The George Inn

Here I am outside The George Hotel in Hathersage in the Peak District in Derbyshire. Charlotte Bronte was 29 when she arrived here by horse and carriage in the summer of 1845. The building was coaching inn at the time and she lodged here.

She came to this small village to stay with her old school friend Ellen Nussey who lived at the Rectory. The George Inn was a coach stop in those days where horses could be rested and watered. It’s been there for over 500 years - as an ale house initially and then as an inn from 1770. Nearby Charlotte visited North Lees Hall which is thought to have become Thorn Field Hall, home of Mr. Rochester where he and Jane Eyre fell in love. I have visited it and the link is at the foot of this page.

It’s likely Charlotte’s most famous novel Jane Eyre was based on Hathersage village (it’s called Morton in the novel) as she explored it, taking in most small details. The name “Eyre” probably came from one of the tombstones in the graveyard of St. Michael’s Church. There are lots of Eyre family members buried there, the main one being Robert Eyre who fought in the battle of Agincourt. In the churchyard my eyes seized upon red wreaths that were on the grave of two brothers who’d died in the Second World War, both just 21. Well worth a salute.

The name Eyre may have come from many Eyre family members buried in the local parish church, the main one being Robert Eyre….

At the back of the church (see blob of red)…

In the cemetery I found the graves of two brothers who’d died aged 21 in the Second World War…

Hathersage down below...