The George Inn, Southwark

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The George pub, Southwark

The pub sign depicts St George slaying a Dragon

See also The George Inn (Derby).

The George, in full George Inn, (and formerly the George and Dragon) is a public house (pub) established in the medieval period on Borough High Street in Southwark, London, England. It is currently owned and leased by the National Trust. It is located on the south side of the River Thames near London Bridge.

In 1676, the George was rebuilt after a serious fire in the area. There used to be many such inns in this part of London. Probably the most famous was the The Tabard where, in 1388, Chaucer began The Canterbury Tales. The Tabard was also rebuilt after the fire, but was demolished in the late 19th century.

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 became 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. William Shakespeare was another visitor; The Globe Theatre was a short distance away.

The ground floor of the inn is divided into a number of connected bars. The Old 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 the one of the few coaching inns to survive in Central London, and is the last surviving galleried inn in London. It is next door to the White Hart and the site of The Tabard.

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