A long-running hotel gives King Street a dignified late Georgian anchor while continuing the hospitality use established in the eighteenth century.
Quick facts
- Date
- Built 1786; altered and extended in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
- Architect / designer
- Original designer not securely identified
- Type
- Late Georgian coaching hotel with later additions
- Designation
- Listed building, Category C (LB41337)
- OS grid reference
- NS 79656 93382
Architecture and continuing use
A regular multi-storey stone façade, central entrance and restrained classical detail express the scale of a substantial coaching hotel. Later additions record its continuing commercial growth.
Its story
The Golden Lion dates from 1786 and developed through several later alterations. It continues to provide accommodation, dining and event space in central Stirling.
Why it is included
It offers unusual continuity of hospitality use and connects the architecture of travel with the social history of the burgh.
What to notice
- The balanced rhythm of upper windows.
- The central entrance within the long frontage.
- Differences between the eighteenth-century core and later work.
Reading the surroundings
This is a working hotel. Public hospitality areas follow current opening and booking arrangements; guest and staff rooms are private.
Timeline
- Built 1786 The Golden Lion dates from 1786 and developed through several later alterations. It continues to provide accommodation, dining and event space in central Stirling.
- Present Operating hotel, restaurant, bar and events venue.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The building contains several periods of alteration and the designation does not securely attribute the original design.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Golden Lion Hotel, LB41337 — Designation category, mapped location, construction phases, fabric, authorship and architectural interest.
- Golden Lion Hotel — Current hotel, dining and events use, address, facilities and history.
Location
OS grid reference NS 79656 93382 · Location confidence: High: the HES designation supplies a mapped National Grid Reference and a current operator, council, congregation or institutional source confirms the Place relationship and present identity. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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