Sussex Advertiser 20 February 1826.

At the sale of the public houses and other estates, situate in the eastern parts of the County of Kent, which took place at the "Bell Inn," Sandwich, on Monday last, Messrs. Pott and Denne knocked down the following lots, at the sums affixed to them, viz.:—

The "Bull," at Eastry, £1,190.

"Three Colts," Tilmanstone, £500.

"White Horse," Eythorne, £575.

"Red Lion," Frogham, £455.

"Rose and Crown," Womenswould, £166.

"Duke of Cumberland," Barham, £910.

"Charity," Woodnesborough, £710.

"Three Crowns," Goodnestone, £620.

"Admiral Harvey," Ramsgate, £1,150.

"Ship," Ramsgate, £1,250.

"Red Lion," St. Peters, £1,100.

"Crown and Thistle," St. Peters, £705.

"Crown, or Halfway-house," Sarr, £940.

"King's Head," Walmer Road, £425.

The "Duke of York," Walmer Road, £310.

The sale-room was most numerously attended.

We understand that the "Ship," at Ash, and "Crispin," at Worth, have since been sold by private contract, the former for £750, and the latter for five hundred guineas.

The following information was kindly supplied by Clive Webb, see following web site:- http://www.nonington.com/

Before 1753 the year ran from Ladyday (New Years Day) 25th March to 24th March, the Julian Calendar, so that 11th Jan 1542 is 11th Jan 1543 in the modern Gregorian calendar.

The alehouse was situated near Frogham Street on the north side of the Barfrestone to Womenswold road about one hundreds yards west of its junction with Frogham Street. The building was probably built as or became an alehouse soon after it was built, possibly on top of an older building. The entrance to the alehouse yard is still clearly visible, bounded on the west side by a large yew tree, itself probably much older than the alehouse.

Some remains of the main alehouse building are still visible in the bank just up the road from the yew tree. Here you can clearly see a section of brick wall with an external door-way with a metal grilled cellar window next to it. These remains of the Redd Lyon building show that the building was at a right angle to the road running into the field where some original remaining brick built out-buildings adjoining the old alehouse and parallel to the road would have formed an ‘L' shape around a front yard with possibly less substantially built structures near by. This front yard had a deep well, now capped and covered, which was still in use within living memory.

To allow large horse drawn vehicles to swing easily into the yard from either direction the bank opposite the entrance has been cut back to widen the road, the remains of a flint wall built to retain and strengthen the bank to prevent its collapse are clearly visible, but now in a sad state of disrepair.

The first licensee of the Redd Lyon was Abraham Dunne who received his victuallers licence at Wingham Petty Sessions on June 15th 1725. Abraham was followed in 1729 by Thomas Wraight who stayed until 1736 when Thomas White took over the licence.

Eight years later in 1744 began a long tenure by the family of Thomas Gambole, whose surname was spelt variously as Gambrole, Gambrill, Gamboll or Gambole in assorted documents. He was succeeded in 1782 by his son, John Gambrell, who six years later died and was succeeded by “Widow Gambrele”. These variations of the spelling of surnames was common in a time when most people were illiterate, and the literate often spelt phonetically.

John Southe took over from the widow in 1795 and kept the alehouse until Michael Brooks became licensee in 1802, remaining for eighteen years until John Hoppers tenure began in 1820. In 1833 the Redd Lyon was renamed The Phoenix, although it was recorded on the 1839 parish tithe map under its old name, as information for the map came from existing records and not from an actual survey as with the 1859 map.