By Victoria Evans, Searchroom Archivist
Across West Sussex there are many historic pubs that are the cornerstone to village life and community. In this brief blog post we will be focusing in on and exploring two of the oldest in the county: The George and Dragon in Houghton. This pub dates to the 13th century, which leaves us wishing that those walls could talk!
Photographs
Maps
Starting with OS county series maps on the map desk in our Searchroom, the 1912 map was first and from there we tracked it to 1897 and then 1874. As you can see below, not much changed over these years!
The usual next step would be the tithe map; however, this is where we hit a brick wall. The Houghton tithe map is very limited, and it appears that we do not hold the full map covering all plots. The next logical step was to check the surrounding tithe maps just in case. Arundel, Amberley, Bury and South Stoke were checked to no avail. This is most likely because the land of Houghton was owned by the Duke of Norfolk. Admittedly, this is rather frustrating as the names you find from the apportionments can take the research over to the census more seamlessly…
Alas, one more map dating from 1809 was left to check. Add Mss 5161 is the typescript copy of the Houghton and South Stoke Inclosure Award and below we believe includes the land that the pub stands on.
Census returns and the 1939 Register
Thankfully, it was easy to locate the residents of this pub across most of the census returns as, luckily, the George and Dragon is clearly recorded. The Cunningham family lived and ran the pub from roughly the 1860s to the 1910s. Robert Cunningham was the innkeeper up to the 1871 census, and then it passed onto his son Charles, who was on the census at the pub as a publican/innkeeper until 1911.
📷 1871 census, address from the 1911 census and names from the 1911 census. Screenshots from Ancestry.
From tracking down the pub on the 1939 Register, Harry Viney and his son, Cyril, were running the pub. Cyril’s wife, Constance, was also registered to this address. It will also be assumed from the 1921 census that Harry Viney ran the pub in the 1920s due to his residency being in Houghton. However, the pub name is not clearly marked on the return.
Connections to Charles II
According to legend, Charles II stopped at this pub for a drink on 4 October 1651 when fleeing the country after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester. The escape route he took is known as the Monarch’s Way and is now a sign-posted walk that covers 625 miles. It begins in Worcester and ends in Shoreham where he made his escape by boat to France.
Oil on canvas, circa 1660-1665
NPG 531
© National Portrait Gallery, London
This is where this post concludes its research. The next potential steps would be exploring the licensing of this pub and, if wanting to trace it back even further, the manorial records could be delved into. From searching our catalogue and the manorial documents register, the following items of interest have been identified in our archive: MF 2333, Add Mss 524 and Slindon Mss 1. Unfortunately, we are not currently equipped with the skills to read such documents!
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