The George & Dragon

You all recognise this building, the former Chinese restaurant, ‘As you like it’.  But let’s delve back a bit further into its past.

Appropriate for this time of year, until the mid 1980s it was a pub called the George and Dragon, built back in the 16^th century.  But it’s been licensed premises for significantly longer.

In the mid-14^th century, the landlord was Hugh Cock.  He died during the Black Death, leaving the inn to his daughter, Christina.  Her life in Codicote was memorably portrayed in Michael Wood’s 2008 TV documentary, ‘Christina: a Medieval Life’.

Even earlier is a reference to the site as a hostel for pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St Albans at the abbey in that town.  Probably their final night’s stop before reaching the shrine itself.

And the first reference to an inn here is a mention of Laurence le Taverner in Codicote’s manorial records for the year 1279. This is earlier than any other recorded site in Hertfordshire, and just 12 years after permission for a Codicote market was granted.

We think the top photo of the pub was taken in the early 1960s.  The Vauxhall Victor series F car was made from 1957 – 1961, which helps a bit with dating.  The lower photo is from the early 1900s.

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