The George Inn

The George Inn

A former church house of late 15th or early 16th century date, converted to an inn in the 18th century.

The building is constructed of local rubble stone with an oak roof structure, clay pantile roof coverings and red brick end stacks. The cross wing has a truncated stone end stack. It is planned as an L-shape, comprising a five-bay main range fronting the road and a two-bay cross-wing to the south, which has been extended and has an external stair against the north wall.

The two-storey façade is of five bays with a central door and regular fenestration with modern sashes and casements. It is finished in cement render and the tall plinth has a batter at both ends. The steep roof has coped verges to the gable ends. At the south flank is an attached two-bay cross-wing with a two-leaf door to the right with three steps, an eight-over-eight sash to the left, and a six-over-six sash above. To the left is a later single bay, also of two-storeys, with an eight-over-eight sash above a stone lean-to which has a shallow pitched roof and timber service doors with strap hinges facing Manor Road. The gable end of the cross-wing has a modern central opening. The north flank of the cross-wing has a door at upper level served by a stone external stair, and to the left is a door at lower level into the earlier part of the wing. There is a window to the right of the door in an opening filled in red brick, and the wall below has a batter. Parts of the rear wall of the main block are exposed rubble, and others clad in timber boards.

Internally, the main range is arranged as a single room to both floors. The first floor is supported on regularly-spaced stop-chamfered beams. The beam at the north end has mortices for a former close-stud partition. The fireplace in the north wall is at least partly rebuilt and a further fireplace at the south end may be concealed behind modern tiling and plaster. The first floor is open to the roof, which has four complete open, collared trusses with carpenters marks (the trusses at the gable ends have been replaced or covered). Each roof slope has two sets of butt-purlins with run-out stops and three rows of curved wind braces, and at the apex is a diagonal ridge piece. The principals are pegged and chamfered.

At the south end is a corridor into the cross-wing, which is ceiled and has a similar roof arrangement to the main range. There is a broad stone chimney in its gable end. The wing extends beyond the original gable. On the first floor are 18th and 19th century cupboard and window joinery. To the ground floor is a substantial stop-chamfered beam at the centre of the original two-bay cross-wing, and a large inglenook remains at the former end wall. There is access through the inglenook into the kitchens where there is a sealed window with deep reveals in the end wall.