The Red Lion is a 16th century inn, once a coaching inn on one of the main routes out of London. The pub’s name may possibly be a reference to the Russell family’s red lion arms, which were displayed on the family’s manor house in Chenies, however most Red Lions originate from the reign of James I. Already King in Scotland when he ascended to the English throne in 1603, on arrival in London the he ordered that the heraldic red lion of Scotland be displayed on all buildings of public importance – including taverns, of course.
In 1603 the plague came to Chenies, believed to be brought from a traveller to the inn. The burial records of the parish detail that between the 18th of August and the 22nd of October fourteen people died including Edward Lodesman who was the landlord of the Red Lion at the time and was buried on the 22nd of October 1603.
The original inn (now Banner Rest) probably became a coaching inn around the 1770s, and the courtyard to the left of the present buiding was where the coaches stopped. Towards the middle of the 19th century coaches began using the Bedford Arms for collecting passengers and delivering mail and in the early 1900s this original part of the Red Lion had become a general store. In 1932 it became a private house, and the extensions to what was the original coaching inn are now part of the present pub. The date of these extensions is uncertain.
In the early 1900s Mr Westall the landlord had a pony and trap to pick up visitors from Chorleywood railway station. Frank Smith recalls:
“Casual labourers would often spend all day when it was wet in the tap room at the rear. During the harvest on such occasions they would ask for a sub having spent all their money the day before here or at the Bedford Arms.”
In the 1940s the pub was regarded as a beer shop and it stabled horses for the timber haulers who used to stop for a drink. By the 1980s the Red Lion was in a state of disrepair and endanger of closing down.
Mike Norris and Jamie Godrich became joint landlords of the Red Lion in 1986. They inherited a pub which had experienced some neglect despite recieving grade II listed building status on 30 July 1984. Major innovations were undertaken primarily to the interior. The upstairs was in particular need of repair. This was done to provide accommodation and comfort for the staff. On the ground floor major alterations were undertaken tincluding new facilities in the kitchen, bar, toilets and seating area.
Mike (and Heather) Norris eventually became the sole owners of the Red Lion, and in the 2007 book Chorleywood, Chenies, Loudwater and Heronsgate, a Social History, by Ian Foster, Mike relates that
‘We are freehold; Benskins had owned the pub since 1930 and their beer was the resident beer until 2002 when they ceased brewing and we asked Vale Brewery, Aylesbury to brew a beer similar to Benskins. This is called Benns and has proved equally popular.’
The Red Lion was originally tied to Benskin’s Watford Brewery Limited. Benskin’s was Founded in 1722 by John Pope of New Street, Watford. It moved premises to the High Street in c1820 when Pope’s great-grandson John Dyson was in charge. The brewery was purchased in 1867 by Joseph Benskin for £34,000. At that time the brewery had 42 public houses tied to it. Benskin’s was registered in July 1894 and was acquired by Ind Coope Limited in 1957, Brewing ceased in 1972 and in 1978 the brewery buildings were demolished but the brewery offices were converted into the Watford Museum.
Mike Norris’s interest in the history of the pub show that between 1819 and 1830 the property was held by S Sams and J Bryant, having been conveyed to them by J Blake. In 1830, J and W Weller owned the premises for 100 years before it was acquired by Benskins. A selection of parish records and censuses between 1577 and 1861 give some interesting information. In 1577 a there were two ale houses in Chenies, one of which was the Goat Inn. The second could have been the Red Lion, however a variety of people seem to have been selling ale. In 1839 the tithe map lists the Red Lion as occupied by Samuel Clark, a wheelwright, and owned by Wellers, the Brewers of Amersham. The 1851 census has the same description but the occupier is now JM Hughes, wife and five children, one apprentice and one lodger. JM Hughes is described as a tailor and a beer seller. He moved to Little Green Street farm and died in 1884.
In 2017 the Red Lion was purchased by Nick Taverner, a long time customer, and was dubbed the ‘cosiest in UK‘ by the financial times in 2025. Mike Norris died in 2026.
content sources:
The Red Lion
Chorleywood, Chenies, Loudwater and Heronsgate, a Social History by Ian Foster
The Changing Face of the Village J W Howie
contributor: Rachel Bishop
date published: 09/02/2026