Could The George Inn in Somerset Be England's Oldest Pub?

A pub in the small English village of Norton St Philip, Somerset, may be the oldest pub in all of England. The George Inn has been studied by experts from Historic England, a group that protects the country's important buildings. Their research suggests the pub dates back to around 1430 — nearly 600 years ago. This puts it ahead of several other pubs that have made the same bold claim.

Several pubs across England have claimed to be the oldest in the country. Pubs in Nottingham, St Albans, and Lincolnshire have all made that claim at one point or another. But buildings archaeologist Dr. James Wright says The George Inn has something the others do not — real scientific evidence to back it up. He said science pinpoints the pub's development to about 1430.

The George Inn was not always a pub. It was first built as a storage place for wool from a nearby monastery called Hinton Charterhouse. Travelers who came to buy and sell wool at the annual wool fairs would also stop there to rest. Those fairs were held from the 1200s all the way through the Victorian era.

The pub has a long and fascinating history. The famous diarist Samuel Pepys visited in 1668 and called it 'a very old house.' In 1685, it served as the base of operations for the Duke of Monmouth during a rebellion against the king. After the Duke was defeated, the pub was even used as a courtroom where a harsh judge sentenced local rebels to death.

So what actually makes The George Inn's claim stronger than the others? Dr. Wright explained that rival pubs simply could not provide the same level of proof. He said none of them had the archaeological evidence, old records, or scientific data to back up their claims. When all the evidence was put together, he said, 'The George came out with the crown.'

Pub historian Charo Havermans agreed that combining history with science is the key to proving a pub's age. One important method is tree ring dating, which looks at the rings inside old wooden beams to figure out when the tree was cut down. Because builders back then used wood very quickly after cutting it, this gives a reliable idea of when a building was made. Havermans called it 'a pretty accurate way of knowing when the building materials were used to create that structure.'

Even with all these tools, finding the definitive oldest pub in England may never be fully possible. Guinness World Records stopped giving out an award for the oldest pub back in 2000. A spokesperson said it was never able to state for certain which pub was oldest, since the age and history of old buildings is often unclear. Still, experts like Dr. Wright believe The George Inn deserves to wear the crown.