Lion Statue - The White Lion pub - Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Posted by: 
SMacB
N 52° 55.505 W 001° 12.765
30U E 620145 N 5865431
A lion statue at the White Lion pub, Beeston, a copy of one of the pair in front of the Council House in Nottingham.
Waymark Code: WMXJ49
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/17/2018
Views: 1
A lion statue at the White Lion pub, Beeston, a copy of one of the pair in front of the Council House in Nottingham.
An art-deco stone lion above the entrance to The White Lion pub. The design of the lion is very similar to that of the lions at Council House, Nottingham (
visit link) which were designed by Nottingham sculptor Joseph Else, though this may just be a copy - although not quite an exact copy, this one doesn't look quite so grumpy.
About the original -
"Nottingham’s superlative Council House, with its 200 foot high dome and ten and a half ton bell called Little John, was designed by the architect T Cecil Howitt, but the lions, and much of the sculpture, were by Nottingham sculptor Joseph Else (1874-1955). Joseph Else was the principle of the Nottingham School of Art on Waverly Street between 1923 and 1939.
The lions have been a popular symbol in Nottingham for many years and since 2006 Nottingham City Council has used the lion on some of its promotional material, in campaigns and on stationery.
To local people meeting at the ‘Left Lion’ has been an indispensable part of life in Nottingham since the Council House opened in 1929. The ‘Left Lion’ is the one on your left as you face the steps and entrance at the front of the building. A Nottingham arts and listings paper is called the Left Lion.
The two lions are known locally to a few people as Leo and Oscar, although some would say Menelaus and Agamemnon, and you would be hard pressed to find anyone from Nottingham who doesn’t recognize them.
Local legend has it that the lions roar when a virgin walks by."
SOURCE - (
visit link)