Pub names

A White Hart signboard: a white hart was the badge of King Richard II and several noblemen.

Pub names are used to identify and differentiate traditional drinking establishments. Many pubs are centuries old, and were named at a time when most of their customers were illiterate, but could recognise pub signs. The use of signage was not confined to drinking establishments. British pubs may be named after and depict anything from everyday (particularly agricultural) objects, to sovereigns, aristocrats and landowners (shown by their coats of arms). Other names come from historic events, livery companies, occupations, sports, and craftsmen's guilds. One of the most common pub names is the Red Lion. This list contains both modern and historical examples.

Heraldry

Many pubs have heraldic names, often directly naming the animal or object used as a badge or heraldic charge. Among the most common, both in heraldry and on pub signs is the Red Lion. As a pub sign, it probably has multiple origins: in the arms or crest of a local landowner; as the personal badge of John of Gaunt, founder of the House of Lancaster; or in the royal arms of Scotland, conjoined to the arms of England after the Stuart succession in 1603. The White Hart was the livery badge of King Richard II of England; it became so popular as an inn sign during his reign that it was adopted by many later inns and taverns. The Blue Boar, the name of many pubs in Westminster, Norwich, Billericay, Maldon, Witney and elsewhere, was the badge of the Earls of Oxford. The Eagle and Child, Oxford, derived from the arms of the Earls of Derby, was a meeting place of the Inklings; the name was in 2005 used by 25 other pubs. The name the Swan, such as at Wisbech, alludes to the badge of any of several Lancastrian figures, as in the Dunstable Swan Jewel, while the Cross Keys, Wisbech is derived from the town's coat of arms and its church of Saints Peter & Paul. The Talbot or Talbot Arms, such as the Old Talbot, Wisbech † names an actual breed of hunting dog, now extinct, and a heraldic hound, the badge of the Talbot family, the Earls of Shrewsbury.

The Worshipful Company of Carpenters' emblem, three compasses

The three compasses pub, Hornsey, London N8

Names starting with the word "Three" are often based on the arms of a London Livery company or trade guild. Thus the Three Compasses is named for the Worshipful Company of Carpenters, while the Three Tuns is named for the Brewers and the Worshipful Company of Vintners. Sometimes the livery company or guild is named directly, as in the Cooper's Arms, Little Old Bailey, for the Worshipful Company of Coopers.

Many landowners' coats of arms appear as pub signs. For example, the Duke of Bedford, Wisbech †, was named for the person draining the fens.

The Mechanics Arms, Hindley Green, Wigan

Some "Arms" signs refer to working occupations, often with local stories behind them. Several pubs are named the Blacksmiths Arms, punning on actual blacksmiths arms and their strength. Some names have obsolete meanings, as in the Mechanics Arms (now renamed the Old Neighbourhood), near Stroud, Gloucestershire. In this context a mechanic was a bonesetter. Another pub of that name was † in Stamford, Lincolnshire.

Among the many other old professions recorded in pub names are the Drover's Inn, Loch Lomond, Scotland, named after the cattle drivers; Also an example in Caerleon, near Newport, Wales. the Glazier's Arms, Stamford †; the Gravel Diggers, Cottenham †; the Jolly Gardeners, Hertford †; the Millers Arms, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, whose first publican, Robert Taylor, was a miller by trade; Ye Olde Murenger House, Newport, Wales, named for a medieval worker who collected tolls for the repair of town walls; the Pyrotechnists' Arms, for a local gunpowder maker; the Ratcatchers, Cawston, Norfolk; the Recruiting Sergeant, Newton Harcourt; the Spinners' Arms, Hindley Green, Wigan; and the Wire Workers' Arms, St. Neots, Huntingdonshire.

History, myth and legend

Many pub names record aspects of history, real or imagined, from specific events to local legends.

