It sounds funny when someone cites a 300-year-old, Grade II-listed pub as ‘Best Newcomer’ – doesn’t it?
For our latest focus blog, we look at The White Lion, St Leonards, your Mid-Chilterns CAMRA ‘Newcomer of The Year’.
The story of The White Lion pub, found atop the Chiltern Hills AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), is akin to that of a mythical phoenix. The pub pedigree that flows through the bricks-and-mortar of this scenic country boozer dates back to 1714.
Doors on the pub closed in 2014 and the presumed-doomed-bricks-and-mortar had to wait seven long years to be granted a fresh lease of life. On July 20th 2021, The White Lion raised from ashes (figuratively) to stand proud in its new, spectacular form.
Here follows the story of a small community that fought to save their local, a local that is now of award-winning acclaim..
An abridged history of St Leonards village
The village of St Leonards in Buckinghamshire dates back to at least 1250, when worshippers between Aston Clinton and Great Missenden dedicated a new chapel to St Leonard of Noblac. The chapel took its namesake from Saint Leonard, a 6th century Frankish noble known as ‘the hermit of the woods’. Unlike a hermit, the new chapel promoted a strong community ethos in the Chilterns hilltop settlement.
Most of what makes up St Leonards church today was built in the 15th century, welcoming in a village that still had three hundred years to wait before its first licensed beer house opened. This public house was The White Lion on Jenkins Lane, opening doors in 1714.
The White Lion pub on Jenkins Lane
Over hundreds of years, The White Lion bloomed into a local hub that was at the heart of St Leonards village life. Despite The White Lion’s favour amongst its local community, hard times hit in 2014 and to much dismay, Punch Taverns Pub Company (owners at the time) decided to call last orders on the historic establishment, citing an extended period of poor turnover as the prime catalyst for closure.
After its closure, the pub was purchased and remained disused until 2015. Around the time the pub fell into disuse, 169 locals organised to form the ‘Save The White Lion’ action group, a cohort of concerned locals who wanted the St Leonards’ community hub to remain on public agenda. The ‘Save The White Lion’ group campaigned tirelessly, influencing hilltop conversation, local debate and ultimately a Chiltern District Council planning committee.
In 2015, a Chilterns District Council planning committee denied an application from the then-new owners to convert the pub building into a residential premises. At the time of their decision, the Chiltern District Council planning committee went a step further to protect The White Lion, ordering the owners to either reopen the premises as as pub or sell-up and move out within a year.
Though the group made two direct bids for the The White Lion, the premises owners refused both, opting later to sell to a local village-person in Mandy during the May of 2015.
Mandy and partner Kevin (builder by trade) set to restore the much loved establishment with support from the ‘Save The White Lion’ group, hilltop village-people, CAMRA members, food fanatics in the Chilterns and local council members to boot.
Ale would flow from the bar of The White Lion once more – it was just a matter of time!
Fast forward six years (which saw heaps of planning, boatloads of building plus a global pandemic) and the pub was finally ready to open. Owner Mandy was joined at the helm by pub manager James, welcoming locals back to the bar front on July 20th 2021.
‘Costa del St Leonards’ – an amazing dining experience
Booked in for a late lunch, my partner and I arrived at The White Lion on a balmy Sunday afternoon in February.
As a pleasant juxtaposition, the chocolate box exterior of this British country pub was framed underneath a billowing Spanish flag, dancing in the hilltop winds as accents of red and yellow sailed through the vibrant greens of a sizeable beer-garden.
Though the Spanish flag adds to an array of vibrant colours outside the pub, it flies chiefly to champion the delicious Mediterranean cuisine that can be found within.
We felt immediately welcome upon entry to The White Lion, greeted with friendly hellos and mouth-watering aromas of freshly cooked Spanish fare. As we had arrived earlier than anticipated, our table was not yet vacant, so we sat at the bar to enjoy a swift welcome drink. This short portion of our visit acted as the perfect viewing window to some considered dispensing of fresh and locally sourced cask ale. A pint of Side Pocket for a Toad (Tring Brewery) was sat in front of us on the bar, with all the cascading theatricals of hand-pulled beer done right. Surging foam settled slowly, giving way to a frothy, creamy glass of golden ale, sparkling bright with marked effervescence.
When not admiring the glasses of tasty ale on the bar, my partner and I scanned the menu for tapas dishes to feast on. It was a mighty task to shortlist just a few from the many that sounded so appetising, dwindling down the options to an achievable-if-not-indulgent six dishes.
Once we had sat at the table, we ordered another round of beers and our tapas choices of Spanish tortilla with garlic aioli, Chorizo En Salsa De Noranja (Pan fried chorizo, sweet chilli & orange sauce), Tempura De Verduras (Seasonal vegetables in a light tempura batter & soy sauce) and Pan Y Aceitunas (Bread, marinated olives, confit garlic, extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar).
We ordered our tapas dishes alongside the Paella Vegetariana (for two), sensibly separated as small plates to start, followed by the headline main of Paella. Each forkful of food was top drawer, delicious and filling (especially the mammoth Paella dish!) – above and beyond conventional ‘Sunday pub grub’.
An Affogato Al Caffe dessert (2 scoops of vanilla ice cream with a single espresso) punctuated the dinner, with space left only for imbibing of delights liquid-in-nature.
Creamy pints of Side Pocket for a Toad and Roasted Nuts (Rebellion Brewery) gave way to the lighter, spritzier options of a much celebrated cocktail menu. Glasses of Margarita, Espresso Martini and Long Island Ice Tea were flares of freshly-prepared and scintillating flavours, enjoyed at the tail-end of our brilliant weekend visit.
Suitably fed and watered, our meal at The White Lion was drawing to a close, though there was still time enough to steal a photo of James and assistant manager Abby accepting their ‘Newcomer of the Year’ certificate.
One for the road..
As we left, James (manager/pro-pint puller/attentive server/cocktail connoisseur and everything in between) offered assurance on the future of The White Lion, commenting that the busy footfall we had seen on the day of our visit was not uncommon of service in recent weeks and months (we were two of many, many satisfied visitors). The pub was a far cry from the dark days of closure and disuse.
Outside the pub, The White Lion’s luscious beer-garden is just weeks away from the promise of Spring, with special events planned to attract even more guests to this scenic country establishment.
The future of The White Lion in St. Leonards village has never looked so bright, championing community, cask beer, and quality Spanish cuisine. We shall certainly raise a glass to that.
Here’s to the resilient village of St Leonards in Buckinghamshire and The White Lion pub on Jenkins Lane, your Mid-Chilterns CAMRA Newcomer of the Year!
