Summary
Inn constructed in the early C19, possibly replacing an earlier inn. The building was extended to the north and east during the C20.
History
Although evidence of Roman and Saxon settlement within Oswestry is sparse, the existence of a large and remarkably well-preserved Iron Age hill fort to the north of the town centre points to a long history of settlement in the area. A motte and bailey castle was constructed shortly after the Norman conquest (1066), and the town appears to have developed in its present location from the C12 onwards, initially to the south of the castle mound. The town was defended by walls and a ditch, although its defensive roll ceased to be important by the late medieval period; the tight network of streets in the town centre represents the development of the land within the bailey to the south and west of the castle mound during the C14-C16. During this period the town flourished as a market for Welsh wool and cloth. The late-medieval and early modern town was largely timber-framed, although today fairly few examples survive from the C15 to C17, often hidden behind later brick facades.
The town developed a newfound importance during the later C18 as a coaching station on the London to Holyhead road. Many buildings in the town centre are of the late C18 and early C19, typically built in red brick and often stuccoed. A rapid expansion in housing followed the establishment of a Cambrian Railway works site to the east of the town centre in 1866. The town’s continued prominence as a regional centre by the late C19 is reflected in the grand, Free Renaissance-style Guildhall of 1893, among other contemporary municipal and commercial buildings. The C20 brought piecemeal rebuilding of the town centre and the growth of suburbs, particularly to the east of the railway. Oswestry’s train station closed to passengers in 1966.
The Red Lion Inn was built in the early C19. An inn named the Red Lion has existed on Bailey Head since at least the 1660s and it is possible that the present building replaced an earlier building of the same name. The principal, west elevation fronting Bailey Head has been altered fairly little, although one of the two entrances is now blocked and the roof covering has been replaced with concrete tiles. The three-storey range to the north may be a later addition but was extant by 1873. This range was extended to the north in two phases during the C20, comprising a pair of single-storey lean-tos. The primary, southern range was also extended to the rear during the C20.
Details
Inn constructed in the early C19, possibly replacing an earlier inn. The building was extended to the north and east during the C20.
MATERIALS: the building is constructed of red brick with a stuccoed primary (west) elevation. The roof covering is concrete tile.
PLAN: the building has a loosely T-shaped plan, with a principal, southern range fronting Bailey Head, an accommodation wing to the north running east at a right angle with the principal range, and a later, C20 extension running north from the accommodation wing.
EXTERIOR: the principal range fronting Bailey Head is of two storeys plus cellar across five bays under a pitched roof. The principal, west elevation is loosely symmetrical. The central bay of the ground floor has a canted bay window with a central, six-over-six glazed, timber sash window flanked by a pair of four-over-four glazed timber sashes. There are entrances in the first and fourth bays from the north gable wall – the southern entrance is now blocked. They are of a similar design with Doric half-columns rising to an entablature over the doorway. The main entrance in the northernmost bay has a four-panelled door within a plain, timber surround with a two-pain overlight. There are windows with stucco cills to either side of the main entrance. To the north (still within the northernmost bay) is a narrow sash window with four-over-four glazing and horns. To the south is an eight-over-eight glazed, timber sash with horns. In the southernmost bay is another eight-over-eight glazed, timber sash window with horns and a stucco cill. On the first floor are three, evenly-spaced, eight-over-eight glazed, timber sashes with stucco cills.
Adjoining the principal range to the north is a three-storey wing with a pitched roof and orientated east-west. On its west elevation, there are eight-over-eight glazed, timber sash windows with stucco cills on the ground and first floors and a three-over-three glazed, timber sash window on the second floor. The northern half of the west elevation is largely concealed by the adjacent indoor market building. The rear, north elevation of the north wing is of exposed red brick and carries a series of uPVC casements, along with a round-arched, timber window on the ground floor. A C20, single-storey lean-to abuts the southern end of the elevation, and larger, single-storey extension extends northward from the north wing, abutting the adjacent indoor market building.