Historic events

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

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Nottingham

• Abdication, in Arnold : the reign and abdication of Edward VIII.
• Bhurtpore Inn, Aston, near Nantwich, Cheshire: commemorating the Siege of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, 1826. The Inn is on land formerly part of the estates of Lord Combermere, commander of British forces during the siege.
• Hand and Shears: this famous City of London pub got its name owing to Bartholomew Fair. Tailors would gather in the pub the night before the fair and wave their shears announcing that the fair should begin.
• Magna Charta in Lowdham, Nottinghamshire, has its name spelled differently from the historic document after which it is named.
• Man on the Moon, Northfield, Birmingham: originally called The Man in the Moon and renamed on the day of the first Moon landing in 1969.
• Battle of Minden, Portsmouth †: named after this historic military engagement.
• Rose and Crown: Edward III used a golden rose as a personal badge, and two of his sons adapted it by changing the colour: 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 Tudor, 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: the numerous (by one count, 467) pubs called this are named the escape of the defeated Prince Charles in the English Civil War, when he hid in the Boscobel Oak.
• Saracen's Head and Turk's Head: Saracens and Turks were among the enemies faced by Crusaders.
• Trafalgar: commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar. Wimbledon Chase once had several pubs whose names recalled the battle (the Trafalgar, High Path, London SW19), its victor Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (the Nelson Arms), his ship HMS Victory, and his mistress Emma Hamilton: she and Nelson had a house at Merton Place. All are now closed except the Kiss Me Hardy in Collier's Wood.
• Waterloo Inn: among the pubs commemorating the Battle of Waterloo is the one in Biggin-by-Hartington

Historic trades

The Blind Beggar, Whitechapel, London E1

• Axe 'n Cleaver inn Much Birch, or Altrincham, also Boston, Lincolnshire and North Somercotes.
• Bankers, near Walpole St. Andrews, West Norfolk. Named after those involved in making and maintaining the seabanks and riverbanks.
• Blackfriars, Wisbech: named for the local friars. †
• Blind Beggar, a pub in Whitechapel named for the story of Henry de Montfort
• Brewers Arms, Wisbech: † named for the local brewing industry.
• British Rifleman, Wisbech : † named for the British Army infanteers equipped with rifles.
• Chemic Tavern (formerly Chemical Tavern), Leeds, West Yorkshire. Named for the workers at the nearby Woodhouse Chemical Works, (C. 1840–1900) it was a beer house on the 1861 census when the licensee was James Lapish.
• Custom House Tavern, Wisbech: † named for the local customs post in the port.
• Fen Plough, Chatteris : named after the local farming equipment.
• Golden Fleece, for the wool trade
• Harbour Hotel, Wisbech: † named for the local maritime industry.
• Jolly Nailor in Atherton, Greater Manchester, named after nail manufacture, present in the area since the 14th century.
• Lathrenders Arms, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: † named for the local lathe industry.
• The Light Horseman, York. Named for a former cavalry barracks.
• Malt Shovel, Three Holes Bridge, Upwell †. Named for brewing implement.
• Printers Arms, Wisbech, Isle of Ely †, named for the local print industry.
• Railway Inn, Wisbech: named for the local rail industry. †
• Ram Skin, Spalding, Lincolnshire †. Named for the local wool industry, closed in 1970.
• Rifle Volunteer, Oxhey village, Gunnislake etc.
• Ropers Arms, Wisbech: † named for the former local rope making industry.
• Ship carpenters Arms, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: † named for the local ship building industry.
• Ship Inn from Irvine to Oundle. However, the Ship Inn in Styal, Cheshire, states that its derivation is from 'shippon', a cattle shed or manure shed.
• Shipwrights Arms, Wisbech: † named for the local boatbuilding industry.
• Sailor, Addingham near Ilkley; Jolly Sailor at St Athan and at Sandown, Isle of Wight.
• Spade and Becket, Chatteris, † Isle of Ely, and Cambridge †, Downham Market †: a combination of two peat digging implements.
• Three Jolly Watermen, Waterbeach Fen †: named for local water workers.
• Trowel and Hammer, Norwich : thought to be named after local bricklayers.
• Two Brewers, Diss : takes its name from the beer makers.
• Valiant Sailor, King's Lynn named for the mariners of this port.
• Volunteers Arms, Llanidloes †. One of many pubs named after Militia or rifle volunteers etc.
• Woodman or Woodman's Cottage Inn.
• Woolpack Banstead, Surrey and Wisbech, Isle of Ely. † A common name in sheep country.

Religion

Lion and Lamb, Farnham

The amount of religious symbolism in pub names decreased after Henry VIII's break from the church of Rome. For instance, many pubs originally called the Pope's Head were renamed to the less contentious King's Head. Among the surviving religious references, the Lion and Lamb, Pennington is named from St Augustine's usage, where the lion represents the resurrection of Christ, and the lamb denotes Christ's sacrifice. The Hope & Anchor, Anchor & Hope, or Anchor of Hope get their names from the Letter to the Hebrews (6:19): "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope", while the Virgin's Inn, Derby is named after the Virgin Mary. The Shaven Crown, at Shipton-under-Wychwood, once belonged to the monks of Bruern Abbey. The Cardinal's Hat, Harleston, Norfolk was an inn from at least 1591. The Blackfriars, Wisbech † was similarly named straightforwardly after the Dominican monks or Blackfriars of the town.

