Pub names

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The sign of the Saracen's Head in Broad Street, Bath, England
The sign of the Saracen's Head in Broad Street, Bath, England

The names of public houses have a story behind them. As many public houses are centuries old, many of their early customers were illiterate, and pictorial signs could be recognised when words could not be read. Modern names are often little more than a marketing ploy frequently using a comic theme thought to be memorable - Slug and Lettuce being an example. Interesting origins are not confined to old or traditional names, however. Names and their origins can be broken up into a relatively small number of categories:

Although the word The appears on much public house signage, it is not considered to be an important part of the name, and is therefore ignored in the following examples. Likewise, the word Ye should also be ignored as it is only another version of The. The Y represents a now obsolete symbol (the thorn) which represented the th sound and looked rather like a Y.

Alternative spellings such as olde worlde are not distinguished below.

Contents

[edit] Alcohol related

  • Barley Mow : Barley is laid in a malting, heated and watered until the grain germinates. The grain is then cooked which kills the germination process and the result is called malt. Malt is the ingredient in beer which gives it its sweet taste and colour. The mow is a stack.
  • Barrels (barrel): A size of cask or keg (36 Imperial gallons) in which liquids, normally beer, are kept. Other sizes are: pin, 36 pints; firkin, 9 gallons; kilderkin, 18 gallons; hogshead, 52 gallons; butt, probably 104 gallons.
  • Brewery Tap : A public house usually found outside a brewery although now so many breweries have closed, the house may be nowhere near an open brewery.
  • Hop Inn (Hops): Hop flowers are the ingredient in beer which gives it its bitter taste although this name is really a hilarious pun.
  • Hop Pole : The poles up which hops grow.
  • John Barleycorn : A character who appears in English traditional folk music who is annually cut down at the ankles, trashed but always reappears; a representation of growth and harvest based on barley. Can be knighted as Sir John Barleycorn . A good candidate as the English God of Brewing.
  • Leather Bottle or Leathern Bottle : A container in which beer or wine was kept for a handy drink. The job is now done with a glass bottle or tin can.
  • Malt Shovel : An implement used in a malting to turn over the barley grain.
  • Three Tuns (Tun) Based on the arms of both the Worshipful Company of Vinters and the Worshipful Company of Brewers (City of London guilds).

[edit] Found objects

Before painted inn signs became commonplace publicans would identify their establishment by hanging or standing a distinctive object outside the pub.

  • Boot
  • Copper Kettle
  • Crooked Billet (a bent branch from a tree)

[edit] Heraldry

The ubiquity of the naming element arms shows how fundamental heraldry is to the naming of pubs. Please remember the whole thing is called a coat of arms; the crest is only that bit on top of the shield.

[edit] Items appearing on coats of arms

  • Bear and Staff: Appears on the arms of both the earls of Leicester and Warwick. Refers to bear baiting (see Dog and Bear in the Sports section.
  • Checkers or Chequers: Often derived from an element of the crest of a local landowner, this name and sign originated in ancient Rome when a chequer board indicated that a bar also provided banking services. The checked board was use as an aid to counting and is the origin of the word exchequer. The last pub to use the older, now American spelling of checker was in Baldock, Hertfordshire but this closed circa 1990; all pubs now use the modern "q" spelling.
  • Horns: Although this is often seen as a derivation of Richard II's white hart emblem, it may also be an echo of a pagan reference to Herne the Hunter.
  • Ostrich: Ostrich feathers feature in the crest of the Prince of Wales. They are also part of the crest of John of Gaunt Earl of Leicester so the name may appear in places once owned by the Leicesters.
  • Plume of Feathers: This usually refers to the ostrich feathers that are part of the crest of the Prince of Wales.
  • Red Dragon: The red dragon of Cadwaladr is the symbol of Wales.
  • Red Lion: Originally an armorial symbol of John of Gaunt, this became the most common inn name in England when James I decreed that the Stuart Red Lion be displayed throughout the kingdom. Although it was widely recognised as a Scottish emblem many innkeepers acknowledged the royal proposal and adopted the name.
  • Unicorn: Unicorn
  • White Bear: Bear
  • White Hart: The white hart was the emblem of King Richard II of England. It became so popular as an inn sign in his reign that it was adopted by many later inns and taverns.
  • White Horse: A galloping white horse is the sign of the House of Hanover and many eighteenth century inns adopted the symbol to demonstrate their loyalty to the new Royal dynasty. A white horse is also the emblem of the County of Kent. The name can also refer to the chalk horses carved into hillsides.

