Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1914-07-03
OLD inns
Historic Events Cluster About An
cient HosteIries Of England.
Many Of Them Have Passed Out 81
Existence But rhoss That Re-
main Have Z Charm That 10
vsry Appealing.

London.-The word linn" signify.
ing q chamber or place of residence)
is Of purely Saxon origin. 1t is just
possible that the inns which fourished
before the Conquest had some remots
connection with the "guest-houses"
which existed at various points of the
great Roman roads. but it Is quite
certain that the great majority Of the
medieval inns. like the New Inn at
Gloucester, the George at Glastonbury,
the ancient hostelry at Norton St.
Philip having the same sign, had Q
purely ecclesiastic origin. The inns
Of Southwark were famous long before
Shakespeare's time, and an old en-
craving shows the Borough to have
been at one time q street Of inns. One
after another they have disappeared.
but the George has survived the W. ole
sale demolition of its contemporaries
and. In the second decade Of the tTen-
tieth century, retains the picturesque
features which inspired the architects
Of our earliest playhouses. The Kem-
bles-Sarah Siddons with the rest of
them-frequently played in an inn
yard, with the rustic audience
packed into the wooden galleries
which ran around it and led to the
bedchambers of the Star. the Green
Dragon. the Red Lion or whatever
house it happened to be. This state
Of things came to an end about ITO,
when the organization of fast mails
gave the coaching inns half a century
Of activity and prosperity. II the rail-
way put an end to these halcyon days
for well nigh seventy years. the mo-
tor car bids fair to make ample atone
ment in the case Of the venerable hos
telries which have survived the crisis,
which, with relentless hand. swept
away the Tabard or Talbot (the most
famous of all Southwark inns). the
White Hart. the Kings Head, the
Katherine Wheel and the Queens
Head. all Of which up to comparative
ly recent times possessed galleried
courtyards similar to that now de-
scribed.
The remains Of the George derive
additional interest from the fact that
this inn stood close to the Tabard. in
connection with which 1t is mentioned
as early as 1854.
Very few English inns can lay claim
either to the antiquity. the quaint ar
chttectural features, or the eventful
history Of the New Inn at Gloucester.
which may almost be described as a
city Of inns and inn-holders. It Is in
the murder of King Edward II that
we discover the genesis of this delight.
ful old hostelry. When Bristol,
Malmesbury and other places declined
the honor Of affording sepulture to
the dead monarch, abbot Thokery
did not wait to be allowed, but went
body. demanded and conveyed the
royal corpse in his own carriage to
the Abbey Of st. Peter. at Gloucester.
where 1t was received by the brethren
Of the Monastery in procession and
buried on the north side Of the choir,
near the high altar in September.
1927" In course Of time the tomb of
became popular shrine.
The George at Glastonbury is an.
other example of a medieval pil-
grims' inn, but little Of the original
work remains except the striking Per.
pendicular panelled facade. 1t was
built In the latter half Of the fifteenth
century by Abbot Selwood for the
better accommodation of visitors to
the abbey and its shrines. Above
the gateway are the arms of Edward |
" and Nose of the abbey.
The Feathers at Ludlow has long
been regarded az one of the princi. |