The George Inn, Southwark

The first map of Southwark (Duchy of Lancaster ca1543) clearly shows it marked as 'Gorge'. It was formerly known as the George and Dragon, named after the legend of Saint George and the Dragon. There were many such inns in this part of London. Probably the most famous was The Tabard where, in 1388, Chaucer began The Canterbury Tales. In 1677 the George was rebuilt after a serious fire that destroyed most of medieval Southwark.[2] The Tabard was also rebuilt after the same fire, but was demolished in the late nineteenth century.

It is known that galleried inns were used for Elizabethan theatrical productions (Inn-yard theatre).

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.

The George was one of the many famous coaching inns in the days of Charles Dickens. Dickens in fact visited the George and referred to it in Little Dorrit.

The building is partly timber framed.[3] 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 one of only two coaching inns to survive in Greater London, and is the only galleried example. The White Hart is immediately to the north, and the site of The Tabard immediately to the south (now Talbot Yard). The building is listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England, and is listed in CAMRA's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors.[4]

The beer writer Pete Brown explores the history of the pub in his book Shakespeare's Local, providing information about the pub and the surrounding area.

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  The sign depicts Saint George slaying a dragon.
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  Secondary sign, with another depiction of Saint George slaying the dragon.
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  Inn, 1858
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  Inn, 1889
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  rear of Inn and coach yard, 1889
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  tap room
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  coffee-room
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  first floor gallery
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  bar parlour
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  dining room

• Matz, Bertram Waldrom (1918). The George Inn, Southwark . London: Chapman and Hall.
• Brown, Pete (2012). Shakespeare's Local. London: Pan Books.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The George Inn, Southwark.

• George Inn information at the National Trust