It is worth noting some names starting with the word "Three" are usually based on the arms of the London livery companies (trade guilds):

  • Three Arrows: The Worshipful Company of Fletchers
  • Three Bucks: The Leathersellers
  • Three Castles: The Masons
  • Three Compasses: The Carpenters
  • Three Crowns: The Drapers, although it can also refer to the Magi
  • Three Cups: The Salters
  • Three Goats' Heads: The Cordwainers
  • Three Hammers: The Blacksmiths
  • Three Horseshoes: The Farriers
  • Three Tuns: The Brewers and the Vinters
  • Three Wheatsheafs: The Bakers

[edit] Landowners

Many names with "arms" as a suffix refer to the local land owner. This usually makes such names unique. Other signs, like those above, may portray items from the landowner's arms.

[edit] Location

An "arms" name can just derive from where the pub actually is.

  • Bedford Arms Hitchin, Hertfordshire: Takes its name from its address, Bedford Road, and portrays the arms of the town of Bedford. The more usual derivation is for the Duke of Bedford whose seat is at the nearby Woburn Abbey and all other houses (to my knowledge) show the noble gentleman's coat of arms.
  • Harpenden Arms: Situated in the middle of Harpenden, Hertfordshire. Was originally called the Railway as the pub is along the road from the railway station.

[edit] Occupations

Some "arms" signs refer to working occupations. These may show chaps undertaking such work or the arms of the appropriate London livery company. This class of name may be only just a name but there are stories behind some of them.

[edit] Historic events

  • Canterbury Tales: Geoffrey Chaucer's seminal novel about a pilgrimage to Canterbury.
  • Old Trip To Jerusalem (aka Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem), Nottingham: The foremost claimant to the oldest pub in the world. Said to derive from being a stopping-off place for the Crusaders on the way to the Holy Land. "Trip" here has the old meaning of a stop, not the modern journey. Actually the pub was once called the Pilgrim, which is probably the real story behind the name. The pub has the date 1189 painted on its masonry, which is the year King Richard I ascended to the Throne. Like many elderly pubs, the Trip carries "Ye" before its name. This is only the word "The"; there was once a now obsolete letter which looks like a Y for the th sound. Likewise, an E on the end of old is just an olde worlde affectation.
  • Trafalgar: (Battle of Trafalgar)
  • Rose and Crown: After the Battle of Bosworth Field in which King Richard III was killed, the victor Henry Tudor proclaimed himself King Henry VII. Henry had no real claim to the Throne of England, so had to legitimise his position. This he did by marrying someone who did have a claim: Princess Elizabeth of York. She was so beautiful she was known as the Rose of York. Hence the commemorating pub name: the Rose is Princess Elizabeth; the Crown Henry VII.
  • Royal Oak: After the Battle of Worcester 1651 in the English Civil War, the defeated Prince Charles escaped the scene with the Roundheads on his tail. He managed to reach BishopsWood in Staffordshire, where he found an oak tree (now known as the Boscobel Oak). He climbed the tree and hid in it for a day while the obviously short-sighted Parliamentarians strolled around under the tree looking for him. After the hunters gave up, Prince Charles came down and escaped to France. He became King Charles II on the Restoration of the Monarchy. To celebrate this good fortune, 29 May (Charles' birthday) was declared Royal Oak Day and the pub name remembers this. The Royal Naval ship gets its name from the same source.
  • Saracen's Head: Tales of The Crusades handed down over generations led to variations on the Christian endeavours to convert the Muslim Middle East, the saracen was a brave warrior from this region.
  • Turk's Head: Also a reference to the warriors of that region, again as a result of The Crusades.

[edit] Myths and legends

Images from myths and legends are evocative and memorable.

