The historic  234-year-old Lion Hotel in Shrewsbury has gone on the market with a price tag of almost £3 million, it was revealed today.

The hotel in Wyle Cop has a turnover of £1.3 million a year and employs about 40 people. No members of staff will lose their jobs.

Current owner Howard Astbury is selling up after deciding to retire, five years after taking over the business.

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The hotel’s freehold is being sold by Birmingham-based Christie & Co for £2.95 million.

Mr Astbury said today staff who work at the hotel, which is in a 16th century grade I-listed building, had been made aware of the sale but added that jobs should not be affected.

He said: “I have enjoyed my time at the hotel but I am now retiring.”

The 59-bedroom hotel has a wealth of period features including a Tudor fireplace. It also has an 18th century ballroom which is licensed for civil marriage ceremonies and seats up to 140.

Other features include a 45-space private car park, as well as a reception, lounge, bar, meeting and conference facilities.

The hotel, which has three stars from the AA, dominates the top of Wyle Cop.

Gavin Wright, from Christie & Co said: “This well-established hotel has been owned by our clients since 2006 and are now selling the business due to their retirement.”

The hotel represents an excellent opportunity to either become part of a larger hotel group or remain in private hands with the new owners building on its long-standing reputation.”

The Lion Hotel is the reputed birthplace of Charles Darwin on February 12, 1809. It is from the Lion Hotel that Darwin is said to have caught a coach south for a meeting for an appointment to choose the naturalist for the voyage of HMS Beagle, which led to the publication of On The Origin of Species.

Other guests have included Charles Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli and The Beatles. Dickens described a bedroom in the hotel as ‘the strangest little rooms, the ceilings of which I can touch with my hand’.

See also:

• Food review: The Hayward at The Lion Hotel, Shrewsbury