Hazells Histories – The Golden Lion Brewery

Prior to the formation of Greene King in 1887 with the amalgamation of Fred King’s St Edmund’s Brewery and Edward Greene’s Westgate Brewery, there were  several independent breweries in the town. The Southgate Brewery, The Risbygate Brewery and Saracens Head Brewery prominent others. The Golden Lion Brewery at the bottom of St Andrews Street South was started in 1868 by publican Thomas Simmonds who had taken over a beer-house at 57, Guildhall Street, it receiving its full licence in 1857.  He continued brewing  until his death in 1884 when his widow,  Susan took over running the enterprise.  A relative, a James Simmonds must have purchased the brewery at the sale of it with other lots in March 1886 (see advert) because in 1889,  now in competition with Greene King the Golden Lion advertised recommending  ‘Strong Seasoned Ales and Double Stout” and the fact that  it was ‘Contractor to the Suffolk General Hospital’! Unfortunately it was unable to compete in the open market and ceased trading in 1896. Now called the Golden Lion Tap,  57, Guildhall Street was purchased by Bishop & Co owner of the Saracens Head Brewery (now the Hunter Club) in 1901 finally calling time in 1907.

Subsequently the buildings on site  of the brewery evolved into a forge for wheelbarrows of all things run by the renowned local builders, Warren family, the Marsham Tyre Co (later National Tyres) and Barkers fish & chip shop later to be called The Carlo when owned by the Emblem family. The Malthouse had an upholstery business there, G. B. Upholstery until this building was demolished in 2003 to have a new development, St Edmundsbury Mews built there.  The clapper-boarded building fronting St Andrews St South was retained. A strange postscript to the Golden Lion story is that the whole site is on a slope known by locals in the past as , The Bungee. This was part of the medieval western defences of the town , known as Le Dycheway, a ditch and rampart which stretched the whole length of St Andrews St South and North. Why this name is a mystery!

Hazells Histories are kindly provided by renowned local historian Martyn Taylor.