The Golden Lion in Birmingham has quite a story. Built in the early 1600s, it originally stood on Deritend High Street and has lived many different lives over the centuries. In 1911, it was moved to Cannon Hill Park, where it later served as a cricket pavilion and refreshment room. For more than 20 years, however, it has stood empty, until support from Historic England allowed Birmingham Conservation Trust and the City Council to begin restoration. I was very fortunate to be one of six people invited to take a hard-hat tour of the outside of the building. We viewed the Golden Lion from the scaffolding, and there were many highlights. For me, seeing a roof of timbers constructed in the 1600s and then transported several miles in 1910 was amazing. While the roof was in relatively good repair, the rest of the building requires much more attention.

Restoration of roof timbers. on the Golden Lion, Birmingham

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