"Give me, oh! give me yesterday!" This bitter cry is on the lips of every lover of London, faintly heard amid the din made by the pickaxes of the demolishers and the cranes and the trowels of the contractors. But the wish can never be granted; at the most we can by hunting for it cherish for a moment an illusion, and here and there, in the few sanctuaries of antiquity and beauty that remain, cheat ourselves that time has run back and the serener past again is ours.—E. V. Lucas in Loiterer's Harvest.
1
The earliest detailed records of the George Inn that we have encountered appeared in a lecture read at the General Meeting of the Surrey Archaeological Society held in Southwark on 12th May, 1858, entitled "On some of the Ancient Inns of Southwark," by George Corner, F.S.A. The lecture was printed for the authority by Cox and Wyman, Great Queen Street, W.C., 1860. As this document was no doubt the source to which many subsequent writers (including Timbs) went for their material, we quote the references to the "George" in extenso:—
This is one of the inns described by Stow as existing in his time, and it is mentioned at an earlier period, viz., in 1554, 35th Henry VIII., by the name of "St. George," as being situate (as it is) on the north side of "The Tabard."
I have not been able to find any notice of this inn from the time of Stow until the seventeenth century, when two tokens were issued from the "George," which are in the Beaufoy Collection at the library of the Corporation of London, at Guildhall, and described in Mr. Jacob Henry Burn's catalogue of those tokens. The first is a token of "Anthony Blake, Tapster, ye
THE INN IN 1889
Showing the original coach entrance before the new one was made
THE BAR PARLOUR
As it is to-day
George in Southwarke"; and on the reverse are three tobacco-pipes; above them, four beer-measures.
The other token is inscribed, "James Gunter 16 . . "? St. George and Dragon, in field. Reverse, "In Southwarke in the field 'I.A.G.'"
Mr. Burn quotes some lines from the "Musarum Deliciæ" or the "Muses' Recreations," compiled by Sir John Manners (Admiral and Chief Controller of the Navy) and Doctor James Smith, 1656, upon a surfeit by drinking bad sack at the "George" tavern, in Southwark.
"Oh, would I might turn poet for an houre,
To satirize with a vindictive power
Against the drawer! or I could desire
Old Johnson's head had scalded in this fire;
How would he rage and bring Apollo down
To scold with Bacchus, and depose the clown
For his ill-government and so confute
Our poet-apes, that do so much impute
Unto the grape's inspirement."
In the year 1670, "The George Inn" was, in great part, burnt and demolished by a violent fire which then happened in the Borough, and it was totally burnt down in the great fire of Southwark, in 1676, which I have mentioned in speaking of the "Tabard," and of which I promised to give a further account in the history of "The George."
From the records of the Court of Judicature, established by Act of Parliament for settling differences between landlords and tenants, and owners of adjoining houses, in consequence of this fire, we learn that the owner of "The George," at that time, was John Sayer, and the tenant, Mark Weyland.
In the year 1676, ten years after the great fire of London, a great part of Southwark, from the bridge to St. Margaret's Hill, including the town hall, which had been established in 1540, in the Church of St. Margaret, was destroyed by fire, which broke out in the Borough; and being as yet, like old London, chiefly built of timber, lath and plaster, the fire spread extensively and destroyed considerable property. After this it was found necessary to pass an Act of Parliament for appointing a Court of Judicature, to determine differences between owner and tenants of the houses and buildings destroyed. The records of the proceedings under that Act are preserved at Guildhall.[1]
The following is an account of the fire of Southwark from the "London Gazette," 29th May, 1676:—
"London, May 27th.—Yesterday, about four in the morning, broke out a most lamentable fire in the Borough of Southwark, and continued with much violence all that day and part of the night following, notwithstanding all the care and endeavours that were used by his Grace the Duke of Monmouth, the Earl of Craven, and the Lord Mayor, to quench the same, as well by blowing up of houses as other ways. His Majesty, accompanied by his Royal Highness the Duke of York, in a tender sense of the calamity, being pleased himself to go down to the bridge in his barge, to give such orders His Majesty found fit for putting a stop to it, which, through the mercy of God, was finally effected, after about 600 houses had been burnt or blown up."
