in the late 19th century. George Hotel The George Hotel on the corner of High Street and George Street was once a posting house. It was named after Saint George of England in 1574 and bought some 25 years later by Henry Cromwell, grandfather of Oliver Cromwell. Charles I made the George his headquarters in 1645. Later the highwayman Dick Turpin is said to have been a customer, when it was a coaching inn on the Great North Road. A theatre was built to the rear of the George about 1799. The Lincoln company of actors managed by Thomas Shaftoe Robertson and later Fanny Robertson performed here in race weeks. Two wings of the inn burnt down in the mid-19th century, but two were saved, including one with a balcony overlooking the yard. Since 1959, the courtyard and balcony have been used for Shakespeare performances by a company run by the Shakespeare at the George Trust. Government Huntingdon has a town council with 19 councillors elected every four years. Two of them serve also as mayor and deputy mayor. Meetings are normally held once a month at Huntingdon Town Hall. Huntingdonshire District Council has three wards: Huntingdon North, Huntingdon East and Huntingdon West. The Huntingdon East ward has two councillors and the other wards also have two each. The main offices of Huntingdonshire District Council are in Huntingdon itself. The third tier of local-government is Cambridgeshire County Council providing county-wide services such as roads, education, social services, libraries and heritage protection. Huntingdon is one of 60 electoral divisions, represented by two county councillors. The fourth tier of local government is Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, which is headed by a mayor. The Authority's website states that "the Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough is Dr Nik Johnson. Huntingdon lies in the parliamentary constituency of Huntingdon. Geography The town lies on the north bank of the River Great Ouse opposite Godmanchester and close to the market town of St Ives to the east and the village of Brampton to the west. Huntingdon incorporates the village of Hartford to the east and the developing areas of Oxmoor, Stukeley Meadows and Hinchingbrooke to the north and west. Between Godmanchester, Huntingdon and Brampton lies Portholme Meadow, England's largest. Its contain many rare species of grass, flowers and dragonfly. It is the only known British habitat of the marsh dandelion. It acts as a natural reservoir