Pub history

The Lion & The Unicorn

From the Festival of Britain, held on London’s South Bank during May–September 1951, the only building now remaining is the Royal Festival Hall. More than 8,000,000 visitors paid to see the ultra-modern Dome of Discovery (then the world’s largest dome), the rocket-like Skylon (over 90m high) and The Lion and The Unicorn Pavilion. Inside the steel-framed pavilion, which included a cafeteria and a long mural depicting scenes from British history, there were two large straw figures of a lion and a unicorn – ‘symbols of Britain’s character’.