h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Who was George and why did she have a Vulture. The name is used for a lot of pubs including a famous Dickensian one in darkest central London.

I think the Dickens one was originally just The George. The landlord kept a real vulture, though, which got so well-known people started calling the place The Vulture, or The George and Vulture. I'm guessing all the others are named after that one...

From The Gurdian.

Every unusual tavern name tells a story and the George and Vulture – tucked away in a labyrinth of dark alleys surrounding St Michael's Churchyard, and known for its associations with Dickens – is no exception. Established in the 1470s as the George Inn, it was reduced to a smouldering wreck by the Great Fire. When it was rebuilt, the landlord agreed to lease part of it to a local wine merchant who'd lost his own shop. The only hiccup was his sign – a live vulture, which he promptly tethered above the entrance to the George. Its squawking and flapping so alarmed customers that the leaseholders decided to absorb the name "vulture" and, after years of captivity, release the beast into the sky.


PP.

Paravoffka vs. griffon vulture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sqIkYcrlxQ

Thank your all for your answers. I know the Dickens place really well from the outside but I had not associated it with all of the other George and Vultures around the London. I trip past one out by Hoxton north of London quite a bit and it was seeing it regularly that this question came to mind.



PS: Great Vid