Myths and legends

Images from myths and legends are evocative and memorable.

• Black Bess: usually named after the legendary overnight ride from London to York in 1737 by Dick Turpin on his Mare of this name. This fictional account was popularised in a novel, Rookwood (1834), resulting in a surge of Dick Turpin nostalgia and associated pub names.
• Brazen George Inn, Cambridge †. Named after England's patron Saint.
• The Bucket of Blood, is a public house in Phillack, Hayle, Cornwall, owned by St Austell Brewery. It is thought to be named after an incident where the landlord brought up a bucket of blood from the building's well, as a murdered smuggler had been dropped there.
• Fiddler's Green, a legendary place in the afterlife where existence consists of all leisure and no work.
• George and Dragon: St George is the patron saint of England and his conflict with a dragon is essential to his story. This sign is a symbol of English nationalism.
• Green Dragon, Wisbech, Wymondham etc.: a couple of a number of pubs of this name.
• Green Man: a spirit of the wild 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 Nottinghamshire named the Green Man but there are Robin Hoods. The 1973 film The Wicker Man features a Green Man pub.
• Hob in the Well, King's Lynn: pubs of this name can come from Hobgoblin in the well or Dogget's play Flora: or, Hob in the Well (1748).
• The Lamb and Nettle : this mythical 'out of hours' premises was located in Scrimshires Passage, Wisbech. It also featured in The Phantom Pub, a poem by Geoff Hastings.
• Moonrakers: a Wiltshire folk story holds that this name comes from the time when smuggling was common in the region.
• Robin Hood, 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.
• Silent Woman, Quiet Lady or Headless Woman: The origin is uncertain, with various local stories, such as a landlady whose tongue was cut out by smugglers so she couldn't talk to the authorities, or a saint beheaded for her Christianity. The pub signs sometimes have an image of a decapitated woman or the couplet: "Here is a woman who has lost her head / She's quiet now—you see she's dead".

Historic opinions

All Labour In Vain or Labour In Vain is a pub name probably of Biblical origins. The name was formerly often illustrated by a person trying to scrub the blackness off a black child. Such signs have been mostly replaced with more innocuous depictions of wasted effort. There are numerous old pubs and inns in England named The Black Boy(s), many now claimed to refer either to child chimneysweeps or coal miners, or to a (genuine) historic description of King Charles II. The Black Boy Inn in Caernarfon, North Wales, has received at least a dozen complaints from visitors over the name, which dates back at least 250 years. In 2021 brewer Greene King changed the names of three pubs called The Black Boy, and another called The Black's Head. The Black Bitch, a pub in Linlithgow, West Lothian, is named after the local legend of a black greyhound who is said to have repeatedly swum to an island in the town's loch to bring food to its imprisoned master, only to suffer the same fate when its efforts were discovered. The pub's name has caused more than a few surprised tourists to question the name or decry it as racist.

Literature

The Moon Under Water, Watford, named after George Orwell's description

Names from books

The Hobbit, Southampton, named for the 1937 book by J. R. R. Tolkien

• Cat and Custard Pot in Shipton Moyne is said to originate from the book Handley Cross; or, Mr. Jorrock's hunt (1892) by R. S. Surtees.
• Jabez Clegg in Manchester, now closed, was named after the title character in Isabella Banks' novel The Manchester Man.
• The Hobbit, Southampton is named after J. R. R. Tolkien's book and threatened with legal action by US movie lawyers, because of this.
• Lass O' Gowrie in Manchester, named after the poem by Carolina Nairne.
• The Magwitch in Wisbech, named after Abel Magwitch in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations, the manuscript of which is in Wisbech & Fenland Museum.
• Moon and Sixpence pubs in Portland, Oregon; Whitby, North Yorkshire; Harrow, Middlesex; and Soho, London are named after Somerset Maugham's novel of the same name.
• Moon Under Water, inspired by George Orwell's essay describing his perfect pub
• Muppet Inn, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: (now the Globe) named for the TV series, books and comics.
• Paul Pry Inn, Peterborough. Named after the main character in the play of that name.
• Peveril of the Peak, in Manchester, commemorates a stagecoach that once connected Manchester and London, but the pub itself claims it is named for the novel by Sir Walter Scott.
• Sherlock Holmes in Charing Cross, London contains a reproduction of the great detective's study.
• Three Pigeons, Norwich and other locations. Used in a number of books and plays e.g. Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend (1864–65).
• Herbert Wells in Woking, a town that was fictionally destroyed by Martian invaders in H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds. A 25 feet (7.6-metre) tall statue of a Martian stands in Chobham Road in the town, and a Martian is depicted in a drawing in the pub.
• Edgar Wallace, The Strand, London, named for the 1930s mystery writer.
• John Masefield in New Ferry, named for the former Poet Laureate who served for some years on a naval training ship, HMS Conway, off New Ferry pier.
• Uncle Tom's Cabin, Reach, Cambridgeshire : from the book of that name.

