George, Hayes

Standing on the site of a former house called Rudlands, which dated from the early 17th century. In 1640, this became a beer-house with the name "The Sign of the Rose" and later evolved into an inn. Renamed the Queen's Head in the first half of the 18th century, the inn was renamed the George in 1759 after taking its name from another inn across the road that was demolished by William Pitt the Elder (to make way for his home expansion at Hayes Place). As well as being the local landowner, Pitt was also Prime Minister 1766-1768 as 1st Earl of Chatham. It is believed that the naming of "George" is attributed to King George II (reigned 1727-1760), but the demolished inn was originally a beer-house called the George & Dragon (believed to date back to 1671). In 1772, the inn became notorious as a centre for tea smuggling. By 1810, it was described as a "commodious" house with several bedrooms, large stables, coach house and coal shed. The village stocks stood in front of the inn, whilst a fair (the Hays Fair) used to held outside every year on Whit Tuesday. In 1826, the inn was rebuilt and enlarged, incorporating two adjacent small cottages. The lane alongside was originally called Spilman's Grove and served as an unmade track leading to the surrounding fields, before later adopting the name George Lane. Hop gardens were started nearby in the 1860s. The Pre-Raphaelite artist John Millais (1829-1896) used to stay here as a young man whilst going on sketching expeditions around Hayes and Keston. In 1852, along with his brother William (another member of the Pre-Raphaelite movement), he repainted the inn sign, which originally showed St George killing the dragon but was destroyed in a storm (unfortunately, this was later painted over !) In 1900, this was the scene for the recapture of an escaped elephant on the rampage from the circus at Crystal Palace. Everard Hambro (who owned Hayes Place from 1880) later bought the freehold of the George and in 1906 made alterations to the front elevation with the addition of the octagonal central bay with entrances either side. The freehold was purchased by Watney Combe & Reid in 1927 from the Hambro estate who had owned Hayes Place up to 1925. The hotel and public house (called the George Hotel), then became a focal point for the community with the influx of new residents in the 1930s. Later becoming a Schooner Inn, this was converted into a Berni Inn before being sold to Whitbread in 1991 and then converted into a Beefeater restaurant pub in 1995 before being owned by Mitchells & Butlers in 2006.