The George Tavern celebrated its 21st year of ownership under landlady Pauline Forster this September by hosting a month-long festival of art, music, colour and community.
The Shadwell pub was ‘saved’ in 2019 when it was granted a deed of easement after a £1m legal battle with IPE Developments that granted it the right to continue making noise at existing levels.
Nothing worth having ever came easily, though, as more than 300 applications for adjoining residential buildings have been submitted since Pauline bought the tavern in 2002, demonstrating how frequently gentrification grinds its gears against the live music venue.
The proximity of such potential residences can prove fatal to any sonic boozer, as noise complaints submitted by tenants can trigger the revocation of music licenses.
Pauline said: “It’s closed down a lot of places. I know places up the road that have had their licences taken right down.
“They can’t have people outside and they have to have security because they’re only allowed so many people smoking outside – just because of one person complaining.”
Having featured in Chaucer’s tales under its previous name, The Halfway House, the George is so historical, it is as much a part of London as the River Thames.
It seems strange, then, that so many developers have tried to demolish the artefact, but Pauline puts their ventures down to capital interests.
“I think it’s about money and greed, and they don’t give a damn,” she said.
“If they could have knocked it down, they would have been very happy rubbing their hands together.”
Despite the threat of closure over the years, adversity has only ever managed to inspire the eclectic clientele that call the Tavern home.
Kirsty Chaplin, a harpist who played at one of the George’s art and music nights, explained its appeal as both a performer and patron.
She said: “I love this venue, I love coming to watch bands here.
“The owners will just let you take over the space and make it your own for the night, and it feels like people can get really creative because they’re free and they’re expressing themselves.
“It’s a space that is such an institution, but it’s not afraid to push the boundaries and just let artists be artists.”
Whether it was Amy Winehouse instructing Pauline to create the now iconic ‘Save the George Tavern’ t-shirt to sell for legal fundraising, Kate Moss’s sultry posing in it that gained the venue massive publicity or the crowds who propelled The Last Dinner Party to stardom from the George’s humble stage – the venue has never simply endured, it has thrived.
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