George, London

An amazing survivor from the days when Southwark was a major terminus for the coaching trade between London and southern England. The George was rebuilt in 1676 after a major fire in Southwark and is the last galleried coaching inn in London – but even this is but a fragment of its former self. It used to extend round the four sides of a courtyard – just as the New Inn in Gloucester does to this day. Part of it was demolished in 1889 to make way for the construction of railway warehousing. The galleries gave access to the first and second floor rooms have plain, white-painted balusters. The upstairs rooms are panelled and are particularly fine. Most of the pub’s spaces involve modern fittings but the first bar you come to has some of the oldest woodwork purpose-fitted for a pub anywhere (some of it might even date back to the rebuilding of the inn). The two fireplaces suggest it was two rooms at one time but they have been amalgamated.

The larger part of this room has a mighty fireplace and a glazed-in servery with vertical sashes. Inside you can see a now disused set of ‘cash-register’-style Victorian handpumps (the handles move in quadrant-shaped slots to draw the beer) - they are reported as still being in use in the 1970s. The maker’s name – South of Blackfriars Road – is prominent. A working set in daily use is at the Old Crown, Kelston, Somerset;

In the part nearest the road is full-height horizontal boarding; simple fixed seating against the walls and in the window; and an ancient fireplace with a wooden hood. The tap room houses a 'Parliament clock' - in 1797 a tax of five shillings was levied on people who possessed a watch or clock. Not surprisingly many disposed of their timepieces and relied on clocks in public places. The one at the George was one such. The pub is owned and leased out by the National Trust which acquired it in 1937.