The historic Red Lion Inn...

The Red Lion is a traditional inn, which is believed to have been built in the 17th Century with an 18th Century frontage and a modern lean-to extension. It is located in a prominent position on entry to the village from Toft’s Hill. Its location is central to four main areas of the village being situated close to the school, the church, the cemetery and is next door to the village play park.

Its history is the subject of much conjecture amongst local people and historians, in particular its role during the Civil War.

Some local people like to spin the tale of the execution warrant for Charles I being signed in the Red Lion Inn by Colonel Francis Hacker (of Stathern Hall). Simply a bit of fun. What is true is that during the Civil War (1642-1651), Colonel Hacker was a prominent Leicestershire Parliamentarian who, upon the arrest of Charles I, was given the task of guarding the King during the trial. Although Colonel Hacker never signed the death warrant (kept at his home Stathern Hall), he supervised the execution proceedings on 30th January 1649. On the Restoration of Charles II, Hacker was accused of regicide, sent to the gallows and Stathern Hall was demolished.

We do know the Red Lion has been used as a focal point, public house and meeting place in Stathern for more than 300 years. It has an important association with the Enclosure of Stathern; it was at the Red Lion Inn that the meeting took place in August 1790 to determine the Enclosure Plan (which still exists), and to appoint three commissioners by statute. The three commissioners appointed were the Duke of Rutland, Peterhouse College and the proprietors. Enclosure describes various ways in which land was redistributed into designated units, usually consolidating small landholdings into larger farms. Enclosure began in the medieval period but the practice became particularly widespread in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was established through local Acts of Parliament known as Enclosure Acts.

The Red Lion was owned by Home Ales until 1989 when it was sold into private ownership. Many will remember the pubs transformation and success, driven by the enthusiasm of Robin and Gerry. Three more changes of ownership followed before the pub became best known in more recent years as one of the finest places to eat in the county, under the co-ownership of Ben Jones and chef Sean Hope. It won several awards including:

- Dining Pub of the Year for Leicestershire in the Good Pub Guide

- Michelin Bib Gourmand

- AA Pub of the Year

- The Publican Food Pub of the Year

- In 2009 it featured on television on The Hairy Bikers’ Food Tour of Britain, when the Hairy Bikers challenged Sean Hope to produce the best local dish. By a narrow margin, Sean won the challenge!

From 2005 and 2015, the Red Lion provided huge support for the annual 10-day Stathern Festival. Over the 11 years of the festival, £127,600 was raised for various organisations in the local community. £80,120 of this was raised from events which the Red Lion hosted or contributed to in a significant way.  These events included the annual Village Summer Ball, annual Party in the Park and Stathern 10K Run.

When Ben and Sean decided to concentrate their efforts on the sister pub of the Olive Branch and the conversion of the nearby Beech House, the pub was sold around 2015/16.

Sadly the pub doors were closed in 2017.

Owing to its prominence in the community, it was designated as an Asset of Community Value. Originally this covered only the building but was later upgraded to include not only the building but also the car park and grounds. Additionally, the Stathern Neighbourhood Plan identified the Red Lion as a non-designated heritage asset. The significance of a non-designated asset must be taken into consideration by local authorities when deciding planning applications.

 What is an Asset of Community Value? A building or other land is an Asset of Community Value if its main use has recently been or is presently used to further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community and could do so in the future. The Localism Act states that ‘social interests’ include cultural, recreational and sporting interests.

 Over the last few years the Red Lion has been the subject of a planning application to partially demolish the main building and convert it to a residential property, convert an outbuilding into a single dwelling and construct 4 new dwellings on the car park. This application was refused by Melton Planning in March 2025. A subsequent appeal was dismissed in April 2026.

The Red Lion remains closed.