The Royal George is another lost pub that we know little about.

1812 to 1835 it became the meeting place of the recently formed town commissioners, having previously been held at the Nelson Hotel.

Between 1810 and 1850, the public house was the regular meeting place for the corn exchange where traders and farmers would set the price for wheat, barley and other corn stocks.

90% of Market Street was demolished for the Guildboure Centre construction along with the Dragoon.

1942: This is Mrs Hunt who had been at the Royal George in Market Street since she was 24. She is now 78, and since her husband died 34 years ago she has held the licence.

They took over the pub straight after their wedding; husband George was a carpenter and knew nothing of the trade, whereas she had worked in public houses for some years.

She remembers when there were stables at the rear and Chatsworth Road was then Cooks Row. She recalls: There was what was called a smoke room as well as a public bar. The prices were the same, but a keen, friendly rivalry existed between the occupants of each bar and they did not mix easily. The 'Lords and the Commons' they were nicknamed.

Then of course there was the old bar parlour, forerunner of the saloon bar. In the bar parlour lived the landlord and his family, and during the evenings customers would be allowed to come in to drink their beer and spirits as they reclined in the landlord's armchairs and sofas.

Within the building there was a bell that was used to call her husband out to attend fires as a member of the Worthing Volunteer Fire Brigade.

They had two sons, one killed just before the end of WWI. The other married and her and his wife helped in the running of the pub.

September 5, 1969: It was announced in the local paper that the Royal George would end her days at midnight on Wednesday, marking the end as Worthing's second oldest pub.

It is well known that it became a regular place for the town's commissioners to meet, including the discussion on the new town hall construction. Ralph and Jean Rogers were the last landlords and would take over the Anchor.

When the 1830 Beer Act was passed, there were only four public houses: the Anchor, the Wellington, the Rambler, and the Spaniard. This does not include beer houses.

The pub was named in memory of HMS Royal George, which sank in Portsmouth harbour in 1782.

The ship was purposely listed to raise one side to replace a below-the-line water cock, which was used to supply water for deck cleaning. To achieve the roll, many of its 100 cannons were rolled over to the opposite side. The initial list was of eight degrees, but this was found not to be sufficient, and it was tilted further, much against the advice of the Master Attendant of Portsmouth Dockyard

The ship was being provisioned for a Gibraltar expedition and was carrying 548 tons of goods and 83 tons of ammunition. The Captain, Waghorn, had ordered the gunports on the low side to remain open to assist in loading goods through them rather than hoisting up the side. Three officers who would normally oversee such an operation had been absent despite a shore leave ban

Meanwhile, a supply vessel, 'The Lark', approached the lower side and began loading goods and supplies aboard. At some point, the Royal George became unstable and capsized. Over 900 people drowned, crew, family members who were visiting, most of who were below decks. A court Martial reported: Waghorn and the officers and crew were “acquitted of all blame,” and the loss of the ship was due to the “decay of her timbers.”
 

 Time Line

 A little bit extra

1810 - 1835 George Wingfield
1837 - For sale
1863 - Hume
???? - George Greenfield
???? - George Constable
1839 - Thomas Edwards
1855 - Harvey Goble
1856 - James Hume
1887 - Thomas Sweet
1888-1942 Mr & Mrs George Henry Hunt
1955 - E Freeman
1962 - 1964 Charles & Ivy Bryant
???? - Mr & Mrs Gardiner
1930s - Annie Hunt
???? - 1960s Charles Bryant
1968 - 1969 Ralph & Jean Rogers

Approximation

The pub swing sign depicted the HMS Royal George on both sides, one in its full glory, the other, capsized.

Dave Hunt, the supplier of a couple of family pictures mother was born in the Royal Oak.