  • George and Dragon: St George is the patron saint of England and his conflict with a dragon is fundamental to his story. This sign is a symbol of English nationalism.
  • Green Man: The spirit of the woods. The original images are in churches as a face peering through or made of leaves and petals; this character is the Will of the Whisp, the Jack of the Green. Same pub signs will show the green man as he appears in English traditional swords dances (in green tats). The Green Man is not the same character as Robin Hood, although the two may be linked. Although it must be noted some pubs which were the Green Man have become the Robin Hood; there are no pubs in Robin's own county of Nottingham named the Green Man but the place is full of Robin Hoods!
  • Robin Hood: Probably the most famous of English heroes. A man who fought the repressive ruling rĂ©gime of the day or to put it simply: he stole from the rich to give to the poor. According to popular legends, Robin Hood was based (with his band of Merry Men) in Sherwood Forest which is sited north of Nottingham. He is sometimes partnered by his second in charge to form the name Robin Hood & Little John.

Other Robin Hood names can be found throughout Arnold, Nottinghamshire. These were given to pubs built in the new estates of the 1960s by the late lamented Home Brewery of Daybrook, Nottinghamshire: Arrow, Friar Tuck, Longbow, Maid Marian and Major Oak. The Wallaby and The Seaturtle

[edit] Personal names or titles

  • Hero of Norfolk, Swaffham, Norfolk: See Lord Nelson.
  • Marquis of Granby: John Manners, Marquess of Granby was a general in the 18th century. He showed a great concern for the welfare of his men upon their retirement and provided funds for many to establish taverns, which were subsequently named after him.
  • Prince of Wales: (Prince of Wales)
  • Duke of Cambridge: (Duke of Cambridge)
  • Nell Gwyn: Nell Gwyn - mistress of King Charles II.
  • Lord Nelson: Horatio Nelson, the victorious Admiral, was born at Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk. It is a tradition to name pubs after Britain's war heroes and so Nelson is an obvious subject. Quite a common name (in its different forms) throughout England but there are especially a large numbers of Nelsons in Norfolk. The Hero of Norfolk at Swaffham, Norfolk shows Horatio on its sign.

[edit] Places

  • Tavistock Inn: (Tavistock)
  • The London Inn
  • The Mutley Tavern
  • The Plymouth Inn: (Plymouth)

[edit] The pub itself (including nicknames)

  • Crooked House Himley, Staffordshire: Actually this pub is the Glynne Arms but is better known by its nickname. Because of mining one side of the house has subsided and now the pub has a pronounced list so much so it is difficult to put one's glass on a table without spilling the nut brown meth. It is said if after leaving the pub you turn round and the building is perfectly perpendicular, you've had too much to drink.
  • Cupola House Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk: This is so named as it has a cuploa (a small domed structure) on its roof.
  • Nutshell Bury St Edmunds: When one puts something in a nutshell, one is making it as small and compact as possible. This house is one of the foremost claimants as the smallest pub in the world.

[edit] Puns and corruptions

Although puns became increasingly popular through the twentieth century, they should be considered with care. Supposed corruptions of foreign phrases usually have much simpler explanations.

  • Bag o'Nails: Thought by the romantic to be a corrupted version of "Bacchanals" but really is just a sign once used by ironmongers. The pub of this name in Bristol, England was named in the 1990s for the former reason, though the latter is more prevalent.
  • Bull and Mouth: Believed to celebrate the victory of Henry VIII at "Boulogne Mouth" or Harbour.
  • Cock and Bull: a play on "cock and bull story". This term, in fact, derives from the names of two pubs. In Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, there are pubs named the Cock and the Bull which are close neighbours. There was a great rivalry between the clientele of the two houses and they would tell increasingly unbelievable stories of their own prowess. The stories were, of course, rubbish and thus, stories containing fictitious tosh are now known as "cock and bull stories".
  • Dew Drop Inn: A pun on "do drop in".
  • Elephant and Castle: Possibly a corruption of "la Infanta del Castille". It is popularly believed amongst residents of Elephant and Castle that a seventeenth century publican near Newington named his tavern after the Spanish princess who was affianced to King Charles I of England. The prohibition of this marriage by Church authorities in 1623 was a cause of war with Spain so it seems unlikely to have been a popular name. A more probable and prosaic explanation is that the name derives from the arms of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers, the London trade guild (an elephant carrying a castle shaped howdah can also be seen on the arms of the City of Coventry).
  • Goat and Compasses: Believed by some to be a corrupted version of the phrase "God encompasseth us", but more likely to be based on the arms of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers. Cordwainers made shoes from goat skin.
  • Hop Inn: similar to the Dew Drop Inn.
  • Nowhere Plymouth: Wife calls husband on his mobile and asks where he is. He answers truthfully "Nowhere".
  • The Office' as above.
  • Nowhere Inn Particular: Another pun.
  • Swan With Two Necks: In the United Kingdom, Swans have traditionally been the property of the reigning Monarch. However, in the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I granted the right to ownership of some swans to the Worshipful Company of Vintners. In order to be able to tell which Swan belonged to whom, it was decided that Vintners' swans should have their beaks marked with two notches, or nicks. In those days, 'neck' was another form of 'nick' and so the Vintners spotted that a Swan With Two Necks could afford them a rather clever pun, and a striking pub sign.

