London (England) -- Antiquities; London (England) -- History
There were several other galleried inns in Southwark, dating at least
from the time of Queen Elizabeth, which survived until the nineteenth
century, but we only have space briefly to allude to three. The "King's
Head" and the "Queen's Head" was each famous in its way. The former
had been originally the "Pope's Head," the sign being changed at the
Reformation. In 1534 the Abbot of Waverley, whose town house was not
far off, writes, apparently on business, that he will be at the "Pope's
Head" in Southwark--eight years afterwards it appears as the "King's
Head." In a deed belonging to Mr. G. Eliot Hodgkin, F.S.A., the two
names are given. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the house
belonged to various noteworthy people; among the rest, to Thomas Cure,
a local benefactor, and to Humble, Lord Ward. It was burnt in the
Great Southwark Fire, and the last fragment of the galleried building,
erected immediately afterwards, was pulled down in January, 1885.
The "Queen's Head" was the only one of the Southwark houses we are
describing that escaped the Fire of 1676, perhaps owing to the fact
that, by way of precaution, a tenement was blown up at the gateway. It
stood on the site of a house called the "Crowned or Cross Keys," which
in 1529 was an armoury or store-place for the King's harness. In 1558
it had a brew-house attached to it, and had lately been rebuilt. In
1634 the house had become the "Queen's Head," and the owner was John
Harvard, of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, who afterwards migrated to
America, and gave his name to Harvard University, Massachusetts. About
this time it was frequented by carriers, as we learn from John Taylor,
"the water-poet." The main building, destroyed in 1895, was found to
be of half-timbered construction, dating perhaps from the sixteenth
century. A galleried portion, also of considerable age, survived until
the year 1900.
Of another Southwark inn, the "George," we can fortunately speak in
the present tense. It seems to have come into existence in the early
part of the sixteenth century, and is mentioned with the sign of "St.
George" in 1554:--
"St. George that swindg'd the Dragon, and e'er since
Sits on his horseback at mine hostess' door."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account