Makeover for famous lion

The lion '“ once painted a livid scarlet with daffodil yellow and turquoise crown '“ is being painstakingly restored.

When cracks appeared in the base of the lion, conservation specialists from Wealden District Council got together with the Star Inn owners to commission cleaning and refurbishing him.

As well as caring for the spiritual needs of the community, Rector Frank Fox-Wilson is an expert woodcarver.

He won the contract, the lion was carefully removed and shipped to Frank's Sloe Lane workshop for a makeover.

Frank estimates the Baltic pine from which the lion was originally made would have started life in Germany or Poland during Shakespeare's lifetime.

It was then carved into the symbolic shape of a lion and served as the figurehead to an Anglo-Dutch warship, wrecked fighting the French in the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690.

From then on all is mystery '“ the figurehead was clearly dredged from the deep, transported overland and took up position in Alfriston High Street'¦.but no-one knows quite when.

The first visual reference comes in 1850 but since then he has featured in countless bookplates and picture postcards.

Frank described how he needed to use an aptly-named product to remove about 18 layers of paint.

He said: 'The DIY shop rang me and said: 'We've been asked to phone and say we've got the Rector's Safe Stripper if he wants it.'

He also had to chip away filler used to mend cracks where water had seeped in over time revealing swirls and stripes of banded grain.

Once listed building and final consents are in place villagers hope the lion will resume its former position.

Frank remarked: 'I couldn't help but feel some of the spirit of the original woodcarver all those centuries ago.'