How did it survive when others were lost? A mix of luck and circumstance, I suppose. Some were rebuilt, only to be later lost to WW2 bombs, regeneration and progress.īut The George remains, a little gem of old London tucked away in a sunny courtyard off a busy street. In the late 1600’s, a decade after the Great Fire of London, a blaze broke out in Southwark and destroyed much of the medieval landscape, including many of the galleried inns that gave the area its distinct character. Sounds a good night out, doesn’t it? I can imagine things got a bit raucous. The Southwark area was disreputable, notorious for its theatre scene, prostitution and bear baiting. Tiered galleries facing out over a courtyard created the perfect setting for plays, known as ‘Inn-yard theatre’. The timber framed, galleried buildings were home to hospitality and theatre. Galleried inns used to be a common sight in this art of the city. Charles Dickens was a regular and referenced the old place in some of his writing. But with the Globe theatre just along the way, it makes a good and almost credible story. Rumour has it this was Shakespeare’s local, although no one seems able to evidence this. The George is the only remaining galleried coaching inn in London.Īs well as being a rare example of a traditional Southwark inn, the George is also the keeper of an interesting history. You might be thinking, historic pubs are thick on the ground in London, why so keen on this one? It has a feature that makes it quite unique, that’s why.

Where is this pub that has inspired link sharing, last minute adventures and a happy husband? Mari, I appreciate it! As did Mr THL who quite enjoyed being dragged to a pub for once rather than a graveyard, old house or random monument. Mari kindly shared a link with me for an old pub and from that this whole thing unfolded. Before I dive into this one, I have to give a shout out to a fellow blogger who started this little adventure, Mari over at Mari’s Travels with her Camera.