The following is from the Diary of the Rev. John Ward written a few years later:—
"Grover and his Irish ruffians burnt Southwark, and had 1,000 pounds for their pains, said the narrative of Bedloe. Gifford, a Jesuit, had the management of the fire. The 26th of May, 1676, was the dismal fire of Southwark. The fire begunne att one Mr. Welsh, an oilman, near St. Margaret's Hill, betwixt the "George" and "Tabard" innes, as Bedloe in his Narrative relates."—Diar. of the Rev. John Ward, 8vo, 1839, p. 155.
The fire was stopped by the substantial building of St. Thomas's Hospital, then recently erected; and in commemoration of the event, there is a tablet placed on the great staircase, over the door of the hall or courtroom, with the following inscription:—
"LAUS DEO.
Upon the 26th of May, 1676, and in the 28th year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King Charles the Second, about three of the clock in the morning, over against St. Margaret's Hill, in the Borough of Southwark, there happened a most dreadful and lamentable fire, which, before ten of the clock, consumed about five hundred houses. But, in the midst of judgment God remembered mercy, and by his goodness in considering the poor and distressed, put a stop to the fire at this home, after it had been touched several times therewith, by which, in all probability, all this side of the Borough was preserved. This tablet is here put, that whoso readeth it may give thanks to the Almighty God, to whom alone is due the honour and praise. Amen."
Although the present building of "The George Inn" is not older than the end of the seventeenth century, it seems to have been rebuilt, after the fire, upon the old plan, and it still preserves the character of the ancient English inns, having open wooden galleries leading to the chambers on each side of the inn yard.
In the year 1739, "The George Inn" was the property of Thomas Aynescomb, Esq., of Charterhouse Square, whose will is dated 11th May in that year, from whom it descended to his grand-daughter, Valentina Aynescomb, who married Lillie Smith, Esq.
In 30th George II., an Act of Parliament was passed for vesting the settled estates of Lillie Smith, Esq., and Valentina, his wife in trustees, to be sold. And in 1785, "The George Inn," with considerable other property, was sold and conveyed to Lillie Smith Aynescomb, Esq., of Thames Street, London, merchant; and within a few years past, it has been purchased by the trustees of Guy's Hospital, to which it adjoins.
In the conveyance of 1785, the inn is described as having been formerly in the occupation of Mary Wayland (probably widow of Mark Wayland, who was the host in 1676), afterwards of William Golding; and then of Thomas Green, who, in 1809, was succeeded by his niece, Frances, and her husband, Westerman Scholefield; since whose death "The George" has been, and is still, kept by his widow, Mrs. Frances Scholefield, now about eighty years of age.
Mrs. Scholefield died in 1859, and Guy's Hospital granted a lease to George Grinslade, and, after his death, to his executors. When the lease expired the Great Northern Railway Company purchased the freehold of the property, and rented the premises to the executors of George Grinslade.
In 1878 Mrs. Murray became manageress for R. Grinslade, one of the executors, and when he died she remained as tenant.
On the death of Mrs. Murray in 1903 she was succeeded by her daughter, Miss A. Murray, the present hostess.
2
A more exhaustive account of the Inn's history, appears in that comprehensive and authoritative work, "The Inns of Old Southwark and their Associations," by William Rendle, F.R.C.S. and Philip Norman, F.S.A., published in 1888. The valuable data of George Corner's paper is contained in it, but very much elaborated with fresh matter added. We quote it in full, with the permission of Mr. Norman:—
"The George" is one of the "fair inns" noted by Stow in 1598. The exact date of its erection has not been found out. The sign was one of the old ecclesiastical ones, St. George in 1554; "St. George that swinged the Dragon, and sits on horseback at mine hostess' door." On account, probably, of the changed feeling with regard to these saints, the sign became plain George. The owner in 1558 was Humfrey Colet, or Collet, Member of Parliament for Southwark in 1553. In his will he states that he wishes to be buried in the new churchyard (St. Saviour's), by his uncle, Thomas Bulley;[2] and that he owns the George, now in the tenure of Nicholas Martin, Hosteler, 1634. A return is made by the Warden to the Earl of Arundel, that the George Inn, or tenements within it, was built of brick and timber in 1622. The landlord is presented in 1634, and doubtless often besides on other occasions, because he allowed drinking during Divine service. 1637 Taylor, the Water Poet, tells us of the carriers who came from various parts of Surrey and Sussex to lodge at the George.
