By Kim Berlin
When Portland’s historic and popular The George pub in Reforne closed unexpectedly several months ago, people feared the worst.
Another pub gone, ‘it’ll probably become this… or that… or something worse…’ The rumour mill revved into high gear.
I am very happy to announce that none of the gloom and doom has come to pass. Instead, this beloved old building has had a thorough makeover and is in better shape than it has been for many years.
A Portland Pub Steeped in History
Built as the clerk’s house for the nearby Georgian St George’s Church in the 1760s, it has been an inn for most of its life and many historic artifacts and documents are on display inside.
New landlady Bindy Hall also has a long connection with the business. She had already worked behind the bar for several years before it closed but her association runs much deeper than that.
It was her mum’s favourite hostelry locally, but the family story goes back still further. Bindy is a descendent of Mary Way, the young woman who was shot by the Press Gang in the infamous Easton Square Massacre in April 1803 in which five people were killed.
It is said that she was taken to The George for her wounds to be attended to.
Bindy said: “I’ve always felt a strong connection to Mary. Here I can almost hear her.”
Sadly, Mary died of her wounds six weeks after the incident at the age of 21, but it is, perhaps, a story joyfully coming full circle now that a successor of Mary’s is taking the reins.
The pub is going to focus on the tradition of wet sales with snacks available behind the bar. Major sports tournaments can be viewed in the main bar and side rooms.
There is a new pool table and the garden patio has been impressively extended, while the smaller snug bar remains quiet and traditional with its log fire and old long trestle tables that bear the initials of scores of drinkers past carved into them.
It is good to see another good hostelry getting a new lease of life on the island.
I can never overestimate the importance of the traditional pub at the heart of a community and it is a joyful event that another thriving business is put back in the heart of the island, serving the community and our increasing number of visitors alike.