[edit] Religious

Public houses can take their names from religious symbolism

  • Anchor: From the Bible passage (Hebrews 6:19) "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope" when also be the derivation of the names Hope & Anchor and Anchor & Hope.
  • Cross Keys: The sign of St Peter, the gatekeeper of Heaven.
  • Lamb & Flag: From John 1:29 "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world". The Lamb is seen carrying a flag (usually of St George) and is the symbol of the Knights Templar along with the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors and St John's College, Oxford.
  • Lion & Lamb: The lion is a symbol of the Resurrection and the lamb, the Redeemer.
  • Mitre: A bishop's hat; a simple sign easily recognisable by the illiterate.
  • Salutation: The salute (by handshake) of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary when informing her she was to carry Jesus Christ.
  • Shepherd & Flock: May refer to Christ (the Shepherd) and the people (his flock) but may also just mean the agricultural character and his charges.
  • Three Crowns: The Magi, but also see Heraldry.
  • Three Kings: The Magi.

[edit] Royalty

Royal names have always been popular (except under Oliver Cromwell's rule during the Commonwealth). It demonstrated the landlord's loyalty to authority (whether he was loyal or not) especially after the Restoration of the Monarchy when Richard Cromwell (Oliver's son) was sacked and Charles II was brought back from exile.

  • Crown: A name which became very popular after the Restoration of the Monarchy to demonstrate people's loyalty to the Crown.
  • King's Arms
  • King's Head
  • King and Queen: Celebrates the duel monarchy of William III and Mary II.
  • Queen's Arms
  • Queen's Head
  • Rose and Crown: see Historic Events

Many pubs are quite simply named for a monarch, his spouse or child:

  • Alexandra: Wife of Edward VII.
  • Prince Leopald Southsea, Hampshire: Queen Victoria's fourth son.
  • Queen Victoria: Victoria was queen of the United Kingdom at the time of greatest expansion of housing stock and associated public houses. She inspired great loyalty and affection, and publicans aimed to reflect this.

See Royalty and Heraldry above.

[edit] Ships

[edit] Sports

[edit] Games

  • Cricketers: Can be sited near or opposite land on which cricket is (or was) played.
  • Cricket Players: A version of the Cricketers found in Nottingham and probably elsewhere.
  • Larwood and Voce West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire: Harold Larwood and Bill Voce were two internationally renowned fast-bowlers who played for Nottinghamshire and England between the world wars. This pub is at the side of the Trent Bridge cricket ground, the home of Notts.
  • Test Match West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire: An international game of cricket. This beautiful art deco pub is to be found near Trent Bridge, a ground on which test matches are played.
  • Trent Bridge Inn, West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire: The most famous of cricketing pubs sited on the edge of the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is not named after the ground but for the bridge itself. This was a strategic crossing place of the River Trent protected by Nottingham Castle. Ben Clark, the owner of the Inn in 1832 was a cricket enthusiast and decided he would like a cricket pitch in his back garden. It was that small pitch which evolved into one of the world's premier test match venues.

