Did you know......

The George has gone from strength to strength, attracting visitors from various places across the world.

Many are Dalesway walkers, bravely undertaking the 82 (or so) miles from Ilkely to Bowness on Windermere.

‘We also get a lot of visitors who have been coming to The George for many years which is really gratifying, including a couple who spent their honeymoon night at The George and returned for their 50th Wedding Anniversary!’.

And so to the candle…..history tells us that The George was at one time the vicarage for the nearby beautiful church of St Michael and All Angels and it was traditional for the vicar to keep a lighted candle in the window so parishioners knew that they were welcome to call.

When in 1754 the building became The George, it was still owned by the Church and the tradition of lighting the candle whenever the pub is open continued.

The other part of this story is that every year on the first Monday after New Year’s Day, there is a meeting of the Hubberholme Parliament at which an auction takes place for 16 acres of pasture land just up the road from The George.

The auction is preceded by a short service of prayer in the Church and then, the assembled crowd watch as the candle in the pub is lit to mark the start of bidding.

It finishes when the candle extinguishes itself.

It is a wonderful and ancient tradition and is always a grand night with some musical accompaniment (provided by the vicar) and raises some very useful funds for the Poor Pasture Fund, traditionally used to help locals in need.