The George Inn & St.Georges Reforne

Description

‘The George Inn & St.Georges Reforne’, Portland, Dorset, oil on paper, 24 x 32 cm. Framed.  Mounted on Ivory mountcard in 12″ x 16″ light wood veneered composite frame.

A view of St.Georges from outside the George Inn Reforne Portland Dorset UK. The George Inn is one of the oldest pubs on Portland and is supposed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited buildings on the island. The inn was the meeting-place of the Court Leet of the Royal Manor of Portland, and the building still holds an original reeve staff used to record rent payments. The building has also been reputed to have been a smugglers’ haunt.                                                                                               St. George’s Church began in August 1753. A committee of Portlanders was formed to decide whether to put further finances into the dilapidated St. Andrew’s Church or to erect a new church at a more accessible position. St. Andrew’s suffered from an unstable site and was prone to landslips (notably those on the east side of Portland in 1665 and 1734). Within two months a decision was made, with a survey of the old church finding that repairs would be at least half the cost of a new building. A year after the completion of the church, a house was built nearby for the parish clerk, and this building would become The George Inn.