In 1656, some angry poetaster had been served with bad sack at the George, and thus he vents his wrath:—
"The Devil would abhorre such posset-drink.
Bacchus, I'm sure, detests it; 'tis too bad
For Hereticks; a Friar would be mad
To blesse such vile unconsecrable stuffe,
And Brownists would conclude it good enough
For such a sacrifice."[3]
The old way was more rough and ready: thus, in 1364, a City taverner, who had sold bad wine, was made to drink some of it, and the rest was poured on his head.[4] The following seventeenth-century trade tokens, doubtless of this inn, were circulated:—
O. ANTHONY. BLAKE. TAPSTER. Ye GEORGE. INN. SOVTHWARKE ½
R. Three tobacco-pipes and four pots.
Another has—
O. IAMES, GVNTER. 16=St. George and the dragon. ¼
R. IN. SOVTHWARKE = I.A.G.
Again
O. IOHN. EDE. NEXT. THE. 3. CYPS = The name in monogram ½
R. AGAINST. THE. GEORGE. IN. SOVTHrk = HIS HALF PENY.
Between the George and the White Hart was Three Crane Court, Three Crane Yard, Crown Court, probably the same place. Even the three cups was, according to the manner of the time, a variation. 1670.—Mark Wayland and Mary, his wife, held the George at a rent of £150; at this time it was partly burnt down. Wayland rebuilt it, and had his rent reduced to £80 and a sugar-loaf. Wayland, in 1670, had a lease of Nicholas Andrewes.[5] In the great fire of the year 1676, the inn was totally destroyed, and rebuilt by the tenant; accordingly an extension of lease and a reduction of rent are granted, the old lease of thirty-nine years yet to run, and nineteen in addition, at a rent of £50 a year and a
THE REAR OF THE INN AND COACH YARD AS THEY WERE IN 1889
A DINING ROOM IN THE DEMOLISHED WING
Table set for the dinner of the "Four o'clockers"
sugar-loaf. 1720[6] It is reported "very large, with a considerable trade."
A story has been told of the sixth Lord Digby, who succeeded to the peerage in 1752, which is perhaps worth repeating here. It is said that at Christmas and Easter he appeared very grave, and though usually well dressed was then in the habit of putting on a shabby old blue coat. This excited the curiosity of Mr. Fox, his uncle, who had him watched, when it was discovered that twice a year, or oftener, he was in the habit of going to the Marshalsea and freeing prisoners there. The next time the almsgiving coat appeared a friend boldly asked him why he wore it. By way of reply Lord Digby took the gentleman to the George Inn, where seated at dinner were thirty people, whom his lordship had just released from the Marshalsea prison by paying their debts in full.
Corner tells us that Mary Wayland, widow of Mark followed him in the occupation of the inn; afterwards William Golding was the host, then Thomas Green, who, in 1809, was succeeded by his niece Frances, and her husband, Westerman Scholefield. 1825.—The George[7] is reported as "a good commercial inn at the Boro High Street; well known, where several coaches and many waggons depart laden with the merchandise of the metropolis, in return for which they bring back from various parts of Kent, etc., that staple article of the country, the hop, to which we are indebted for the good quality of the London porter." The Scholefields, when they took the George in hand in 1809, worked with spirit, and evidently meant to make it succeed, as they did. There is plate still at the inn with the initials, and an old advertising card quite worth copying, although of some length, because it shows the business, and how it was done.
GEORGE INN, SOUTHWARK.
W. S. Scholefield.
The following coaches set out from the above inn:—
Maidstone, Mailing and Wrotham, four times a day.
Folkestone, Hythe and Ashford, 6 every morning: Mon., Wed. and Sat. evening.
Tenterden, Cranbrook and Staplehurst, Sun., Tues. and Thurs. mor.
Wateringbury, Testen and Mereworth, daily.
Brenchley, Matfield Green, and Peckham, Tue., Wed. and Sat. afternoon.
Deal, Dover, Ramsgate, and Canterbury, twice a day.
