The Red Lion

Hidden down a doppelgänger for Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley, this timber-fronted, lead-windowed ancient boasts an early example of pub branding. Its heraldic crest (the eponymous ‘red lion’) was one of many ordered by James I to signify to his illiterate subjects that they were about to enter a government-approved tavern whose ale would not leave them ailing. No chance of that today, with well-kept Adnams from Suffolk or Cornish Tribute on tap. Fine Scotch is also on offer, along with wines & a range of fresh-cut, deep-fill sandwiches, which are available for the modern equivalent of a groat or two. Popular with our future king’s courtiers & Mondeo man alike, this is a timely reminder of how friendly neighbourhood public houses used to be.