This pub is not only a grade II listed building, it is also a One Star pub on the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) National Inventory with an interior of special national historic interest, and the description is as follows: "Dated 1899. By Eedle and Myers for Charles Dickerson and John William North, victuallers. Four-storey of brick with polished granite on the ground floor and at the top a gablet inscribed in Arts and Crafts lettering: 'THE OLD RED LION 1415 REBVILT 1899' and below elaborate relief-decoration with 2 lions, initials ("D" & "N") and leaves.

The right hand door leads into a small bar, which used to be a private saloon, created by a wonderful and rare three-quarter-height wooden and glass panelled screen. There are seven bays from near the left hand door with deep cut glazed panels, the fifth panel being a door, and another two on the return with an odd shaped door near the bar counter. The bar counter looks inter-war with its ply panelled front – there is no bar back as such here.

The main bar accessed down the left side ‘passage’ created by the screen has another similar counter and the mirrored bar back also looks inter-war but most of the lower shelving is lost to fridges. Good lincrusta ceiling painted red is held up by a central iron column with capital painted gold. Note the brass ‘Push’ on the door to the gents.

The Old Red Lion Theatre situated on the first floor first and seating 60 opened its doors in 1979 and is now one of London's oldest and most loved Fringe theatre venues. Note the small ‘Box Office’ at the rear of the main bar – performances are either at 7.30pm or 7.30 and 9pm with matinees on Sat and Sun at 3.00pm. On the front of the pub is a Blue Plaque stating “On this site in 1791 Thomas Paine wrote part of “Rights of Man (Part Two)”.

The listing description is as follows: "Public house. Dated 1899. By Eedle and Myers for Charles Dickerson and John William North, victuallers. Ground-floor pub front of polished granite and stucco, brick upper floors of front elevation rendered in banded stucco rustication and pilasters divided by rubbed and finely cut red brick panels, some terracotta decoration; roof obscured by parapet. Pub occupies ground and 1st floors; upper floors residential. Free-Classical style with Neo-Jacobean and other Renaissance motifs. Four storeys; 3-window range including a narrower and canted far right bay, 2nd and 3rd storeys 2:2:1. Elaborate main entrance to far right canted bay, subsidiary entrances to other bays. Banded stucco and panelled pilasters dividing windows are carried up in successive orders from ground to parapet; storeys articulated horizontally by moulded stucco sill bands. 1st floor with elliptical and round-arched casement windows with fanlights: radiating stucco banding to heads and prominent keystones that rise to the 2nd floor sill band; pilaster shafts composed of terracotta lions. 2nd floor with round-arched architraved and keystoned casement windows with plain fanlights and 2nd floor cornice with egg and dart moulding. 8/1 architraved sashes to 3rd floor. Balustraded parapet with shaped brick name panel as gablet inscribed in Arts and Crafts lettering: 'THE OLD RED LION 1415 REBVILT 1899'; ball and pyramid finials. Elaborate relief-decoration of moulded brickwork below gablet, with 2 lions, initials ("D" & "N") and leaves. Ground-floor pub front of period: bays filled with original glazing and grained woodwork articulated by pilasters with polished red granite shafts, black granite bases and decorative stucco capitals. Deeply recessed segmental-arched main entrance with pair of original panelled doors with glazing and plain overlight flanked by 1/2 chamfered piers of same materials as pilasters; richly animated stucco relief with foliated scrolls and centre masque to shaped panel above entrance. Other bays with identical pairs of original doors with glazing, overlights and plain glazed windows of original design; painted mirrored glass fascia reading: 'CHARRINGTON OLD RED LION'. Wrought-iron bracketed wall lanterns to ground-floor pilasters. INTERIOR: : much of the original interior survives including barback and division screens. (Historians file-London Division of English Heritage: Harwood, E: Old Red Lion Public House, 418 St. John Street, Islington: 1990-)."

The WhatPub link is here: WhatPub/Old Red Lion

The Pub Heritage Group link is here: PHG/Old Red Lion

The Old Red Lion has yet to feature on a LPG pub tour.