HISTORY

STILL SERVING BEER AFTER 600 YEARS - THE GEORGE INN, HIGHER CHEAP STREET

By Barry Brock

Did you know that the red pillar box standing across Higher Cheap Street from The George Inn was known as an ‘Anonymous’ box? It’s Victorian, but made without the usual royal cipher, crown and ‘Post Office’ written on it, and hence: ‘Anonymous’.

The inn itself is much, much older, mentioned for the first time during the Wars of the Roses, when Henry VI was still king - this happened in 1459, when Richard Coot and John Osteler of The George Inn were accused in the Sherborne Hundred Court of overcharging for hay and oats; and then in 1462, with Edward IV now on the throne, ‘le Georgesyn’ is mentioned in a Sherborne almshouse account.

The inn building we see today was built during the early sixteenth century, and is of similar age to the Julian next door, but much altered and modernised since then. In 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh’s servants and minor companions stayed at the George, while accompanying him to London for his appointment with the axe – James I could not deny the Spanish ambassador’s demands for Raleigh’s head, after Raleigh’s men had attacked a Spanish settlement (when he had sworn not to do so) during his second expedition to Venezuela. Brought up in Somerset, but spending his latter years in Norfolk, James Woodforde was an eighteenth-century parson who kept a daily diary, which gives a unique insight into rural England at the time. Woodforde dined at the George on 21 July 1779, but it seems he was not impressed:

‘We dined at Sherborn at the George a shabby Inn and had a most miserable Dinner, about 2 Pound of boiled beef and a old Tame Rabbitt. I paid for my Dinner &c. at Sherbourne one shilling and sixpence. We then went on to Dorchester & there we had a Bottle of the famous Dorchester Beer & very good it was. For the Bottle of Beer I paid myself sixpence.’

The George has passed through many hands since then. Purchased by the Dorsetshire Brewery in Long Street, it was then sold to the Woolmington Brewery, and on to Eldridge, Pope of Dorchester, and finally to Marston’s. Landlords have come and gone too. Can anyone remember Peter and Marge Pyman? Peter ran a tight house – no ‘roadies’ and no television except for sport. Harold Mayell followed the Pymans, a jolly chap, but he wasn’t cut out to be a landlord. And then there were all those that followed them.

But now, thank goodness, things have improved since Woodforde’s ‘old Tame Rabbitt’. Unlike so many of Sherborne’s old pubs, the George is still open and selling beer, so do think about paying a visit. If you do go in, then be sure to look at some of the things that make it special: the original moulded ceiling beams (suggesting a high-status building), the stone fireplace, and the spice cupboard to one side. Oh, and don’t forget the beer.

My thanks to Roger Marsh for his recollections of the George in the 1960s. Do you have any memories of Sherborne’s pubs that you’d like to share with me? Just send your email address to the editor of The Conduit and I’ll get back to you.

THROUGH THEIR EYES – THINGS TO DO ON WALKS WITH CHILDREN

By Rachel Woods

I don’t have kids myself. I am, however a proud aunty to several and I find their sense of awe and wonder inspiring – when we can drag them away from the iPads and game systems that is.

Nature has a way of surprising us if we’re prepared to get up close and personal. Delights exist around every corner and in nooks and crannies we grown-ups tend to overlook.

I consider myself nature connected but I wanted to test my sense of curiosity through their eyes. Am I still taking it all too academically? What if I can just sit with wonder?

I’ve compiled this list from chats with some parents I know and a few ideas of my own… things I intend to do when I next have the opportunity to borrow one of my smaller relatives for an adventure.

• Let them have the map! Draw one or show them an OS map depending on age. Let them lead the way and guide the adventure to the target (make sure there is one!) Great if it can be an actual waterfall or castle but a weird tree that might be magical or a space in a wall where fairies have been known to appear could be just as motivating.

• Toss a coin. Left or right with heads or tails. Clearly this needs to be on familiar ground to you, but for kids it’s so much easier for it to feel super new. The anticipation and sense of not knowing where you might end up is exciting. Be prepared for a longer than planned walk back to the car!

• Start a nature diary. Draw, write, collect leaves or flowers to press and make an entry for your adventures together.

Decorate the book on a rainy day ready for your next trip out.

Make sure a contact number is in it for when awe distracts and it gets left somewhere. • Treasure or scavenger hunt. Collect actual things (leaves, twigs, moss, grasses, etc.) or collect photos. List what to look out for such as something pink, bumpy, slimy, funny, smooth or shiny.

Give extra points for noticing bonus items.

• Adventure by torchlight. What an adventure! Maybe one for the winter since bedtime wouldn’t be affected by a torchlight walk spotting what shows up at night and then home for hot chocolate and a walking story.

• Take a picnic – let them choose the spot. Finally, I learned early in my aunty training was to make sure I was equipped with snacks and drinks. And wipes and a plastic bag for sitting on and taking litter home. Have a change of clothes back at the car and not to forget suncream and hats or waterproofs for a soggy adventure.

All of these activities normalise walking and connecting with the natural world. This is something incredibly good for our minds and a habit that’s so healthy to instil from a young age. Joining in, we adults can reconnect with our inner child too. Oops see, I’m getting all academic again.

Go on, get out and do some bark rubbings yourself and send me a picture…

I double donkey dare you!