White Hart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The White Hart ("hart" is an old word for stag) was the personal badge of Richard II, who derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent", heiress of Edmund of Woodstock. In the Wilton Diptych (National Gallery, London), which is the earliest authentic contemporary portrait of an English king, Richard II wears a gold and enamelled white hart jewel, and even the angels surrounding the Virgin Mary all wear white hart badges. In English Folklore, the White Hart is associated with Herne the Hunter.
There are still many inns and pubs in England that sport a sign of the White Hart.
Arthur C. Clarke wrote a collection of science fictional tall tales under the title of Tales from the White Hart, which used as a framing device the conceit that the tales were told during drinking sessions in a pub named the White Hart, that existed somewhere between Fleet Street and the Embankment. This pub was fictional, but was based on a real pub named the White Horse where the science fiction community of London did in fact meet in the 1940s and 1950s.
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[edit] Inns
[edit] Brentwood
The White Hart in Brentwood is the oldest pub in the town, dating back to before 1480. It may have been so named after Richard II passed through Brentwood in 1392, possibly staying at the inn. It became a coaching inn in the 18th and 19th centuries, and in 1910 even offered repairs to motor vehicles.[1]
[edit] Ringwood
The White Hart at Ringwood in the New Forest is said to have been the first pub so named, after King Henry VII caught such a beast nearby, had it leashed and led it back to the town in triumph.
[edit] Southwark
An inn at the sign of the White Hart was established in the medieval period on Borough High Street in Southwark. It is mentioned by William Shakespeare in Henry VI, part 1 as the headquarters of the rebels in Jack Cade's 1450 Kentish rebellion. It became one of the many famous coaching inns in the days of Charles Dickens, and it was here that Sam Weller met Mr Pickwick in the famous scene from the Pickwick Papers. The Inn was pulled down in the 19th Century.
It is next door to The George, Southwark and near the site of The Tabard.
[edit] Edinburgh
In Scotland, The White Hart is an inn in the Grassmarket, established early in the 1500s. It stood a few hundred steps from the place where public hangings were held, and was popular among spectators. Robert Burns and William Wordsworth were among its notable visitors, and resurrectionists Burke and Hare found some of the victims of their murder-for-body-parts scheme there.
[edit] Dumfries
Also in Scotland, Dumfries has a hotel named The White Hart Hotel. It is generally frequented by young people from the "alternative" scene as its jukebox features a lot of rock and metal music, which other pubs in the town do not have. It formerly had a bad reputation for drugs, sexual offences, and generally being a place of ill-repute, a reputation which still lingers among many in Dumfries. However, it has recently become stricter in its approach to underage drinkers, and has improved in the public eye.
[edit] Frimley
At the eastern end of Frimley High Street, Ye Olde White Hart was originally a coaching inn on the road to Portsmouth. It serves food and drink, has a beer garden and is now a Wi-Fi hotspot.
[edit] St Keverne
The White Hart in St Keverne, Cornwall was the birthplace, in 1764, of the singer and actor Charles Incledon.
[edit] Sonning-on-Thames
The Great House at Sonning in Sonning, Berkshire, on the banks of the River Thames, was formerly known as the White Hart because Richard II's wife, Catherine of Valois was kept prisoner in the village after his death.
[edit] Hull
The Ye Olde White Hart in Kingston upon Hull dates back to around the 14th century, it is immersed in history. In 1642 a room upstaires known as the Plotting Parlour, Sir John Hotham resolved to bar King Charles from Kingston upon Hull. This act in turn triggered the English Civil War. The pub is known throughout Hull and is regarded as part of Hulls heritage. It still has many original and priceless features. The pub has a beer garden, open fire and many fine real ales.
[edit] References
- ^ Qichina (2006). Boredtown - Brentwood History. A Grumpy Old Man in Brentwood, Essex muses on small town life. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
