White Lion Public House
The balcony of the White Lion Public House in the Market Place faced out towards the top of King Street before buildings were erected in between. From here, election addresses and other pronouncements were given to the townspeople. It was demolished after a fire in 1908/9.
From the Belper Historical Society Collection
The White Lion first appears in the trade directories in 1828. It’s claimed that one landlord, Samuel Hunt, invented the ‘frog’, the indented hollow in bricks which makes them lighter and easier to grip and provides additional space for mortar, resulting in a stronger brick bond.
You can see daylight coming through the rafters in this photograph – this is likely to be after the 1908 fire, and just before the balcony was removed. The building was still thatched at this point.