Golden Cross Inn, 8 Hay Lane, Coventry

Image: © Jo and Steve Turner Taken: 23 Feb 2023

Grade II* Listed inn on the site of the Coventry mint established by Edward IV in the 1460s minting gold and silver coins. The listing claims it to be built as an inn in 1583 and much restored it is reputed to be one of the longest serving alcohol establishments in England. The pub's website tells us it was built c.1583 and was first mentioned as an inn in 1661 making it Coventry's oldest pub. Following reconstruction work around the turn of the 20th century, it is largely unoriginal. An extension in 1968 substantially changed the interior of the pub, doubling the building's size by extending the gentleman's bar, smoke room and upstairs club room. It was most recently sympathetically refurbished in 2016-17. BBC local tells us the poet Philip Larkin (1922-1985) was a frequent visitor. A search of my limited Warwickshire directories produced; 1828-1830 Richard Farmer; 1835 Richard Ballard; 1842 Mary Ballard; 1850 J Phillips commercial inn; 1896 Arthur Bedford P.H.; 1912-1913 Henry Clarke Edwards; 1914 no publican given.

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