The George Inn

The George Inn is a 17th-century inn, originally arranged around a courtyard. The present structure represents the south range of what was once a larger coaching inn. It is constructed of timber framing and brick, with a tiled roof.

The exterior is three storeys high with dormers. The western half features two tiers of galleries at the first and second floors; the lower gallery is supported on cantilevered beams, and the upper gallery on wooden Doric columns. The wall behind the galleries is partly brick and partly timber-framed. There is a staircase at the eastern end, and the eastern section comprises a nine-window range of limewashed brick with storey bands. The windows are varied, including flush 18th-century sashes, sliding sashes, casements, and windows with mullions and transoms. The brick range has boxed eaves, and the galleried section terminates in a four-part fascia. The rear, or south, elevation is brick-faced and includes a large projecting stack. Several windows on the rear appear to be remnants of an earlier construction phase.

Inside, a staircase dating to the early 18th century, reset as a dogleg staircase around 1730, features barleytwist-on-vase and column-on-vase balusters, a closed string with a moulded handrail, and a heavy barleysugar newel post. A ground-floor room on the front right has fielded panelling, a moulded dado and cornice, and a bolection-moulded overmantel above the fireplace. A simpler panelled room with a moulded cornice is located to the rear right, and a similar panelled room with an early 19th-century marble fireplace is situated on the front left. The three first-floor rooms also have early 19th-century fireplaces to the front left. The attic contains an 18th-century common-rafter roof with halved collars. A 17th-century plank door leads to the cellar, which has reused medieval beams and squared stonework, possibly of medieval origin, on the left side wall.

The inn’s history dates back to at least the 16th century. Later, part of the building was used as offices for the Great Eastern Railway Company, which acquired the site from Guy’s Hospital. The north range was demolished by the railway company in 1874. The National Trust acquired the inn in 1937.