Red Lion, Hucknall

The Red Lion Inn was the rent house of Lord Byron in the 18th Century, where Byron's tenants came to pay their rent (www.hucknalltorkardhistory.co.uk). In the mid-eighteenth century, the landlord was the churchwarden (1749) Theophilus Allcock (J.H.Beardsmore 1909 / www.nottshistory.org.uk). Later publicans included John Allcock (1832), S.Hibbard (1855) and Mrs. Mary Ann Kirk (1876) (White & Post Office Directories). Another former resident of a cottage now incorporated into the Red Lion was "Ben Butler, who 'won the last prize for wrestling at the last contest at Bunny, which was held in 1810'. This Ben Butler reaped fame as a breeder of fighting cocks, and he had at one time a pressing demand for his birds, and for his own presence, too, at big cock-fights. He kept the cocks in his cellars, and they rambled over the roads and in the neighbouring gardens in the daytime, which often was the cause of friction between Ben and his neighbours." (J.H.Beardsmore 1909 / www.nottshistory.org.uk). Asset of Community Value registered 11th March 2016 and nominated by the Nottingham Branch of CAMRA. The Red Lion has an entry on Ashfield District Council's Local Heritage List (September 2016) as being "Locally Listed". [Ashfield District Council; Hucknall Central Ward / Sherwood Parliamentary Constituency]