered, dates from the second half of the 17th century. The two-bay collared roof has heavy timbering. The ground floor is gutted for a shop.

(278) House, No. 2, two storeys, comprises a range placed end on to the street; the central part has a medieval origin as suggested by the roof pitch. The section next to the street was rebuilt with an ashlar front in the 18th century; it originally extended further S. on the site of No. 3, as shown by a single jamb of a destroyed window on the first floor. The rear section was rebuilt in red brick in the early 19th century and at the same time a shop front with central doorway was installed. Also, space for a small office was acquired from the adjacent property. Inside, the staircase has a fretted balustrade in the Chinese taste, somewhat repaired. At the E. end of the yard stands a stone building of two storeys and attics, c. 1700; it was probably built as kitchens and servants' quarters. Wooden transom-and-mullion windows remain with original iron casements.

(279) Former Houses and Shops, now mostly offices; a corner site with Nos. 4 and 5 in the Square and No. 1 in High Street (Plate 161). In 1843 the Marquess of Exeter renounced part of No. 1 High Street in order to allow the Improvement Commissioners to widen the road provided the Comissioners built a 'new and respectable front' (Mercury, 28 April 1843). In 1846 the Corporation sold to the Marquess Nos. 4 and 5 Red Lion Square, already partly demolished by the Commissioners, on condition that he rebuilt them (Ex. MS. 46/3). The architect was one of the Brownings, probably Bryan, and the contractor was Moses Peal who submitted a tender for £2,750. The building was roofed by December 1848 (Mercury, 31 March, 14 April, 7 July, 14 July, 22 December 1848).

The building was designed to include three houses and shops but the ground floor has been totally altered. It is of three storeys with attics and cellars, and the walls are of squared and coursed rubble with freestone quoins and dressings. Its architectural style combines Jacobean and Dutch motifs, the windows being mullioned, some transomed, and the attic dormers having shaped gables. The corner between two streets is obtuse. Rainwater heads feed into a heavy cornice-like timber gutter.

(280) House, Nos. 6 and 7 (Fig. 139), two storeys, attics and cellar, timber-framed, is a 15th-century building of some size. A stone front was added on the E. in the 18th century. It is jettied at the front (N.) and originally at the back (S.), where it has been under-built. Later shop fronts replace much of the N. wall; that belonging to No. 6 was installed in 1848 (Mercury, 22 Sept.).

The medieval structure incorporates large timbers; on the upper floor are slightly curved parallel braces arranged in herringbone fashion between widely spaced posts and studs (Fig. 139). The plaster infilling was secured by wooden pegs projecting from the sides of the studs and braces. The wall plates have splayed scarfs. In the centre of the S. wall, on the first floor, are the remains of a three-light wooden window with cusped and traceried head (Plate 76). The roof is divided into six unequal bays. The two W. bays may have formed a separate room, at least on the first floor; the dividing truss has the same technique of plaster infilling as occurs externally and is therefore probably original. There are no other indications of the original plan. The upper rooms were open to the roof which is of crown post construction with braced tie beams; the crown posts are braced upwards to the collar purlin and downwards to the tie beam (Fig. 139). A second, higher, collar may be a later but still early insertion.

In the cellar three large recesses, each with flat, two-centred, chamfered heads are of late medieval date. Later features include a large glazed lantern on the roof; it contains seats and dates from c. 1830.

(281) Houses and Shops, Nos. 8–10 (Plate 140), three storeys, cellars, ashlar front wall, coursed rubble rear wall, comprise three original shops with living accommodation above. The row follows the curve of the street at its N. end. It was built in 1818 by the second Marquess of Exeter on land which had been leased to the Earl of Exeter in 1797 on condition that the buildings then standing were rebuilt according to plans by Legg (Blore, 207, 208). Rebuilding however did not take place until 1818 (Mercury, 2 April). The cost of the present row was £1,120 (Drakard, 349). A clock in the wall of the N. tenement is signed 'Haynes, Stamford'; Thomas Haynes, clockmaker and silversmith, occupied the corner property of the former building in 1804 and continued business on the same site after the premises had been rebuilt (Nattes' drawing).

The three shop fronts are early 19th-century; No. 10, the more pretentious, has a central entrance flanked by Doric columns, and Nos. 8 and 9 have side entrances with attenuated columns, and each have separate doorways to the dwellings on the upper floors. Inside, early 19th-century doors and architraves survive, but the stair in the central tenement is modern.

(282) House, No. 11, a corner building, three storeys and attics, coursed rubble walls, freestone dressings, mansard roof, is late 18th-century. Sash windows on the upper floors have continuous sills.