Wallingford Berks Line

Pigot's Directory 1823 lists Stephen Lovelock Red Lion Thame Pigot's 1830 lists Alice Lovelock Pigot's 1842 lists Richard Hall Pigot's 1850 no mention of Red Lion

There are two Red Lions. One is an Inn in the High Street; the other an Ale House in Brick Kiln Lane (now known as Park Street ) which is in New Thame.

Stephen is listed as licencee of the Red Lion Inn, High St 1821-1824. In 1830 the licencee was Alice Lovelock. By 1841 it was an Eating House run by another Licencee, Mary Wyatt. [John Lovelock Email 22/.1.2002]

'The name Red Lion is the most common name for an inn in this country, mainly because of the 'red lion rampant' of many heraldic devices. This was one of the most important inns in the town during Tudor and Stuart days. It is claimed King Henry VIII along with Catherine of Aragon and Anne Bolyn (at that time she was a lady-in waiting) were entertained there in 1530. It was from here that the church-wardens regularly bought the communion wine; in 1561 they bought "15 quarts of Claret and 3 quarts of Malmsey costing 6s 6d at the Lyon".

It probably occupied the buildings currently housing both Lightfoot's Estate Agency and Martins Newsagents Shop.

John Harris was licensee up to 1688 and among the property that he left was: "10 hogsheads of beer in the cellar, valued at 6 pounds and wine and bottles in the wine cellar, valued at 45 pounds". These were incredible sums considering that a good weekly wage at the time was 10d (4p) per day. A hogshead is a cask of beer containing 52 and a half gallons meaning there were 4,200 pints of beer in the cellar of the Red Lion. In those days beer would only have kept for maybe seven days, so it must be considered that the beer was to be consumed in the forthcoming week. That's a lot of drinking considering the size of the population at the time.

One of the most interesting stories about the Red Lion is given in the church-wardens reports of the 1600s, when Thomas Heath was brought before them after he had "bargained with George Fuller of Chinnor and bought his wife for tuppence for every pound of her weight, which when she was weighed came to 29 shillings and half a farthing". This made her nearly 13 stone. They spent 2 nights and 2 days in the Red Lion during which time "she was not seen above one hour per day". He admitted to having sat on the bedside with her and yet he claimed "not to have carnal knowledge of her body", however he was ordered to pay to "purge himself with six hands". Sometime later it was reported that Thomas Heath was her brother and actually bought her out of a bad marriage.

To compensate for the lack of small change in general circulation at this time, local tradesmen issued their own small tokens. The farthing issued by John Harris not surprisingly depicts the Red Lion. In the Hearth Tax for 1662 he was assessed for 10 hearths, which gives an indication of the size and importance of the inn at that time.

The Red Lion had somewhat declined by the time that the diarist Lord Torrington visited Thame in 1785. He described it as "a bad inn", but he was not impressed with Thame in general which he called "a mean gloomy town". Nevertheless the turnpike trustees held their meetings there, and it was the chief posting house and social centre in the early nineteenth century. Having been supplanted by the Spread Eagle, it closed in 1847 to make way for a bank.' FRom "Thame Inns Discovered" by Allan Hickman and David Bretherton.

1851 census Stokenchurch, Oxon Alice Lovelock, Head, Widow, 54, Publican, born Birmingham Warwickshire Eliza Lovelock, Daur, 18, born Aston Warwickshire

1861 census Stokenchurch, Oxon Coach & Horses Alice Lovelock, Head, Widow, 67, Innkeeper, born Birmingham Warwickshire Thomas Lovelock, Son, 35, Thilsa[?] Man, born Thame Oxon Elizabeth Lovelock, Daur in law, 39, born Chalgrave Oxon Eliza Lovelock, Daur, 28,unm, born Aston, Oxon Eliza Lovelock, Gd Daur, 9, born Bledlow Ridge Bucks Arthur Lovelock, Gd Son, 4, born Bledlow Ridge Bucks Alice Lovelock, Gd Daur, 1, born Bledlow Ridge Bucks John Lovelock, Gd Son, 3mos, born Bledlow Ridge Bucks William Posteman?, Lodger, 64, Ag lab, born Chinnor Oxon

Note that Eliza Lovelock aged 28 in 1861 census and 18 in 1851 census above was born abt 1833 and six years after the death of Alice's husband, Stephen.

The following baptism is likely to be that of this Eliza: Swinbook, Oxfordshire 1833 Apr 12 Eliza d. Ann Lovelock, Stone-Lands, Single Woman

This Ann could be Alice Lovelock's niece and the daughter of her brother John. Ann would then have been only abt 15 or 16. Alice may have 'adopted' her.