The Golden Lion Public House Clifton

The Golden Lion in March 2007

The Golden Lion Public House: 22 Church Street, Clifton

The deeds to this premises, which was owned by Simpson & Company of Baldock [Hertfordshire] are held by Hertfordshire Archives Service, the only documents in Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service referring to the public house are general records such as censuses, valuations and licensing registers running, with gaps, from 1822 to 1980. Simpson & Company was floated as a private company in 1935 as Simpson's Brewery Limited. It was taken over by Suffolk Brewers Greene King in 1954. In 1927 the public house was valued under the 1925 Rating Valuation Act. The valuer found a building comprising a living room, kitchen, tap room ("fair") and bar parlour ("small"), downstairs with three bedrooms and a box room above; there was also a cellar. Outside were a coal barn, a two stall stable, a barn, hen house, two bay open shed, pig sties and a cart shed with a loft over. Trade consisted of two barrels of beer and twelve dozen bottles of beer per week along with 1½ gallons of spirits for average takings of £20 per week. The valuer has written the cryptic remark "must be personality here" - perhaps referring to the need for the licensee to have a certain amount of charisma in order to attract custom to make the business profitable. Adjoining the public house was a house, owned by the brewery and sublet by the landlord to a C. L. Rawlings consisting of a living room and one bedroom "this is occupied 3 days a week by a watch maker for business…v. poor".

List of Licensees: note that this is not a complete list. Italics indicate licensees whose beginning and/or end dates are not known:

References:

• CRT110/102: deeds to public house at Hertfordshire Archives Service as part of Simpson & Company collection: 1742-1826;
• CLP13: Register of Alehouse Licenses, changing from Red to Golden Lion in 1823: 1822-1828;
• HF143/1: Register of Alehouse Licences - Biggleswade Petty Sessional Division: 1872-1873;
• HF143/2: Register of Alehouse Licences - Biggleswade Petty Sessional Division: 1874-1877;
• HF143/3: Register of Alehouse Licences - Biggleswade Petty Sessional Division: 1878-1881;
• HF143/4: Register of Alehouse Licences - Biggleswade Petty Sessional Division: 1882-1890;
• HF143/5: Register of Alehouse Licences - Biggleswade Petty Sessional Division: 1891-1900;
• HF143/6: Register of Alehouse Licences - Biggleswade Petty Sessional Division: 1900-1914;
• PSBW8/1: Register of Alehouse Licences - Biggleswade Petty Sessional Division: 1903-1915;
• DV1/C186: rating valuation: 1927;
• PSBW8/2: Register of Alehouse Licences - Biggleswade Petty Sessional Division: 1956-1972;
• PSBW8/3: Register of Alehouse Licences - Biggleswade and North Bedfordshire Petty Sessional Divisions: 1976-1980.