Pubs in books from real-world pubs

Further information: List of real London pubs in literature

The Ivy Bush pub at the junction of Hagley Rd/Monument Rd in Edgbaston

Some well-known pub names in books derive from real English pubs. The Ivy Bush is a "small inn on the Bywater road" near Hobbiton in The Shire in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Here Gaffer Gamgee recounted to the other regulars his stories about Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, who were about to throw a magnificent joint birthday party. The most likely real-world source is an Edgbaston pub called the Ivy Bush, near where Tolkien lived when he was growing up in Birmingham. The Fortune of War, Smithfield was on "Pie Corner" (where the Great Fire of London stopped) and was frequented by Resurrectionists including the London Burkers, two of whom, John Bishop and Thomas Williams, were hanged for murder after they sold the bodies for dissection. The pub is mentioned in William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 Vanity Fair.

Paired names

Common enough today, the pairing of words in the name of an inn or tavern was rare before the mid-17th century. By 1708, it had become frequent enough for a pamphlet to complain of "the variety and contradictory language of the signs", citing absurdities such as 'Bull and Mouth', 'Whale and Cow', and 'Shovel and Boot'. Two years later an essay in The Spectator echoed this complaint, deriding such contemporary paired names as 'Bell and Neat's Tongue', though accepting 'Cat and Fiddle'. One explanation for doubling is the combining of businesses, for example when a landlord of one pub moved to another premises. Fashion, as in the rise of paired names intended to be amusing like 'Slug and Lettuce' and 'Frog and Firkin' in the late 20th century, is responsible for many more recent pub names.

• Black Boy and Trumpet, Peterborough †.
• Boot and Shoe in March.
• Butcher and Beast, Heighington: claims to be the only one of this name in England.
• Drum and Monkey, Glasgow. The name may describe showmen who used to travel with a performing monkey whose tricks included beating a drum.
• George and Vulture Tavern. St. Michael's Alley, Cornhill, London.
• Goat and Boot Inn, Colchester.
• Harp and Horn, Edgware Road †: later the Welsh Harp, finally the Old Welsh Harp after another pub named the Welsh Harp was opened. The Welsh Harp railway station (now demolished) was named after the pub (which closed in 1971).
• Lion and Adder, Northgate, Newark.
• Pink and Lily, Princes Risborough.
• Plough and Sail, Marshland Smeeth †.
• Red Lion and Chequer, Godmanchester.
• Snipe and Duck, Exmoor Drive, Upwell †.
• Swan and Woolpack, near Stamford.

Personal names or titles

Numerous pubs are named after John Manners, Marquess of Granby.

