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Pub names

About 16 pages (4,844 words)

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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, still used in Icelandic) which represented the th sound and looked rather like a blackletter y. Alternative spellings such as olde worlde are not distinguished below.

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, though this name is really intended as a 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 carried around as a handy drink, now succeeded by a bottle or 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).

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)

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.

Items appearing on coats of arms

Bear and Ragged Staff: a badge of the earls of Warwick. Refers to bear baiting (see Dog and Bear in the Sports section).
Checkers or Chequers: Often derived from the coat of arms of a local landowner (see Variation of the field#Chequy), 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 feathers have been used as a royal badge since the time of Edward III, particularly the Three Feathers badge of the Prince of Wales.
Red Dragon: The red dragon of Cadwaladr is the symbol of Wales.
Red Lion: Originally a badge of John of Gaunt, this became the most common inn name in England when James VI of Scotland inherited the throne of England and conjoined the rampant lion of Scotland with the three leopards of England.
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. Richard II introduced legislation compelling public houses to display a sign and at one time the White Hart was almost a trade mark, such an unbiquitous pub name that it almost became synonomous with pubs in the same way that we call a vacuum cleaner a Hoover today.
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.
Rising Sun: symbol of the east and of optimism.

Names starting with the word "Three" are often 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

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.

Silver Lion Lilley, Hertfordshire: From the arms of the Sowerby family.
The Percy Arms Otterburn, Northumberland: Commemorates the Battle of Otterburn in 1388, where Sir Henry Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland, was leader of the English army.

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.

Occupations

See also Trades, tools and products below

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.

Bricklayer's Arms Hitchin, Hertfordshire: The first landlord, William Huckle, who opened this pub in 1846 was a bricklayer by trade.
Artillery Arms Bunhill Row, London EC1: situated next door to the headquarters of the Honourable Artillery Company, the British Armys oldest regiment.

Historic events

Canterbury Tales: Geoffrey Chaucer's satiric poem about a pilgrimage to Canterbury.
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Nottingham, is the foremost claimant to the title of oldest pub in the world, said to have been 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: commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar. There are many pubs called Nelson and an Emma Hamilton pub too in Wimbledon Chase where Nelso squired her.
Rose and Crown: King Edward III used a golden rose as a personal badge, and two of his sons adapted it by changing the color: John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, used a red rose, and Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, used a white rose. The dynastic conflicts between their descendants are collectively called the Wars of the Roses. In 1485 Henry VII, a descendant of Lancaster, defeated Richard III of the York dynasty and married Richard's niece Elizabeth of York. Since then the combined red-and-white Tudor rose, often crowned, has been a symbol of the monarchy of England.
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 Bishops Wood 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 his obviously short-sighted pursuers 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 and Turk's Head: Saracens and Turks were among the enemies faced by Crusaders.

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 Wisp, the Jack of the Green. Some pub signs will show the green man as he appears in English traditional sword dances (in green hats). The Green Man is not the same character as Robin Hood, although the two may be linked. 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 régime of the day or to put it simply: he stole from the rich to give to the poor. According to popular legend, 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 and 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 Home Brewery of Daybrook, Nottinghamshire: Arrow, Friar Tuck, Longbow, Maid Marian and Major Oak.

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: see Royalty
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.

Places

Tavistock Inn: (Tavistock)
The London Inn
The Mutley Tavern
The Plymouth Inn: (Plymouth)
The Twelve Pins or Na Beanna Beola (Finsbury Park, London) is a reference to the Twelve Pins mountain range in the west of Ireland.
The Cheviot Inn: Bellingham, Northumberland Refers to a range of hills (The Cheviot Hills, of which the highest is called The Cheviot) in the area.

The pub itself (including nicknames)

Crooked Chimney, Lemsford, Hertfordshire : The pub's chimney is distinctively crooked, visible from the Lower Luton Road.
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 one's beer. 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.

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.
Cat and Fiddle: a corruption of Caton le Fidèle (a governor of Calais loyal to Edward III). Alternatively from Katherine la Fidèle, referring to the faithfulness of Queen Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife.
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".
Dirty Habit: Sited on the route of the Pilgrims Way, the name is a play on the contemptuous phrase and a reference to the clothing of monks who passed by on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral.
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.

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.

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 dual monarchy of William III and Mary II.
Queen's Arms
Queen's Head: Possibly one of the most comman pub names.
Alexandra: Wife of Edward VII.
Prince Leopold, 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.
Prince of Wales: the title of the heir to the monarchy was also popular in Victorian times, when Albert Edward was the longest-serving holder of the title.
Princess of Wales: Following the death of Pricess Diana the Prince of Wales on Morden Road in South Wimbledon, London was renamned to the Princess of Wales and the sign replaced with an image of a white rose, referring to the reference to "England's Rose" in a popular song at the time by Elton John.
Prince Regent: the title of the future George IV, in the Regency period.

See Royalty and Heraldry above.

Ships

Ark Royal: (Ark Royal)
Cutty Sark: (Cutty Sark)
Golden Hind: (Golden Hind)

Sports

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:

Hammers London E6: West Ham United although elsewhere in the country it could refer to blacksmiths (see Heraldry).
Magpies Meadow Lane, Nottingham: Notts County who play close by at the other end of Meadow Lane.

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.
The Bay Horse: West Woodburn, Northumberland. Refers to the use of Horses in Fox Hunting ("Bay" refers to the colour of a horse's coat).

Topography

Bishop's Finger: Named after a particular type of signpost found on the Pilgrims Way in Kent, said to resemble a bishop's finger.
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.
The First and Last: Formally called The Redesdale Arms, its nickname derives from the fact that it is the first pub you encounter when travelling south from Scotland into England, and it is the last pub if you are travelling north from England to Scotland, on the A68 between Rochester and Otterburn in Northumberland.
The Windmill: Windmills were a prominent feature of the local landscape at one point. Pubs with this name may no longer be situated near a standing mill, but there's a good chance they're close to a known site and will almost certainly be on a hill or other such breezy setting. Clues to the presence of a mill may also be found in the naming of local roads and features.

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
Blacksmith's Arms (Blacksmith)
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.
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)

Transport

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.
The Red Arrow Lutterworth, Leicestershire: a pub with a sloping triangular roof, named after the RAF aerobatics team. The pub was formerly called the "flying saucer" for its unusual shape.
Flying Boat (now demolished) in Calshot, Hampshire, commemorated the part that the area played in the development of these craft between 1920 and 1940.
Hinkler road and pub in Thornhill, Hampshire, named after Bert Hinkler.

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)

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

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.