Art Deco art, ceramics, and architecture took a lot of inspiration from nature – like animals and flowers – as well as from mythical creatures, like sphinxes, which had the body of a lion and the head of a human. Unlike the ethereal nature depicted in the Art Nouveau style, along with the use of fantasy creatures, the Art Deco style favoured domestic animals, like dogs, particularly greyhounds, and any number of different big cats. These graceful animals, with their sleek forms, symbolised power, and elegance.
Jaguars, of course, became the logo and name of British motor manufacturers (now Jaguar Land Rover), which saw its origins in the company of the Swallow Side-Car company back in 1922, but it wasn’t until 1935 that the first Jaguar car was produced.
Taking the lions as a motif in Art Deco architecture, these were depicted in a static way, often sitting like royalty, and often they were placed at the entrance to a grand building. You can walk around Loughborough today, and see various pairs of lions adorning the gateway to a number of domestic buildings, for example, on Westfield Drive. Back in 1962, however, you’d not have seen the pair of terracotta lions that sat outside a property on Leicester Road, but the following year you might have spotted them on the entry to Quorn Court, on Loughborough Road in Quorn.
But let’s go
a bit further back in time, to the 1920s and 1930s! I haven’t been able to find much evidence of lions
on our Art Deco architecture, apart from those on the former Burton Tailoring
store. And what a treat that is! There are no less than 9 lion heads adorning
the string course above the first-floor windows, and just below the parapet.
There are also these on the former Echo Press offices, which are located on the string course between the upper two floors of windows, and are surrounded by an angular motif. There are only 8 of these, but again, they're pretty stunning, but look a bit more vicious than the ones on the former Burtons!
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With apologies for
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Dyer, Lynne (2025). L is for Lions. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/04/l-is-for-lions.html [Accessed 14 April 2025]
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