Friendly two-bar locals' free house, once a pair of cottages. The large public bar has original etched windows and is decorated with a tapestry and pictures of lions plus a collection of plates. Behind the public bar is a conservatory, beer garden, and a skittle alley.
One star - A pub interior of special national historic interest
Listed status: Not listed
In 1938 the adjoining house (left) was incorporated into a much enlarged public bar and many fittings remain from then. An intact off-sales remains in the lobby. Through a door partition on the left is the public bar – note there are Victorian-style 'Public Bar' etched windows in both parts so that on the left has been moved (or is a copy). A new Formica frontage was added to the counter in the 1980s. On the right, the lounge / dining room has a counter that may be from the 1930s but it too has front panels added in the 1980s and the top looks to be of similar date; the bar-back fitting is post-war. Food only on Sunday lunchtime.
In 1938 the adjoining house on the left was combined to create a vastly enlarged public bar and many fittings from 1938 remain. It retains an intact off sales in the lobby created by a leaded glass partition and with a rising lower window. Through a door in the partition on the left is the public bar – note there are Victorian-style 'Public Bar' etched windows in both parts so that on the left has been moved (or is a copy?) – and the fixed seating looks to be Victorian and therefore re-positioned. The counter in the public bar could date from the 1930s i.e. the same date as the partition but in the 1980s a new Formica frontage was added. The bar back looks like it could be 1930s work. On the right the lounge / dining room has a counter that could also date from the 1930s but it too has front panels added in the 1980s and the top looks to be of similar date; the bar-back fitting is from the post-war period.
Some information from ‘The Pubs of Hereford City’ by Ron Shoesmith (Logaston Press, 1994) ISBN 1873827148.
Golden Lion, Hereford