The Tabard

The Tabard

The Tabard, an inn that stood on the east side of Borough High Street in Southwark, was established in 1307, when the abbot of Hyde purchased the land to construct a hostel for himself and his brethren, when business took them to London, as well as an inn to accommodate the numerous pilgrims headed on annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Thomas Beckett in Canterbury Cathedral. The Tabard is famous as the place owned by Harry Bailey, the host in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and is described in the first few lines of Chaucer's work as the location where the pilgrims first meet on their journey to Canterbury in the 1380s: [ [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45267 "Southwark: Famous inns"] , Old and New London: Volume 6 (1878), pp. 76-89, accessed: 16 June 2008]

"Bifel that in that seson on a day, In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage To Caunterbury with ful devout corage, At nyght was come into that hostelrye Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye Of sondry folk, by aventure yfalle In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle, That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde; The chambres and the stables weren wyde, And well we weren esed atte beste."

By the time the antiquary John Stow wrote his "Survey", the Tabard was one among a crowd of inns that lined the thoroughfare that led south from London Bridge towards Canterbury and Dover, "many fair inns, for receipt of travellers, by these signs: the Spurre, Christopher, Bull, Queen's Head, Tabard, George, Hart, King's Head" &c. [Quoted in Walter Thornbury and Edward Walford, "Old and New London: A Narrative of Its History, Its People and Its Places" (London) 1893:76.] At the Dissolution of the Monasteries "the Tabard of the Monastery of Hyde, and the Abbot's Place, with the stable and gardens thereunto belonging" were sold to John and Thomas Master.

The inn, entered through a gateway in the high street, and clustered around its yard, was destroyed by a major fire in Southwark in 1676 but was immediately rebuilt and renamed The Talbot. It profited from the coaching trade and was renowned as a coaching inn in the days of Charles Dickens. However, it fell into disuse with the arrival of the railways and was converted into stores. It was demolished in 1873.

The site of the Tabard is next door to The George (itself one of London's oldest public houses) in Talbot Yard (to the east of Borough High Street). On November 23rd 2003 a blue plaque was installed on the wall of Copyprints Ltd, the oldest building in Talbot Yard, describing the historical significance of the Tabard Inn and celebrating Southwark's cultural links with Geoffrey Chaucer. It was unveiled by former Python and Medieval enthusiast Terry Jones.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.towson.edu/~duncan/chaucer/tabardpg.htm The Tabard Inn in Southwark] , another nineteenth-century engraving


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Tabard (fraternity) — The Tabard, a coeducational fraternity at Dartmouth College, was founded in 1857 as a local fraternity named Phi Zeta Mu. In 1893, the house sought to associate itself with a national fraternity and was granted a charter as the Eta Eta chapter of …   Wikipedia

  • The Yellowchair Performance Experience — (TYPE) is a non profit organization set up to give new talent (actors, writers and designers) their first experiences working on a play in a London Fringe Theatre [cite web|url=http://www.t y p e.net|title=The Yellowchair Performance… …   Wikipedia

  • Tabard — A tabard is a short coat, either sleeveless, or with short sleeves or shoulder pieces, which was a common item of men s clothing in the Middle Ages, usually for outdoors. It might be belted, or not. Tabards might be emblazoned on the front and… …   Wikipedia

  • Tabard — Recorded in many forms including Tabard, Tabord, Tabary, Tabart, Tabert and Tabbitt, this is a surname of French origins. Introduced into England after the famous Norman Invasion of 1066, it derives from the Old French words tabart or tabard ,… …   Surnames reference

  • Tabard Theatre — Infobox Theatre name = Tabard Theatre caption = address = Bath Street, Turnham Green city = Hounslow, London country = designation = architect = Richard Norman Shaw owner = Pulling Focus Ltd capacity = 80 seats type = Fringe Theatre opened = 1985 …   Wikipedia

  • The George Inn, Southwark — Infobox UKproperty property name = The George Inn imgage name = thegeorgesouthwark.jpg image size = 200px caption = The George Inn, Southwark type = Public house NT/EH/RHS = NT Managed = Tenanted by brewery area = main = Historic building other …   Wikipedia

  • The Famous Five (series) — This article is about the novels. For the first TV adaptation, see The Famous Five (1970s TV series). The Famous Five   …   Wikipedia

  • The Tabarde —    Lease of the Tabarde in parish of St. Bennett Gracious strete (Harl. Roll, H. 29).    See Talbot Court1, Gracechurch Street.    The tabard was a jacket or sleeveless coat, open on both sides, with a square collar, now worn by the heralds; a… …   Dictionary of London

  • Tabard — Tab ard, n. [OE. tabard, tabart; cf. Sp. & Pg. tabardo, It. tabarro, W. tabar, LGr. ?, LL. tabardum.] A sort of tunic or mantle formerly worn for protection from the weather. When worn over the armor it was commonly emblazoned with the arms of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tabard — (n.) mid 13c., from early Sp. tabardo and O.Fr. tabart (12c.), of unknown origin. Originally a coarse, sleeveless upper garment worn by peasants, later a knight s surcoat (hence the name of the tavern in Canterbury Tales ) …   Etymology dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”