Monument MPM1111 - Red Lion Inn, Cathedral Green, Old Portsmouth

Red-brick foundations belonging to the Red Lion Inn, out-houses, stables, and a largely intact cobbled courtyard were revealed during excavations on Cathedral Green in 1988.

Part of the site formerly occupied by the Red Lion Inn was excavated in 1988. Its cobbled yard was found to be largely intact, and red-brick foundations belonging to the Inn and various out-houses were present on the west side of the yard. The Inn's stables and the remains of two small cottages were revealed to the east. All of the buildings had red-brick walls, with a few sections of wall built on limestone-block footings, which may have incorporated reused stone from earlier buildings. Most of the buildings had cellars, or more shallow basement areas. During the mid to late 17th century approximately 1m of redeposited soil and gravel had been added to the area between the buildings, raising the ground level from 1.5m to 2.5m above the water-table. This layer of soil and gravel contained various types of 17th century pottery, and mid-17th century clay pipe. The evidence from the excavation suggested that the Red Lion Inn building and its associated structures were constructed during the early 17th century.

Several 17th century sources make reference to the Red Lion Inn. A Lieutenant Hammond recorded his visit in 1635, and the figure-heads of the republican movement - Sir Arthur Heselrige, Colonel Moreley and Colonel Walton - lodged there in December 1659. Samuel Pepys described his visit of the 1st May 1661 in his famous diary.

The site was purchased by the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth in the late 1920s/early 1930s when plans were made to extend St. Thomas' Cathedral. The surviving buildings were demolished c. 1930s.

[1]


The original 17th Century Red Lion Inn occupied a different building on the High Street, and moved to the site in St. Thomas' Street in the early 19th Century (Public House index cards in Portsmouth History Centre). [2]

The Red Lion Inn vacated the premises in the High Street and moved into the yard to the rear between 1804 and 1842. The properties within the yard and the whole of the area bounded by Oyster Street, St Thomas' Street and High Street were bought by the Cathedral Chapter after St Thomas became a cathedral in 1927 and were demolished in order for the cathedral to be extended and the rest of area laid out as a green. [3]



Accession Number: 1988/208

<1> Fox, R, 1989, Archaeology In Hampshire Annual Report 1988 (Bibliographic reference). SPM126.

<2> Portsmouth Record Office, ?, Index to Public Houses and Beer Houses in Portsmouth (Index). SPM127.

<3> Currie, Christopher, K, 2004, An archaeological evaluation of a proposal for new visitor facilities at Portsmouth Cathedral, Portsmouth, Hants (Unpublished document). SPM676.