The George Inn is one of my favourite pubs in London and it's not hard to explain why. Built during the medieval period in a courtyard just off Borough High Street in Southwark, South London, The George Inn (or the George and Dragon as it was once known) is the only remaining galleried London coaching inn left in the city.
During the medieval times, The George was one of many public houses of its kind, The Tabard being arguably the most famous as it was where Chaucer began the Canterbury Tales in 1338. The George itself, now a National Trust building, was no stranger to literary names though, with the likes of Shakespeare (The Globe is just a short walk down the river) and Charles Dickens frequenting the inn when its Middle Room was used as a coffee house. Dickens actually referred to The George in his novel, Little Dorritt. Dickensian drawings now hang on the wall so that, together with the charmingly wonky galleried wooden front, you really feel you have stepped back in time.
You would have thought that The Great Fire of London in 1666 would have made the people of Southwark south of the Thames rethink things a little but in 1676 a small fire in an oil painting shop spread fast and wide, destroying much of Southwark. The George and the Tabard were both severely damaged in the blaze and were subsequently renovated. The Tabard unfortunately does not still stand today, though, as it was pulled down in the 19th Century, and others of its kind fell victim to the Blitz.
Part of the inn's charm is the way it is made up of lots of little rooms, narrow staircases and wooden balcony's that look over the courtyard. The Old Bar on the ground floor was used as a waiting room for passengers on coaches, the Middle Bar as I explained before was a Coffee Room and upstairs, which is now a restaurant, would have had bedrooms to let.
You really have to visit this place if you get the chance. You'd be forgiven for getting carried away with the atmosphere and thinking you are a writer yourself after you've had a drink here...
The George Inn Yard
During the medieval times, The George was one of many public houses of its kind, The Tabard being arguably the most famous as it was where Chaucer began the Canterbury Tales in 1338. The George itself, now a National Trust building, was no stranger to literary names though, with the likes of Shakespeare (The Globe is just a short walk down the river) and Charles Dickens frequenting the inn when its Middle Room was used as a coffee house. Dickens actually referred to The George in his novel, Little Dorritt. Dickensian drawings now hang on the wall so that, together with the charmingly wonky galleried wooden front, you really feel you have stepped back in time.
You would have thought that The Great Fire of London in 1666 would have made the people of Southwark south of the Thames rethink things a little but in 1676 a small fire in an oil painting shop spread fast and wide, destroying much of Southwark. The George and the Tabard were both severely damaged in the blaze and were subsequently renovated. The Tabard unfortunately does not still stand today, though, as it was pulled down in the 19th Century, and others of its kind fell victim to the Blitz.
Part of the inn's charm is the way it is made up of lots of little rooms, narrow staircases and wooden balcony's that look over the courtyard. The Old Bar on the ground floor was used as a waiting room for passengers on coaches, the Middle Bar as I explained before was a Coffee Room and upstairs, which is now a restaurant, would have had bedrooms to let.
You really have to visit this place if you get the chance. You'd be forgiven for getting carried away with the atmosphere and thinking you are a writer yourself after you've had a drink here...
The George Inn Yard
77 Borough High Street
Southwark
London
SE1 1NH
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