The Old Red Lion Inn: Derelict Leeds pub could get 'new lease of life' after being added to 'at risk' register
‘This pub needs a new lease of life and could perhaps be restored to its historic uses’
A campaign group has added a damaged and derelict 260-year-old Leeds pub to its “at risk register”.
The Old Red Lion, Whinmoor, on the Leeds to York Road/A64 near Seacroft, has survived two planning applications from McDonald’s in recent years seeking to demolish it and build a drive thru. A third application was submitted earlier this year.
The historic inn was also damaged in a fire earlier in April that police are treating as arson.
SAVE Britain’s Heritage has added it along with 19 others to its 2026 risk list – five times more than it has ever added in the register’s 37-year history.
They join 56 pubs and hotels already on the register, set up by SAVE in 1989 to draw attention to neglected and threatened historic buildings across the UK.
The Old Red Lion’s history can be traced back to when the turnpike road was built in the 1760s. The pub could have started life as a blacksmiths shop to service passing horse-drawn trade, but quickly became an inn.
Barwick-in-Elmet Historical Society has uncovered key moments in its long history such as the tragic death of its landlord in 1848, when he was run over and killed by his own horse and cart. In 1919 it hosted a welcome home event for “no less than 74 of the boys who had served their King and Country” in the First World War.
Its future has become far less certain. In July 2021, following reports of attacks and antisocial behaviour around the pub, its alcohol licence was removed and the pub closed.
Save Britain’s Heritage said that during the planning process the pub had a fire leaving the building at risk of further decay.
A spokesperson said: “This pub needs a new lease of life and could perhaps be restored to its historic uses as a restaurant, B&B, pub or dwelling.
"Or, maybe a more imaginative approach is needed to provide the building with a sustainable future.”
Additions to the 2026 list include Warwick’s 400-year-old Tudor House, a grade II*-listed half-timbered pub right by the castle. It survived the Great Fire of Warwick, but did not reopen after the pandemic.
SAVE’s Amy Popham said the list included buildings with “centuries of hospitality and bags of personality”.
“Everyone’s got a story about their local pub.
"The number of nominations makes it clear these buildings are enormously loved and deserve a new future.”