Many of you who have noticed that development work is going on at the Lion & Key pub at the junction of Leyton High Road and Church Road. Last year plans were received by the Council and agreed for the Lion & Key to be turned into a ‘support and living centre’ for adults with learning difficulties. This included 7 x 1 bed flats and 2 x 2 bed flats. The new plans received are the same, but to change the flats into 5 x 1 bed flats and 4 x 2 bed flats. I believe the ground floor will be a drop in centre.
As a locally listed building the facade i.e. the front of the building will remain and all the development will take place at the back.
The pub is regarded to be the oldest in Leyton and was possibly present in 1300, although the first documentary evidence is a possible record of 1579. It closed in 2009.
The picture at the top is the current Lion and Key building. The one to the right is the current building being built around the end of the 18 hundreds.