The White Hart Inn was a

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 ...

located on

Borough High Street Borough High Street is a road in Southwark, London, running south-west from London Bridge, forming part of the A3 road, A3 route which runs from London to Portsmouth, on the south coast of England. Overview Borough High Street continues sout ...

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 ...

. The inn is first recorded in 1406 but likely dates back to the late

fourteenth century The 14th century lasted from 1 January 1301 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCCI) to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and natural disasters in both Euro ...

as the

White Hart The White Hart (" hart" being an archaic word for a mature stag) was the personal badge of Richard II, who probably derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent", heiress of Edmund of Woodstock. It may also have been a ...

was the symbol of

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

. At the time Southwark was separate from the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

north 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 ...

. In 1450 the inn was the headquarters of

Jack Cade's Rebellion Jack Cade's Rebellion or Cade's Rebellion was a popular revolt in 1450 against the government of England, which took place in the south-east of the country between the months of April and July. It stemmed from local grievances regarding the ...

. The earlier inn was destroyed in the Great Fire of Southwark in 1676, but was rebuilt. It was located close to other coaching inns including

The Tabard The Tabard was an inn in Southwark established in 1307, which stood on the east side of Borough High Street, at the road's intersection with the A2 road (England), ancient thoroughfare to Canterbury and Dover. It was built for the Hyde Abbey, Abb ...

and The George Inn, and like the George had a galleried structure. It was demolished in 1889. A separate pub of the same name, its building still dating from the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, opened some distance to the west on Great Suffolk Street in 1882. It appears in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's 1591 play ''

Henry IV, Part 2 ''Henry IV, Part 2'' is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by '' Richard II'' and ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and succeeded by '' Henry V''. The p ...

'', which concerns Cade's rebellion. In the 1836 novel ''

Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was the first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Boz'' published ...

'' by

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 ...

, the White Hart is where

Samuel Pickwick Samuel Pickwick is a fictional character and the main protagonist in ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836-37), the first novel by author Charles Dickens. One of the author's most famous and loved creations, Pickwick is a retired successful businessman ...

encounters Samuel Weller and employs him as his

manservant A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly de ...

. The inn's name survives in the street White Hart Yard, its former courtyard.Flude & Herbert p.190

References

Bibliography

* Borer, Mary Cathcart . ''The British Hotel Through the Age''. Lutterworth Press, 2021 * Dailey, Donna & Tomedi, John. ''London''. Infobase Publishing, 2005. * Flude, Kevin & Herbert, Paul . ''The Citisights Guide to London: Ten Walks Through London's Past''. Virgin Books, 1990. * Muirhead, Finlay. ''London and Its Environs''. Macmillan & Company, Limited, 1922. * Wheatley, Henry Benjamin. ''London, Past and Present: Its History, Associations, and Traditions, Volume 3''. John Murray, 1891. * Willes, Margaret. ''Liberty over London Bridge: A History of the People of Southwark''. Yale University Press, 2024. Pubs in the London Borough of Southwark Former pubs in London Demolished buildings and structures in London Buildings and structures demolished in 1889 {{pub-stub