• William Adams, Gorleston-on-Sea, opened in 2018 and named after a local lifeguard William Adams who saved some 140 lives, making his first rescue at the age of 11. The building was formerly the town's Methodist chapel, dating from 1807.
• Duke of Bedford, Wisbech.
• Rupert Brooke, Grantchester named after the soldier poet.
• Catherine Wheel, Henley-on-Thames, Manea and other locations: purportedly from Katherine Whele, in other locations evolved from The Wheel or other derivations.
• Clarkson, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: named for the local antislavery campaigner Thomas Clarkson.
• French Horn, Stepping : thought to be a corruption or nickname of 'Frenchman de Schorne'. However, there were also other pubs with this name e.g. Upton.
• Four Jacks, Wisbech. The former Shipwrights Arms. Renamed after the new landlord Jack Johnson and his three sons. The four playing cards were used in adverts etc.
• Garrick public house, Cambridge †. Named after the famous actor. Linked to the 1876 murder of Emma Rolfe by Robert Browning.
• Hoste Arms, Burnham Market. Named for Sir George William Hoste, who served under Nelson.
• Marquis of Granby: 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 ex-soldiers to establish taverns, which were subsequently named after him.
• Hardwicke Arms, Wisbech : named after local nobility.
• Lord Nelson: Quite a common name (in various forms) throughout England but especially in Norfolk, where the admiral was born. The Hero of Norfolk at Swaffham, Norfolk, portrays Nelson as did Norfolk Hero at Wisbech.
• Jan's Place, Wisbech. Named by the landlady Janet Heasman. Now The Rose Tavern.
• John H Stracey, Brixton near Holt. 16th inn named after the former landlord, a boxer. Has now reverted to its former name.
• Rodney Inn, Wisbech. Named after Admiral Rodney the naval commander.
• Guy Earl of Warwick, in Welling, Dartford, dates from at least 1896. and is thought to be the "Halfway House" which appears in Charles Dickens' 1861 Great Expectations.
• Sir Norman Wisdom, Deal, Kent. Named after the actor who worked as an errand boy locally.
• The Shakespeare, Redland, Shakespeare's Tree, Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire: Used to celebrate the Bard's genius.
• Walpole Arms, Itteringham. Named after Robert Walpole, Britain's first prime minister.
• General Wolfe, Laxfield : named after the military hero.

The pub itself

The pub building

The Crooked House, Himley, known for its extreme lean, caused by mining subsidence

• Hippodrome : a former cinema. This March, Isle of Ely premises was once a cinema.
• Hole in the Wall. The official name or nickname of a number of very small pubs. One such at Waterloo, London, is spacious but built into a railway viaduct. The Hole in the Wall, Gibraltar was an iconic bar well frequented by the navy workers.
• Hundred House Inn (later Hotel), Great Witley. The hotel name originates from when the Hundred House was a collecting house for the tithes from districts in the Doddingtree Hundred.
• Lattice House, King's Lynn. Historic pub named for its timbered structure.
• Porch House, Stow-on-the-Wold. Named after the front of the building.
• The Steps, Glasgow. Named after the steps outside.
• Thatched House Tavern, Cambridge, named after the building.
• Three Legged Mare, High Petergate, York, named after the design of a gallows, an example of which may be found in the pub's garden; affectionately known as the Wonky Donkey.
• Vaults, a number of pubs, not all having vaults as an architectural feature; the word also had the general meaning of 'storeroom'.

Services provided by the pub

The Farriers Arms, Shilbottle

Several old pub names describe services (other than serving beer) that were provided by a pub. Checkers or Chequer(s), such as at March, Isle of Ely, harks back to ancient Rome, when a chequer board indicated banking services. The checked board was used as an aid to counting, and is the origin of the word exchequer. The Pewter Platter, Cross Street, Hatton Garden †, identified a pub where meals were served. The Coach & Horses indicated a coaching inn, while the Farriers Arms was a pub with a farrier who could re-shoe the traveller's horses while he relaxed, and the Wheelwrights was a name for a pub where a coach's wheels could be repaired or replaced. Names could also be one-offs, like the Free Press in Cambridge, named for when part of the building was used to print a newspaper.

Food

Some pub names refer to items of food to tempt the hungry traveller. For example, The Baron of Beef in Cambridge refers to a double sirloin joined at the backbone. The Shoulder of Mutton, Wisbech is named for another joint of meat, while the Red Herring, Great Yarmouth is named after a product of the local fishing industry.

Beer

Pub names from the brewing process

Several pub names allude to the stages of brewing and serving the beer. The Hop Pole names an item used to support hops, that flavour the beer, while the Barley Mow names the process of harvesting the barley that will be fermented into the beer itself. The Bushel, Wisbech is named after a unit of volume used in a corn exchange to trade barley for brewing. The Malt Shovel names a tool used to turn over the soaked barley grain. The Mash Tun names the brewery vessel used to mix grains with water. Three Barrels names containers for beer. The Brewery Tap was a pub on site or adjacent to a brewery; it often showcasing its products to visitors.

The Barley Mow, Clifton Hampden

Many traditional pub names allude to the beer available inside. The Barley Mow is a stack or sheaf of barley, the principal grain from which beer is made. John Barleycorn is a character of English traditional folk music and folklore, similar to a Green Man. He is annually cut down at the ankles, thrashed, but always reappears—an allegory of growth and harvest based on barley.

