Grant of more than £2m will see much-loved former coaching inn near Rugby transformed into community hub

Pailton Parish Council received the National Lottery funding for its Save the White Lion project to breathe new life into the building for the benefit of people living in the village.

Supported through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the new hub will provide the community with a pub, restaurant, café, shop, post office, accommodation, enterprise units, co-working space and landscaped gardens to the front and rear.

The last village shop closed in 2008 and no village resident has been able to visit or be involved with the White Lion due to its closure in 2014.

Pailton is a diverse village with people from different backgrounds and facing different challenges.

The Community Hub will be a new and unique opportunity for this wide range of people to gather together, enjoy each other’s company and experience each other’s perspectives.

The project will benefit the whole community from offering family fun activities, a co-working space, work experience and volunteering opportunities, to helping those suffering from rural isolation.

Tina Simpson, Parish Councillor and Project Lead said: “We are delighted to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players and are confident the project will put the heart back into Pailton, bringing much-needed facilities and telling the heritage story to the wider community.”

It’s likely that the White Lion began life in the late 16th century or early 17th century as a small two bay timber framed farmhouse. During the 18th century it became a coaching inn to service the turnpike road and the first tenant/landlord was recorded in 1791. By the mid-19th century there were six pubs in Pailton of which the White Lion is the last standing.

The first Post Office in Pailton was at the White Lion in 1850 and so there’s a neat circle that brings it back to where it started.

The Odd Fellows Society held meetings on the top floor of the White Lion. Their purpose was to raise money for the relief of the poor of the village so again it is entirely fitting that the building should be used for the benefit of the community.

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