Inns and Taverns of Old London | Page 8

and the hand of man among
the hostelries of Southwark, a considerable portion of one still survives
in its actual seventeenth century guise. This is the George Inn, which is
slightly nearer London Bridge than the Tabard. To catch a peep of its
old-world aspect, with its quaint gallery and other indubitable tokens of
a distant past, gives the pilgrim a pleasant shock. It is such a contrast to
the ugly modern structures which impose themselves on the public as
"Ye Olde" this and "Ye Olde" that. Here at any rate is a veritable
survival. Nor does it matter that the George has made little figure in
history; there is a whole world of satisfaction in the thought that it has
changed but little since it was built in 1672. Its name is older than its
structure. Stow included the George among the "many fair inns" he saw
in Southwark in 1598, a fact which deals a cruel blow to that crude
theory which declares inns were so named after the royal Georges of
Great Britain.
[Illustration: GEORGE INN.]
Among the numerous other inns which once lined the High Street of
Southwark there is but one which has claims upon the attention on the
score of historic and literary interest. This is the White Hart, which was
doubtless an old establishment at the date, 1406, of its first mention in
historical records. Forty-four years later, that is in 1450, the inn gained
its most notable association by being made the head-quarters of Jack
Cade at the time of his famous insurrection. Modern research has
shown that this rebellion was a much more serious matter than the older
historians were aware of, but the most careful investigation into Cade's
career has failed to elicit any particulars of note prior to a year before
the rising took place. The year and place of his birth are unknown, but
twelve months before he appears in history he was obliged to flee the
realm and take refuge in France owing to his having murdered a
woman who was with child. He served for a time in the French army,

then returned under an assumed name and settled in Kent, which was
the centre of discontent against Henry VI. As the one hope of reform
lay in an appeal to arms, the discontent broke into open revolt. "The
rising spread from Kent over Surrey and Sussex. Everywhere it was
general and organized--a military levy of the yeomen of the three
shires." It was not of the people alone, for more than a hundred esquires
and gentlemen threw in their lot with the rebels; but how it came about
that Jack Cade attained the leadership is a profound mystery. Leader,
however, he was, and when he, with his twenty thousand men, took
possession of Southwark as the most desirable base from which to
threaten the city of London, he elected the White Hart for his own
quarters. This was on the first of July, 1450, and for the next few of
those midsummer days the inn was the scene of many stirring and
tragic events. Daily, Cade at the head of his troops crossed the bridge
into the city, and on one of those excursions he caused the seizure and
beheadal of the hated Lord Say. Daily, too, there was constant coming
and going at the White Hart of Cade's emissaries. At length, however,
the citizens of London, stung into action by the robberies and other
outrages of the rebels, occupied the bridge in force. A stubborn struggle
ensued, but Cade and his men were finally beaten off. The amnesty
which followed led to a conference at which terms were arranged and a
general pardon granted. That for Cade, however, as it was made out in
his assumed name of Mortimer, was invalid, and on the discovery
being made he seized a large quantity of booty and fled. Not many days
later he was run to earth, wounded in being captured, and died as he
was being brought back to London. His naked body was identified by
the hostess of the White Hart, who was probably relieved to gaze upon
so certain an indication that she would be able to devote herself once
more to the entertainment of less troublesome guests.
For all the speedy ending of his ambitions, Cade is assured of
immortality so long as the pages of Shakespeare endure. The rebel is a
stirring figure in the Second Part of King Henry VI and as an orator of
the mob reaches his greatest flights of eloquence in that speech which
perpetuates the name of his headquarters at Southwark. "Hath my
sword therefore broke through London gates, that you should leave me
at the White Hart in Southwark?"
But English literature was not done with