George And Vulture Restaurant

The George and Vulture Restaurant, originally a public house, coffee-house, and chop-house, dates to the early 18th century. It was refronted in the early 19th century and has undergone later alterations. An eastern wing, originally located in George Yard and now demolished, existed in the building’s earlier form. The building is constructed of stucco.

It is four storeys and has a cellar, presenting a five-window front. The facade is channelled stucco, with a ground floor that has been extended forward under a glazed penthouse roof. The central entrance is round-arched, featuring a fluted pilastered architrave, a keystone, a fanlight, and panelled doors. Flanking the entrance are further round-arched windows with keystones. The upper floors feature recessed sash windows; the second floor has Art Nouveau stained glass in the lower sections. A Portland stone cornice is situated at third floor level, topped by a parapet. The left-hand return wall forms part of a passage to George Yard, showcasing a segmental arched entrance with Doric half columns. Two parish boundary plaques are affixed - one inscribed "SEK 1814" and the other "41/S,MC/1830". A narrow, mid-19th century stucco elevation faces George Yard, incorporating a passage through the ground floor into Bengal Court.

The interior includes early 19th century cast iron Corinthian columns that support the first floor where the ground floor has been extended. The ground floor features an oak panelled dado and seating, alongside a carved oak overmantel with a scrolled pediment, an inset clock, and a painting of a mail coach – all late 19th century and in an 18th-century style. A white veined brown marble fire surround complements these features. A dogleg staircase is present, with a landing at the first floor level. The second and third floor flights are early 18th century, exhibiting a closed string, moulded cornice, column newels, turned balusters, and a moulded handrail with flat caps to the newels. A moulded dado rail and skirting follow the line of the stairs. A later flight to the first floor has a closed string, turned balusters, and a moulded handrail; the bottom newel is a short column on a foliar carved base. A small, carved 18th-century wooden round-arched aedicule with floral enrichment to the head and ribbon and floral drops to moulded wings is inserted into the landing string over the first flight. The landing features a moulded cornice with a frieze of moulded plaster festoons. Upper floors contain fireplaces in an 18th-century style, most likely from the 19th century, with a late 19th-century blue and white Aesop Fable Minton tile surround in the back room of the first floor. Many rooms have box cornices.

Number 3, a late 19th-century house with a shopfront to the right, is part of the restaurant complex. It is two storeys and has an attic, with a single window. The ground floor boasts a good late 19th-century shopfront with pilasters, a panelled stallboard, small panes, and foliated fascia brackets. The building is associated with several literary figures, including Charles Dickens.