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"A history of Britain told through the story of one very special pub, from "The Beer Drinker's Bill Bryson" (Times Literary Supplement) Welcome to the George Inn near London Bridge; a cosy, wood-panelled, galleried coaching house a few minutes' walk from the Thames. Grab yourself a pint, listen to the chatter of the locals and lean back, resting your head against the wall. And then consider this: who else has rested their head against that wall, over the last six hundred years? Chaucer and his fellow pilgrims almost certainly drank in the George on their way out of London to Canterbury. It's fair to say that Shakespeare popped in from the nearby Globe for a pint, and we know that Dickens certainly did. Mail carriers changed their horses here, before heading to all four corners of Britain--while sailors drank here before visiting all four corners of the world. The pub, as Pete Brown points out, is the 'primordial cell of British life' and in the George he has found the perfect example. All life is here, from murderers, highwaymen, and ladies of the night to gossiping peddlers and hard-working clerks. So sit back with Shakepeare's Pub and watch as buildings rise and fall over the centuries, and 'the beer drinker's Bill Bryson' (UK's Times Literary Supplement) takes us on an entertaining tour through six centuries of history, through the stories of everyone that ever drank in one pub"--… (more)
User reviews
Brown has done lots of research into the George Inn, in Southwark. There is documentary evidence for the pub being on sight in 1542 and it has bee there is one iteration or another ever since. It is suspected that it had been
In the book he looks at the way that the function of the building has changed from pub to coaching inn and as it now owned by the National Trust, into a working historical building. There is a lot of history of the Southwark area, mainly to put the pub and inns into a better context. This was one of the main routes int London for many years, and lead to one of the few bridges that crossed the Thames, and the early maps show that the George was one of several hundred pubs in the area.
Where he can he write about the characters linked or loosely associated with the pub. The pub was in existence when Shakespeare was alive, and whilst they cannot prove one way of the other if he every frequented the place, they cannot rule it out. Some of Dickens work mentions the and neighbouring pubs, so he speculates again on his attendance.
Really good local history book, but if you are expecting lots on Shakespeare, you'll be disappointed.