• A Genuine Freehouse
    A Drinker's Pub, specialising in the value of REAL Ales and Ciders.
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OUR Beer

The British Lion is one of the last of its kind in Devizes. It's a pub, and that's all.

Just a pub. No food whether fancy or plain, no televisions or live sport, NO GIMMICKS. Just good beer.

At the rear of the pub can be found the largest beer garden in town, perfect for a pint on a hot summer's day. There's also a covered, heated smoking area.

Cash and all major credit cards accepted.

In the “Good Beer Guide” Since 1995

Four real ales are usually available with no permanent fixtures so the beer range changes with REAL regularity.
Michael Dearing and his team invite you to a proper pub with a welcoming atmosphere. No food is served but our selection of nibbles, nuts, crisps and snacks is unrivalled.

The British Lion is proud to have appeared in the CAMRA “Good Beer Guide” each and every year since 1995.
We can also be found in “The Real Ale Pub Guide” and are holders of the 'Cask Marque' accreditation. The Landlord is a Fellow of the British Institute of Innkeeping.

The local branch of CAMRA have kindly presented the pub with many Certificates of Achievement over the years for both the number of different ales stocked and the Breweries featured.

In July 2021 we were delighted to be awarded the 50 Years of CAMRA Golden Award, one of only 32 pubs in the country to be so honoured.

Our Story

The building is several hundred years old and has likely traded as a licensed premises for all that time.

Originally, it was probably a coaching house with stabling and yards at the rear.

Documentation shows that during the second half of the 18th Century it was owned by Wild and Company Brewers of Estcourt Brewery.

Paperwork dated 1897 refers to the “BRITISH LION INN” formerly Known as the “FLITCH OF BACON”.

After the sale of Wild and Company to Henry Wadworth, the pub was sold to USHERS of TROWBRIDGE and then on to others before sale to the present owner Landlord in 1997, although he had been operating the pub since early 1992. Its remains the only privately owned, Landlord operated, public house in Devizes. A truly genuine FREEHOUSE.

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