The History of The George

The George, formerly The George Inn/Hotel, dates back to around 1720, and is assumed to have been named after George I, who became King in 1714. It has had several owners including the Harper Crewe estate, with at least a dozen landlords, many of them tenants. As well as being a pub/hotel, the property has been used for many purposes including auctions and legal matters such as local justice and implementation of statutory changes such as the Enclosure Act. Being an estate village for many years, rent was collected here. In 1986, it was Staffordshire's CAMRA Pub of the Year. It has had many visitors over the years including the Nepalese sherpa Tenzing Norgay(!) and, in 2005, Prince Charles, before he became King.

Occupancy

1720  Pub thought to exist on site but ownership not known. At some point, it was owned by William LOWE (1704-1775)

1767 Auctioned by William Lowe (purchaser presumed to be Robert MELLOR but uncertain)

1770 Licensee Robert MELLOR (1744-1821), cheese factor. He was the son of William & Sarah from Longnor. He married Mary Allen (1751-1838) in 1778 and they had 7 children, including Samuel and Maria (see below). Several of their other children died in infancy.

1821 After Robert's death, his son Samuel MELLOR (1786-1838) became licensee. Like his father, he was also a cheese factor.

1826 Samuel was declared bankrupt in 1826 and the license passed to his sister, Maria MELLOR (b.1790).

1832 Maria married George WHITE (1799-1862), an auctioneer from Calton, in 1832. He appears to have taken over the license, although gazetteer trade records still list Maria's mother Mary as licensee until 1834. George was also farmer and clerk to the townships.

1863 After George's death, his son George William WHITE (b.1829) took over 'under trust'. He had married Mary Mitchell (daughter of Charles from Field House) in 1853, and they lived next door to the pub. This seemed to have been a temporary arrangement, as the pub was being advertised to let in 1863.

1867 (date uncertain) Licensee changed to Henry FEATHERSTONE (tenant).

1869 License and tenancy transferred to Richard LESTER (1846-1892) from Yoxall, who had married Manchester born Jane 'Flora' Cumming the previous year. They had 8 children.

1876 Property sold at auction to Sir John Harpur Crewe by the previous owners, the trustees under the will of George White - Thomas Wild & James Burnett. (Richard LEster remained the tenant landlord). The sale particulars descrbed the property as having a brew-house, garden, piggeries, crofts and yards. The "substantial building" conained shippons, barn, and a malt house. The adjoining Lot 3 was a cottage with a "stable chamber". The lots sold for a total of £1,100.

1892 After Richard's death, his wife Jane 'Flora' LESTER (1843-1906) became licensee (listed in 1896 Kelly's trade directory) as tenant.

1896 Tenancy and license transferred by the Harpur Crewe estate to Frederick Henry WALKER, for £30 per year. He had moved on by 1901 (census).

1901 George EBBERN (1868-1932) was the tenant licensee and farmer on1901 census. From Warwickshire, he married Fanny Elizabeth Spencer in 1906 and they had 4 children.

1939 George was still the licensee in 1912, but the license had been transferred to William BINGHAM (1885-1950) from Litton by this time. Formerly landlord of the Royal Oak at Hurdlow, he was married to Jessie Brocklehurst from Tideswell, and they had 2 children, Alice and Thomas William. He was the landlord for 18 years.

1951 After William's death, the property was sold by the Harpur Crewe estate for £63,455 to Strettons Derby Brewery (or Samuel Allsops/Ind Coope, Strettons having been bought by Samuel Allsops in 1927). All of the estate's remaining properties were auctioned in 1950 but The George wasn't in the auction lots. It was probably sold because William's death presented an opportunity.

1954 By this time Michael O'DWYER, a steeple-chase jockey, was the landlord.

1956 By 1956, Buxton-born Francis Cecil HEATHCOTE (1900-1960) was the licensee, for the 4 years until his death.

1964 By this time, Richard Marcel GRANDJEAN (1940-2017) was the landlord. He moved here with his mother Pauline, widow of the Swiss-Buxton chocolatier Marcel Oscar Grandjean. He married Sue Brighton in 1981, who moved into the village with her daughter, Emily.

2007 After Richard's retirement, his step-daughter Emily Charlotte BRIGHTON (b.1973) took over. As well as taking the food offering more 'gastro', she trialled opening a delicatessen in the coach-house, but it was not successful.

2017  The lease was taken on by Graham and Siobhan PenroseJohnson. The business became more of a fine dining establishment and eventually changed into a restaurant only model and the beer pumps were removed and the George ceased to be a public house. They gave up the business and surrendered the lease in late 2023 and The George closed. In December it was listed as an asset of community value to provide protection against redevelopment. 

2024 After a three-month closure, the owners (Carlsberg/Marston's) found a temporary tenant landlord from early 2024, Nick GENTLEMAN, who quickly returned the business to a normal pub, catering for locals and visitors alike.