Football club nicknames can be used for pub names:

[edit] Hunting and other "blood" sports

  • Bird in Hand: It's the bird sitting on the left gauntlet in falconry.
  • Cock: Cock fighting but also could be a heraldic sign.
  • Dog and Bear: Bear baiting where a bear was tethered to a stake and dogs set upon it to see who would kill who first.
  • Dog and Duck where Duck-baiting events were held.
  • Dog and Fox
  • Dog and Partridge
  • Fighting Cocks: Cock fighting. The house of this name is another that claims to be the oldest pub (see Trip to Jerusalem)
  • Fox and Hounds (Fox hunting)
  • Hare and Hounds (Beagling, hare coursing or greyhound racing)
  • Tally Ho: A hunting cry which was also used as a name for a stagecoach. The Tally Ho at Trumpington, Cambridgeshire shows a Spitfire as the call became used by some RAF pilots.

[edit] Topography

  • Castle: A castle is usually a dominantly unique feature of a place.
  • First In, Last Out: A pub on the edge of a town. It's the first pub on the way in and last on the way out. Does not refer to the habits of any of the pub's clientele as some signs suggest.
  • Half Way House: This one is situated half-way between two places but with the pub of this name at Camden Town it's anyone's guess which two places it's half-way between.

[edit] Trades, tools and products

Trades, Tools and Products Many trade names are based on Heraldry, see above or are just called the something or other arms

  • Axe 'n Cleaver
  • Butcher
  • Fisherman's Arms: (Fisherman)
  • Foresters: (Forester)
  • Harrow: Rather similar to the Plough below. A harrow breaks up the soil after it has been turned over by the plough.
  • Harewood End: Hare, Woodland.
  • Old Hostillery: (Hostillery)
  • Mason's Arms: (Mason)
  • Oyster Reach
  • Tappers Harker Long Eaton Nottingham. Job description on the railways relating to a person listening to the tone of a hammer being hit onto a railway wagon wheel, to check its soundness.
  • Plough: A plough would have been an easy object to find to put outside a house in the countryside. Thus a good name to choose. A plough is used to turn soil over and bury any remaining plant life and helps ready the land for its new crop. Some sign artists depict the plough as the constellation; this consists of seven star and so leads to the name the Seven Stars.
  • Plough and Harrow: A combination of the two farming implements.
  • Propeller: Propeller
  • Ship Inn
  • Sailor
  • Woodman: (Woodman)

[edit] Transport

[edit] Air

  • Flying Bedstead Hucknall, Nottinghamshire: Name given to the prototype vertical take-off aircraft which eventually lead to the development of the Harrier. It was based at Rolls Royce's test station near Hucknall and now can be seen in the Science Museum, London. 'The Harrier' is also the name of a pub in Hucknall, and one in Hamble-le-Rice, Hampshire.

There used to be a pub, now sadly demolished, in Calshot, Hampshire, called the "Flying Boat", commemerating the part that the area played in the development of these fine craft in the 1920's and 30s.

See also Bert Hinkler

[edit] Rail

  • Railway: A pub found near a railway line or the site of a former railway
  • Station: Like the Railway but usually near a railway station (either open or closed)

There are five stations on the London Underground system which are named after pubs. They are: Angel, Elephant & Castle, Manor House, Royal Oak and Swiss Cottage.

[edit] Road

  • Coach and Horses: A simple and common name.
  • Perseverance: Name of a stage coach but also could refer the Royal Navy. The Perseverance in Bedford probably alludes to John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Bedford being Mr Bunyan's home town.
  • Steamer Welwyn, Hertfordshire: It is found at the top of a steep hill. So steep carriers required an extra horse (a cock-horse) to help get the wagon up the hill. After its exertion the cock-horse could be seen standing steaming on a cold day.
  • Terminus: Usual found where a tram route once terminated.
  • Tram Depot Cambridge: Occupies the building which once was the sables of Cambridge's tramway depot.
  • Waggon and Horses: Another simple transport name (prior to American influence, the British English spelling of 'wagon' featured a double 'g'[1], retained on pub signs such as this one).
  • Wait for the Waggon Bedford and Wyboston, Bedfordshire: Probably a waiting place; the latter is sited on the Great North Road.

[edit] Water

  • Navigation: Usually situated along side a canal towpath.

NB. Many pubs take their names from the company which once owned a nearby railway line, canal or navigation. EG.:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bill Bryson, Mother Tongue, Penguin Books p169

[edit] External links

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