White Lion Inn—Market Place

The building that housed the former White Lion pub is thought to have been built around the middle of the 18th century, by Hull carpenter George Newby. The internal layout of the former inn is still vaguely discernible within the existing building and some original features such as fireplaces and stairs are still intact. Whilst it has an 18th century front, it may have an earlier core, possibly of the 17th century. I think George Newby may rebuilt an earlier building that had once stood on the site.

A 1952 newspaper article describes it as ‘the oldest licensed hotel in Barton’, dating from 1558, and in a later newspaper article of 2 March 1967 the then licensee, Mr F R Register noted that the pub was ‘originally built more than four hundred years ago’. He went on to say that he believed it had burnt down and been rebuilt on the same site in the 18th century and had a copy of the Barton Tribune newspaper from 1754, which described cock fighting in the yard of the pub.

Barton was indeed troubled by a huge fire in 1730, which may have badly damaged or possibly even destroyed the White Lion and many other buildings on the south side of Market Place. Following the fire, an inventory was taken ‘of Joseph Moor’s stable’ and the stock included eight Hogs heads [of ale] valued at £2-8s-0d, three half Hogs heads at 12s, five 10-gallon barrels at 10s-0d, two small barrels at 3s. Also recorded were eight and a half Hogs heads of ale at £25-10s-0d and stocks of claret and other wines. The cellar was noted to have been laid out in Baltic timber as a Cock-Pit. The White Lion was still known to have a cock-pit, barn, yard and stables as late as 1767. The Hull Advertiser of 25 March 1831 gave the following brief details of the pub: