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By Pete Brown. The George Inn plays witness to London's history. Read by Tony Robinson. The myths and ghosts of landlords and ladies past. From December 2012. Episode 5 of 5.

Tony Robinson reads Pete Brown's history of British pubs as seen through the story of one remarkable London inn, the George in Southwark, said to be the one-time local of Chaucer, Dickens and Shakespeare.

The George Inn is one of the few remaining galleried coaching inns in Britain, and lies a few minutes' walk from the Thames. 'Shakespeare's Local' takes us on a literary pub crawl through the history of this pub, from its regulars - the watermen, merchants, actors, craftsmen, writers and coachdrivers - as well as the many incarnations of the pub itself - from lawless Southwark tavern to coaching inn, theatre pub to Victorian drinking den, unfashionable boozer to tourist attraction.

Today: the myths and the ghosts of landlords and ladies past.

Reader: Tony Robinson is best known for his role as Baldrick in the Blackadder series. He's also presented Channel 4's 'Time Team' and written numerous books for children.
Author: Pete Brown , the 'Beer drinkers' Bill Bryson' (TLS), was named Beer Writer of the Year by the British Guild of Beer Writers, and is the author of three other books on pubs and brewing.
Producer: Justine Willett.

15 minutes

Last on

Sat 9 Dec 2017 02:45

Broadcasts

  • Fri 21 Dec 2012 09:45
  • Sat 22 Dec 2012 00:30
  • Fri 8 Dec 2017 14:45
  • Sat 9 Dec 2017 02:45

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