The Lion for sale at £2.95m

It’s the end of an era at The Lion Hotel which is up for sale at £2.95m after the present owner, 67-year-old Howard Astbury, has decided to retire.

Howard bought the Shrewsbury business five years ago in 1996 after running hotels in Wiltshire and Devon.

Birmingham-based Christie & Co are selling the historic hotel in Wyle Cop, which the Shropshire Star reported has a turnover of £1.3 million a year and employs about 40 people. Staff have been assured that no jobs will be lost.

The 59-bedroom hotel, which has three stars from the AA, has an 18th century ballroom which is licensed for civil marriage ceremonies and seats up to 140.

Gavin Wright, from Christie & Co, told the Star: “The hotel represents an excellent opportunity to either become part of a larger hotel group or remain in private hands with the new owners building on its long-standing reputation.”

The Lion Hotel, pictured below, has had a long list of famous guests who have stayed there over the years including Charles Dickens, King William IV, Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Darwin, Niccolo Paganini and in more modern times the Beatles, Morecambe and Wise and Cliff Richard.

It is believed that Darwin left from The Lion Hotel on a stagecoach having applied for the job as naturalist on board HMS Beagle, which led to his epic round the world trip and the publication of On the Origin of Species.

When he arrived back in England he caught the first stagecoach from Cornwall to Shrewsbury, where having arrived late in the evening he again stayed at The Lion before going home to his family for breakfast.

For me it is the end of the era because Howard invited me to write the book on the hotel’s history, encouraged me over the project and was very patient as I asked many, many questions.

He is a real gentleman, a great ambassador for Shrewsbury and I wish him a long, happy and restful retirement.

Incidentally, anyone with £3m to spend on buying The Lion would do well to read its fascinating history first.

Email John@jbutterworth.plus.com to buy a copy at the special buyer’s price of £6 including postage to anywhere in the UK.