Rochester, Chatham and Oravesend, four times a day.
Kirpington, St. Mary Cray, Chiselhurst and Eltham, Mon., Wed., Sat. afternoon.
Worthing, Angmoring, Horsham, Reigate and Gatton, twice a week.
Dorking and Leatherhead, three times a week.
Ightham, Wrotham, Kingsdown, Lingfield, Cowden, Cobham, Esltree, Kingston, Brenchley, Horsemonden, West Wickham and Beckhamen, weekly.
W.S. begs to return his sincere thanks to his Friends and the Public in general for their past favors, and to acquaint them that he has neither spared pains nor expence in the improvement of the above Inn for their accommodation. He also takes this opportunity of soliciting their future encouragement, trusting they'll find Beds, Wines, Spirits, Stabling, to their perfect satisfaction.
Neat Post Chaises.
Goods for the above Waggons sent for and delivered immediately.
Waller, in 1855, says the George is very spacious, and extends a long way back,[8] no doubt, considering this wonderful bill of Scholefield's.
The Rev. Mr. Benson, chaplain of St. Saviour's, a sociable man and good local antiquary, had a talk with Mrs. Scholefield about the old place, which he jotted down in some valuable volumes of Notes, Cuttings and Illustrations of St. Saviour's—a bequest of his to the British Museum. She told him of a round room for the ostlers in the days of pack-horses, and of a stable below ground with steps leading down to it; this still exists, though the entrance is blocked up. She also spoke, among other things, of a date, 1552, found on the chestnut beams, but there was probably a mistake here, for, as Mr. Corner expressly states, and as may be gathered from our account, no part of the actual George Inn is older than 1676. The beams referred to were supposed to have been found by Mr. Evans when making his showroom for hops. Mr. Scholefield died in 1836; his widow continued the business until her death in 1859.
Some years since the "George" was sold to the trustees of Guy's Hospital, which adjoins it on the east; since that, some eleven or twelve years ago,[9] it was bought, as I am informed, by the Great Northern Railway Company, at a cost of about £11,000. It is now used as a receiving-house and something like a hundred tons of goods are weighed here per day. The "George" appears to be the least altered of the Southwark inns, though it is only the principal yard next the street which remains more or less intact. Like most seventeenth century inns, it has galleries on three sides, but the one to the south extends only a short distance. About twenty-five years ago the balustrades on the east and north sides were removed and the galleries boarded up. That which still exists is often made pretty in summer with flowers, as may be seen from one of our illustrations. The parts of the inn not devoted to important business are mostly occupied by people who frequent the very bustling Borough Market close at hand. But, alas, like the rest, the glory of the inn is departing! its fate is sealed, it will soon be pulled down altogether.
That was written thirty years ago at the time the Inn changed hands to the present landlords, who almost immediately set to Work to demolish it, and no doubt the authors of the above statement feared the worst.
Luckily, however, only a portion was destroyed, and that which was allowed to remain is still intact, and will we trust long stand as a survival of London's old coaching days, to lure the lover of the picturesque and romantic to its old-world environment.
↑The commissioners in the Act of Parliament were the Justices of the King's Bench and Common Pleas, the Barons of the Exchequer, the Lord Mayor, the Recorder, the Aldermen of London who had been Lord Mayors, Viscount Longford, Sir Francis Vincent, Sir Adam Brown, and Sir William More, Baronets; Sir Edward Bowyer, Sir William Haward, Sir Nicholas Carew, Knights; Arthur Onslow, George Evelyn, Roger James, Thomas Dalmahoy, George Woodroffe, William Eliot, Roger Duncomb, Thomas Tinge, Thomas Barber, James Reading, Rich Howe, Peter Rich, John Freeman, John Applebe, Esqs.
↑M.P., Southwark, 1511-12 and 1536, Yeoman of the Crown, etc. For note of these wills and others, I am indebted to Mr. Chaloner Smith of the Probate Office.
↑Musarum Deliciae, or The Muses Recreation, p. 28, by Sir J[ohn] M[ennis] and James S[mith].
↑Probably of the family of Bishop Andrewes. In the burial registers at St. Saviour's there are entries of a Nicholas Andrewes, and of his brother the Bishop, both buried in 1626.
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