George & Dragon, Speldhurst

Late 15th century former timber-framed hall house with good quality late 16th/early 17th century improvements. Nowadays it is run mostly as a gastro pub but drinkers are welcome. The front door in a splendid porch leads to a flagstone inner lobby. An old door on the left with a '3' on it leads to the public bar, a long narrow room that looks like it was extended back at some time in the past as there are two different ceiling heights. The bar counter looks like it dates from the 1930s, there is an 18th century brick fireplace but the dado panelling could be modern.

Another old door with a '2' on it on the right of the lobby leads to the Village Bar with a genuine flagstone floor, a bar counter which looks at least 50 years old, a large old stone fireplace with fireback dated 1699 and high mantelshelf. The room has some fielded panelling on some walls and fixed seating which looks at least 50 years old. To the far right is the Buttery accessed via a gap created by removing part of the dividing wall - the front door is no longer in use.

Upstairs is a series of connected rooms with low doorways, creaking floorboards, a Tudor style fireplace and open rafter ceiling. A drawing on the wall of the bar dated 1976 shows the bar counter in front of a glazed partition. This was removed in 19XX. Was the seating area in front of the bar an off sales or a snug in the past? Old bar back shelves shown in the 1976 drawing have gone replaced by new shelving set further back. Marginal - are the bar counters genuinely old or good modern ones?