The claim
Built by the Carthusian monks of Hinton Priory, the George is widely regarded as England's finest surviving purpose-built medieval inn. Its stone base and jettied timber upper floors, dated to the 1430s, surround a galleried courtyard. Pepys dined here, Monmouth made it his headquarters in 1685, and film crews keep returning for its unaltered medieval atmosphere.
What the records show
Historic England regards it as probably the earliest surviving purpose-built inn, erected by Hinton Priory. The claimed 1397 licence is not itself verified, but tree-ring dates of 1430-32 and its medieval function as an inn for the priory's wool fairs are well documented, and the earliest documented use recorded here is that tree-ring date. The Grade I list entry, written in 1968, disagrees with the tree-ring reading about one part of the building: it calls the ground floor and rear 14th or 15th-century coursed Doulting rubble, which matches, but dates the jettied timber-framed frontage to the 16th century and says it was added after a fire, where the dendrochronology puts those upper floors at 1430-32. Inside it records open stone fireplaces, an open timber roof with wind braces, a galleried courtyard paved with setts and wall paintings probably of the 16th century.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1397 | Claimed founding | The pub |
| c.1430 | Present building | Dendrochronology |
| 1432 | First record of a drinking house here | Historic England |
What to look for inside
- Grade I listed purpose-built medieval inn
- Monmouth's headquarters in 1685; Pepys visited in 1668
- Filming location for The Remains of the Day and Moll Flanders
Visiting
The George Inn is in Norton St Philip, England, at High Street, Norton St Philip, Bath BA2 7LH. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_George_Inn,_Norton_St_Philip
- heritagecalling.com/2022/12/22/what-is-the-oldest-pub-or-inn-in-england/
- pubgallery.co.uk/2022/03/03/britains-ancient-pubs-or-are-they/
- butcombe.com/the-george-inn-somerset/
- ratings.food.gov.uk/business/1757592
- www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1174953&resourceID=5
Then and now
Photographed about 1955, and today. The same view in 1955, before the road was widened and kerbed.
Photo: Derek Voller · licence
Photo: Eirian Evans · licenceKnow something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
Run this pub? There is a badge for it
Free to put on your own site, no permission needed. It shows what the pub claims and what the records support, and it changes when the data does.
How to use it, and how to change what it says — if you have a document we have not seen, we would like to read it.
