MSO10844 - Lion Hotel, Fore Street, Dulverton (Building)

The Lion Hotel is dated mid 19th century. It has two storeys plus an attic. [1] It was popular for people to stay at the (Red) Lion during the sporting season. At the sale in 1888, the property was described as having 16 bedrooms, coach houses, lofts, granary, stabling for 35 horses, and a walled garden fully stocked with fruit trees. [2] The building is mentioned in the 2003 Conservation Area Character Appraisal for Dulverton. [3] The Lion was previously known as the Red Lion. [4] The Red Lion was one of 10 licensed premises in Dulverton, in 1790. [5] The building was visited in February 2012 as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. It received a BAR score of 6. [6] The building is shown on the Tithe Map for Dulverton and is labelled 2106. The Apportionment describes it as the "Red Lion Inn", owned by and occupied by John Passmore Lockyer. The stables supporting the building were sited across Union Street (MEM21990). [7] The hotel is depicted but not labelled on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map. [8] 2018 MasterMap data depicts the hotel and describes it as "Lion Hotel". [9] Fore Street was photographed in around 1890 from Bank Street. At this time, the Lion Hotel did not have its portico and gable. When William King sold up in 1888, the property had '16 bedrooms, coach houses, lofts, granary and stabling for 35 horses'. [10] Kelly's Directory lists an inn and posting house at the Red Lion, held by Robert Slade. The Hotel had a visitor book in which the first entry dates to 1877 and is continuous until 1928, with a gap until 1933 and then a further gap from 1940 until a few isolated entries in 1975. There are various references to hunting, including two in 1907 to otter hunting, and walkers and cyclists also used the hotel. [11] The Lion Hotel is one of Dulverton’s surviving historic hostelries. Occupying a corner site, it has a tripartite plan with the central section having a half-timbered pediment flanked by cambered-head dormers each side. All windows to the front elevation are six-over-six sashes and the flat-roofed central porch is surmounted by two brightly painted recumbent lion figures. The town centre has a particularly good selection of mid 20th Century metal road signs attached to the Lion Hotel. [12] The building was assessed as part of the 2018-19 rapid condition survey of Exmoor’s Listed Buildings, receiving a BAR score of 6. [13]