The building which is now ‘The George’ in Bucklersbury was
built in 1450, and is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in Hitchin. Long before it was a public house, it was a house owned by a rich merchant.
It wasn't until 1676 that it opened as a pub called ‘Le
Faulcon’ or ‘The Falcon Inn’
It is not clear when ‘The Falcon’ closed its doors, or when
numbers 33 and 34 Bucklersbury became separate establishments.
Later the pub became known as ‘The Beehive’ and John Steed
of Baldock was the brewer. The Beehive
thrived for several decades. In 1851 Mrs Sarah Parker was the publican.
Later
Charles Hide became the tenant, and was often in trouble with the law for
allowing fighting and bad behaviour. In 1869 a serious complaint was made
against ‘The Beehive’, and the police constable told the magistrates that Charles
Hide kept a bad house, worse than a beer house, allowing bad girls and men to
assemble using disgusting language. Hide lost his
licence.
A new tenant, Mr Joseph Moulden, took over in December 1869 – but in August of the following year he was cautioned about noisy behaviour –
his excuse was that he was out when some recruits called and played music and
sang. He promised not to let it happen again.
In 1870 the pub became The George, after George
Washington, and had been relocated from The High Street (then Cock Street).
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| Courtyard of The George Inn 1900. A drawing by Frederick Griggs |
The pub has thrived through the years – in the late
seventies I remember going there, and how
the courtyard would heave with youngsters. I would imagine every generation has a similar tale to tell.
The George is believed to be haunted. Heavy footsteps have been heard at night, glasses have been thrown across the room by invisible hands, and it's said that animals and landlords alike have occasionally refused to go down the cellar. My aunt, who was a landlady for a while, said she saw someone
sitting in a chair, who wasn’t there. The Hitchin TV team have investigated the strange happenings at The George HERE
