Pubs called the George quite frequently
refer to St George, the patron saint of England, who is depicted with a white
horse and a shield with a red cross on a white background.
There is a legend of St George killing a
dragon as on the George Hotel sign above and there are plenty of inns named the
George and Dragon. These two look quite
chummy to me.
The George and Pilgrim’s in Glastonbury
was originally a guest house for pilgrims visiting the Benedictine shrine
nearby but when Henry VIII dissolved the abbey it was turned into an inn. Its original name was The George. The Pilgrim’s was added to the name at a
later date.
There have also been six kings of the
name of George and some inn signs show one or other of them but I have yet to
photograph any of them yet.
I
should point out that the poor quality of many of the inn sign photos is because they are
taken through the window of a moving car.
I enjoyed seeing these signs and the bit of history about them. I do love kings and dragons and English pubs.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't know, the signs looks very clear to me! Makes me wish I could visit a pub, so many of them are closing in the area of England that I visit.
ReplyDeleteThey are interesting no matter how the photo is taken.
ReplyDelete1. Taken from a moving car? Amazing! They look lovely!
ReplyDelete2. I love the one where the knight and the dragon are sitting at table together - that's hysterical, and cute at the same time.
3. In the USA, you'd never see a business sign sporting the words "free house" - because people would show up and demand theirs.
I love the sign with St George and the dragon sharing a table! :) We have that legend in Sweden too, here he is called Sankt Göran.
ReplyDelete