The George Hotel, Hull

Historic dark interior, lots of panels, an interesting place.

The George Hotel is a nice former coaching inn situated in Hull's Old Town on the fantastically named Land of Green Ginger. The attractive black and white exterior hints at its past life as a coaching inn, with the passage through to the rear courtyard/stable block still very much apparent, albeit now blocked. Whilst admiring the facade, you might also note a plaque to the left which draws your attention to what is apparently England's smallest window - nothing more than a slit in all honesty and very easy to miss even with the plaque right next to it. This was apparently used by porters to spy on approaching carriages so that they could be forewarned of a guest's arrival and provide prompt service. Today, doors at either side of the building lead you into a single room bar with a dark panelled counter to the rear under a smart canopy and simple bar back. The room has good three quarter height wall panels around most of the room and a nice long, curved banquette along the front wall underneath the rather more conventional sized windows. A huge Worthingtons mirror dominates the right hand wall where it hangs above standard tables and chairs. There is a nice big fireplace on the other side of the room with whisky boxes, scales, bottles and other such items above it, a dartboard in a case to one side and some more simple seating options dotted around. The room extends a little to the rear right where a nice old Stones mirror and several salvers are on show near to the toilet doors which look to have some nice period signage. A decent selection of 80's and 90's tunes played throughout my very late Saturday night visit and my fellow customers comprised several elderly lone drinkers and one seemingly lost hen party. I wasn't expecting too much of an ale range here, so it was a bit of a surprise to see a row of hand pumps dispensing Abbeydale Moonshine and Deception, Bradfield Farmers Blonde, Theakston Old Peculiar, Black Sheep Bitter and the improbably named Doc Morton's Crispy Automatic Duck. The barmaid seemed friendly enough and served up a good pint of the Deception for £3.20. This is an interesting old building that I'm glad I took time out to visit. The place retains enough traditional features to mark it out as one of the city centres more interesting pub interiors and the presence of several well kept ales should be incentive enough to encourage a visit. This was probably the pub that furthest exceeded my expectations during my time in Hull and is a good option to include on any crawl.

Traditional city pub famously located in one of the most strangely named streets in the land. Staple-shaped bar with dark wood-panelled walls and not a huge amount of seating. Six handpumps on the counter, offering a cider and usuals such as Doom Bar and Wainwright through Abbeydale Moonshine and Theakston Old Peculier to Fernandes Fruit Cocktail (which I half expected to be vile with a name like that, but it's a good brewery and the concoction was not overdone and was thus quite a decent pint).

This is a traditional Georgian coaching inn in the heart of the Old Town, situated in what is probably Hull’s most famous street, the oddly named Land of Green Ginger, which reflects the fact that an old spice market used to exist here. On the right hand side of the passageway through which the horse drawn carriages would have passed all those years ago is the bar – The Window Bar. It features wood panelling, a beamed ceiling, frosted leaded windows and a long curved banquette against the wall opposite the bar counter. Several sturdy looking oak beer barrels in the centre of the room act as tables and appear to cater for customers when vertical drinking is required. In one corner is a dartboard. A large old Worthington Ales mirror adorns one of the side walls. The name “Window Bar” is in recognition of the fact that the hotel façade contains what is reputedly England’s smallest window. Looking round the room trying to find the window ended in failure, but the friendly barmaid put me out of my bewilderment by taking me outside and pointing out a small brass plaque on the front façade on the opposite side of the passageway. This plaque tells us that the hotel dates back to 1683 and goes on to explain how porters used to sit at this window, which measures around a foot long and no more than an inch wide, and were able to immediately report carriages arriving through the entranceway into the hotel, then a popular stopping off point for merchants and other travellers. A good selection of real ales was on, including Ossett Silver King, 2 Wentworth beers ( Lemon Ale and Cherry Stout ), one beer from Roosters together with a rare sighting this far north of Hopback Summer Lightning. The Ossett Silver King was in good condition – quite a tasty pint. I wouldn’t be averse to calling in again if the opportunity presented itself