The George Inn, or The George, is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

established in the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

period on Borough High Street in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, owned and leased by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. It is located about from the south side of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

near

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

and is the only surviving galleried London

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...

History

The pub was formerly known as the George and Dragon, named after the legend of

Saint George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianity—defeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a huma ...

. It is possible that it was used for Elizabethan theatrical productions ( Inn-yard theatre), as other galleried inns were. A pub has existed on the site since medieval times. In 1677, it was rebuilt after a serious fire destroyed most of Southwark. The medieval pub was situated next door to The Tabard Inn where

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He ...

set the beginning of ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held ...

''. Later, the Great Northern Railway used the George as a depot and pulled down two of its fronts to build warehousing. Now just the south face remains.

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

visited The George, and referred to it in both '' Little Dorrit'' and '' Our Mutual Friend''.

Description

The building is partly timber framed. The ground floor is divided into a number of connected bars. The Parliament Bar used to be a waiting room for passengers on coaches. The Middle Bar was the Coffee Room, which was frequented by Charles Dickens. The bedrooms, now a restaurant, were upstairs in the galleried part of the building. It is the only surviving galleried coaching inn in London. The White Hart was immediately to the north but was demolished in the nineteenth century. Immediately to the south was The Tabard (which was described in

's ''

''); it too was demolished in the nineteenth century. The building is listed Grade I on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

, and is listed in the

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founded on 16 ...

's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors.

Gallery

Image:thegeorgesouthwarksign.jpg, The sign depicts

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

slaying a dragon. File:Secondary sign outside the George Inn, Southwark.jpg, Secondary sign, with another depiction of Saint George slaying the dragon. File:thegeorgesouthwark.jpg File:The George Inn in 1858.png, Inn, 1858 File:The Inn in 1889 (George Inn, Southwark).jpg, Inn, 1889 File:The rear of the Inn and coach yard as they were in 1889 (George Inn, Southwark).jpg, rear of Inn and coach yard, 1889 File:The tap room (George Inn, Southwark).jpg, tap room File:The coffee-room (George Inn, Southwark).jpg, coffee-room File:The first floor gallery (George Inn, Southwark).jpg, first floor gallery File:The bar parlour (George Inn, Southwark).jpg, bar parlour File:A dining room in the demolished wing (George Inn, Southwark).jpg, dining room

References

External links

The George Inn
at the

The George Inn
at A London Inheritance {{DEFAULTSORT:George Inn, Southwark Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Southwark Grade I listed pubs in London National Inventory Pubs National Trust properties in London Pubs in the London Borough of Southwark Buildings and structures completed in 1676 Timber framed buildings in London Timber framed pubs in England George Inn 1676 establishments in England 17th-century architecture in England Coaching inns Saint George and the Dragon

History

Description

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links