Team at London’s last galleried pub The George Inn ‘devastated by first Christmas closure’

The operator of London’s sole remaining galleried inn - from whose balcony Charles Dickens is rumoured to have read out A Christmas Carol - has spoken of his distress at having to oversee its first ever Christmas closure.

Tom Flynn manages The George Inn at Southwark for pub giant Greene King, which leases the listed 17th century pub from the National Trust.


In Dickens’ time it was a coffee house, and the historic venue is mentioned in Little Dorrit.

The George had a full slate of bookings, but instead will close after the capital was placed into Tier 3.

Mr Flynn sold pints of lager and craft beer for just £2, and cask ale for £1.49 last night in an attempt to shift as many pints as possible.  Huge leftover stocks of food will be donated to a food bank on Borough High Street.

He told the Standard: “At least it will be helping families struggling through the pandemic.

"Me and the team we were totally devastated yesterday - if there's anything we trade to it's Christmas. We were seeing trade growing, which makes it even more frustrating."

Karen Bosher, who oversees Greene King’s London pubs, said she shut 134 sites in the capital yesterday.

These pubs usually see a 50% uplift in trade on the Thursday before Christmas alone.

Instead, Ms Bosher - the pub giant’s managing director of Premium, Urban and Venture - said that it is costing the firm £5,000 on average per pub shuttered. 

That comes on top of Greene King expending “hundreds of thousands” of pounds on acquiring pavement licenses, furniture and additional food to meet the “substantial meal” requirement of Tier 2 - only for the London pubs to be open for just 13 days.

“This is the first time in its history The George has shut at Christmas.

"Will The George still be there next summer? Yes they will, but this closure is pushing thousands of people into hardship," Ms Bosher said. “I’m raging today in a way I haven’t before.

“The Government seems to be really ignoring this mayday call that's going out [from hospitality]. We couldn't be screaming any louder.

"Central London is major part of our pub economy in Greene King... There needs to be recognition that between now and then [reopening] we will be haemorrhaging money. We will now be considering reopening strategy... we will have to be careful. We’ve missed our Christmas.