The Definitive Guide to the History of
Pubs and Beerhouses in Coventry

Drinking in an Old English Town

Cedars, Barkers Butts Lane

Alternative Addresses:	Cedars Avenue
These premises have been known by different names during their history:	FROM	TO	NAME
	1926	2017	Cedars
	2018	2026	Lion's Inn
	2026		Cedars
So called because there were so many tall Cedar trees in the area, many of which were felled to make way for the pub building in 1926. It is a good example of an inter-war pub buried deep in the suburbs. The pantile roof lends a Mediterranean look. It has a lively frontage with set-back Dutch gables, flat metalled windows, a conical sun trap window and rendered walls. The Cedars was built in a time of full employment and full wage packers, when working men flocked to the pub. A formidable landlord called Tom Atkinson was known to handle any 'skirmishes' by ushering troublemakers to the door using his stomach. The Cedars had some renown for being one of the first pubs in the country to serve beer from cellar tanks rather than casks or kegs. The cellar tanks have long since gone. After several closures and re-openings, including 2009 and 2013, the Cedars closed again in June 2017, only to re-open in 2018 under new management and a new name - the Lion's Inn. This arrangement only lasted a few years, however, and the Lion's Inn itself closed in July 2026, only to re-open once more as The Cedars the following month.
LICENSEES: 1937 - 1938 J. Prothero 1939 - 1940 E. T. (Tom) Atkinson 1955 - 1962 Henry Ling Tommy Bell 1983 Paschal Gardiner