Shakespeare's Local: Six Centuries of History Seen Through One Extraordinary Pub

Welcome to the George Inn near London Bridge—a cosy, wood-panelled, galleried coaching house just 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 600 years?

A Pub Steeped in History

• 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 will have popped in from the nearby Globe for a pint.
• We know for certain that Dickens did.
• Mail carriers changed their horses here before heading to all four corners of Britain.
• Sailors drank here before visiting all four corners of the world.

The George Inn: A Window Into British Life

The pub, as Pete Brown points out, is the 'primordial cell of British life', and in the George, he has found the perfect case study. All life is here:

• Murderers, highwaymen, and ladies of the night.
• Gossiping pedlars and hard-working clerks.

Sit back and watch as buildings rise and fall over the centuries while 'the beer drinker's Bill Bryson' (TLS) takes you on an entertaining journey. This is a story of six centuries of history, brought to life through the tales of everyone who ever drank in one extraordinary pub.