When Miss Mawer visited the lion, where was it? Why did she go there? And what did the lion look like?
Well, let’s take that last question first. The best photo (and the photos are pretty scarce) was taken by well-known and respected photographer, Eric de Mare, and can be seen on this link: https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/photos/item/AA98/05890 At the top of that page there is a photo, showing an aerial view of this part of the Thames. The lion is on the island, opposite the Trout Inn, in Godstow. The website also gives very interesting snippets of information about the pub and its famous history. https://thames.me.uk/s01840.htm
If Miss Mawer wasn’t visiting the lion for literary reasons, perhaps she was visiting the pub for refreshment reasons?
If you would like to go and see the lion, you can still see him from the opposite bank, though, sadly, he is no longer wearing his coronet. Folklore has it that it was thrown into the River Thames. This reminds me of ‘Anna,’ the wooden figurehead from a ship which Miss Mawer placed in her garden which was allowed to rot and eventually was thrown away. Very sad for both the lion and Anna. I prefer, however, to think that the stone coronet is sitting in someone’s garden and will one day be returned to its rightful place on the beautiful head of the Godstow Heraldic Lion.