The George - Strand (London) - Pubs and Inns on Waymarking.com

The George pub, situated at the meeting point of the Strand and Fleet Street directly facing the spectacular architecture of the Royal Courts of Justice and a 10 minute walk from the West End, belongs thanks to Victorian reincarnation of the 18th century timbered house among typical pictoresque London's pubs, despite newly refurbished interior.

The George was founded in 1723 as a coffee house, became Georges Hotel in 1830 and then a public house as it is today. Former regulars of the George include Horace Walpole, Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Johnson, who for a while used the George as his postal address. Another of the frequent customers was the con-man Henry Perfect who was fond of impersonating vicars, and is said to have often rented rooms upstairs. Although the design of the building appears to be 18th century it is in fact late Victorian, even the reproduction half-timbered façade. Known as 'back to the inn', the design is characterised by the false beams, half-timbered gables, and leaded windows. The George is particularly imposing with its stained glass and wooden carvings, such as monks on each side of the front window, and other more eccentric carvings, including the frogs and seemingly naked man chasing pigs.

The George, has recently (2014) been extensively refurbished: the ground floor bar has been considerably spruced up, albeit into a dark wooden womb of real ale and pub grub. Upstairs, in the room now branded as the Pig & Goose restaurant, wooden fixtures and fittings also dominate. It’s the setting for an avowedly British menu that was a cut above the bar food downstairs both in ambition and price.

The oval pub' sign depicts gilded bust of King George III. in blue field.