Brewing Trade Review – ca.1902
The George Inn, in the village of Norton St. Philip, Somerset, claims to be the oldest licensed village alehouse in England, the license dating from 1397. Its appearance is eminently picturesque, each story overhanging that beneath, whilst the front is broken by bay windows, a porch, and a flight of stone steps leading to a doorway in the wall. At the back of the premises are more quaint doors and windows, a turret built against the wall, and an outside stair; in the yard still remains a portion of the old gallery which, in the Middle Ages, was found in so many hostelries. Each gable is surmounted by a curious chimney, and a peculiar feature of the interior is the upper floor, this being of plaster.
When the inn was built 500 years ago, the lands of Norton St. Philip belonged to Hinton Abbey, three miles distant. In those days Norton was noted for its cloth fair, and the inn, it is supposed, was built by the monks of Hinton as a hotel for the traders.
In June 1685, it was occupied by the Duke of Monmouth, who at Norton St. Philip gained the one success of his otherwise disastrous campaign. His outposts managed to repulse the advance guard of Faversham’s army with the loss of more than a hundred men. Against this, however, must be recorded the attempt on Monmouth’s life. There was a reward for his body, living or dead; and as he stood at the window of the George Inn, he was shot at but the would-be assassin missed him.
Crescent City Brew Talk 