The Lion and Pheasant.

The earliest records of the Lion and Pheasant are from letters, the first dated February 27th 1707, to be left "with Mr. Benbow at ye Lyon and Pheasant" and the second dated April 5th 1714, which was "to be left at ye Lyon and Pheasant on ye Wile Cop." The first official record of the inn does not appear until1804. The inn is housed in a building with an early 18th century frontage but with a much earlier timber-framed section at the rear, which probably dates from the 16th century.

The name of the inn is very rare as the two animals are an unusual combination. The reason for this strange pairings is unknown but often two names came together when two different public houses were amalgamated. Another suggestion is that the inn was once known as the Lion and Cock a much commoner combination when it was believed that a white cock carried a crystal in its gizzard, which warded off danger from a lion. Another suggestion is that the lion has been substituted for a dog as the Dog and Pheasant is a much more common sporting sign, but if and why the substitution took place, no one knows.

In 1857 the last cockfight to be held in Shrewsbury took place at the Lion and Pheasant when around two hundred birds were taken to the inn for the "sporting" event. News of the event spread around the town bringing in a large audience ready to wager on each fight but word also reached the ear of the local police force who raided the inn and arrested the promoters, who were taken to court and fined.

Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th the Lion and Pheasant was one of the main inns on that side of town for carriers travelling to villages to the south and east of Shrewsbury. In 1886 it was the starting point for carriers to Atcham, Wroxeter and Eaton Constantine; Bayston Hill, Condover and Longnor; Cross Houses, Harnage and Cound; Evenwood; Pulverbatch, Hookagate and Longden; Smethcott and Stapleton, Dorrington and Picklescott. Up until the 1930s the Lion and Pheasant continued its link with the local villages as a number of country buses that replaced the horse drawn carrier's cart started from outside the inn.

In 1883 the inn was occupied by Mrs Mary Thorpe who advertised "Wines and spirits of the finest quality. Good stabling and lockup coach houses." Three years later she advertised that "Visitors and commercial gentlemen will find first class accommodation, with every convenience at the above hotel." By 1900 the inn was owned by Allsop's Brewery. It had eleven private and three public rooms with accommodation for twelve people in three rooms and stabling at the rear for eighteen horses. It also advertised "plenty of food accommodation."

In 1961 the inn closed and was shut for the next twenty-three years. It remained empty until 1984 when it was reopened by the Mayor of Shrewsbury Councillor Fred Jones. The new owners Mr. and Mrs Ernest Chidlow of Uffington had spent around seven years converting the old inn into a first class hotel with exposed beams, restaurant, conference facilities and parking. Two local tradesmen Dave Powell and Ken Ayres carried out a great deal of the conversion work.