Burton Stingo, Wisbech is thought to be named after the Burton ales and Stingo on sale within. The Cock and Bottle, or simply the Cock names the stopcock used to serve beer from a barrel, and a beer bottle. The Leather(n) Bottle was a portable beer container. The Pint Shop names a common unit of volume, while The Tankard, London is named after the drinks container.

Wine

The Vine or Grapes possibly harks back to the Roman custom of displaying a vine outside a tavern or wine-shop, as in The Hoop and Grapes in Aldgate High Street, London (reputed to be the city's oldest pub) and the Vine, Wisbech †. The pub name The Castle sometimes denoted the Coat of Arms of Castile in Spain, meaning that Spanish wines were available within. The Spread Eagle's name is from the heraldic depiction of an eagle 'displayed', probably from the arms of Germany, indicating that German wines were available within.

Royalty

The King's Arms, Marazion

Royal names have always been popular (except under the Commonwealth). It demonstrated the landlord's loyalty to authority (whether he was loyal or not), especially after the restoration of the monarchy.

• King of Prussia, Gosport: named after Frederick the Great
• Queen of Bohemia, Wych Street, London. A former pub named after Elizabeth, daughter of James I and Anne of Denmark.
• Three Queens Inn, Burton : named after three royal ladies.

Sports

Sign for the Bat and Ball, Breamore

Animals

Names like Fox and Hounds, Dog and Duck, Dog and Gun, Hare and Hounds, etc., refer to shooting and hunting. Animal names coupled with colours, such as White Hart and Red Lion, are often heraldic. A white hart featured as a badge of King Richard II, while a red lion was a badge of John of Gaunt and the Dukes of Bedford amongst others and a blue boar of the Earls of Oxford.

• Bald Faced Stag Inn, Finchley. An inn notorious as frequented by murderers and criminal gangs, and possibly at the site of the local gibbet.
• Barking Dogs, Hoxton †. (Also, various Barking Dog pubs.) Named after the canine burglar deterrents.
• Bear Inn, Reading.
• Black Bear, Walsoken: actually, had a black bear (stuffed) at the entrance to the premises years ago.
• Black Birds, Barwell. Named after the bird.
• Bull Inn, Stamford : the town was the last in England to practice bull-running.
• Bustard Inn, South Rauceby †. After the bird of that name, once numerous.
• Chameleon, Wisbech †.
• Crane, Cambridge. After the bird of that name, once numerous in The Fens. Crane is one of the nicknames for the inhabitants.
• Dog, Westhall.
• Dolphin, Wisbech † : dolphins were caught and presented to the lord of the manor in earlier times; however, it may just be a nautical reference to the port, or a corruption of "Dauphin" in honour of military victories over Napoleon in France (see later section).
• Dove, Ipswich : a biblical source.
• Four Swans, Butchers Market, Cambridge †.
• Heathcock Tavern, Strand, London : named after a game bird.
• Lobster, Sheringham. Patronised by the lifeboat crew who formed the Shanty Men.
• Old Ram, Tivetshall St. Mary.
• Olde Fighting Cocks, St. Albans. Named after the cocks used in fights and for gambling.
• Ostrich Inn, Castle Acre. Named after the flightless bird.
• Packhorse and Pig, Aldergate Street, London
• Pickerel Inn, Cambridge : named after young pike (Esox lucius).
• Py'd Bull, Lincoln †. This pub was advertised as convenient for drovers in the 18th century. The Pied Bull in Chester in reputed to be the oldest licensed house in the city and dates back to 1155.
• Pyewipe Inn, Lincoln. Pyewipe is the Lincolnshire dialect name for the lapwing.
• Red-Hart Inn, Petty Cury, Cambridge †. Claimed to have the only cockpit in the town.
• Rein Deer, Lincoln †.
• Roebuck Inn, Chesterton. Named after the male of the species Capreolus capreolus.
• String of Horses, Spalding †.
• Swan and Falcon Inn, Gloucester †.
• Ugly Bug, Colton.

Hunting and blood sports

• Anglers' Beerhouse, Wisbech. The fens are noted for the coarse fishing facilities.
• Bird in Hand: the bird sitting on the left gauntlet in falconry.
• Dog and Duck where duck-baiting events were held.
• Fighting Cocks (or just 'Cock'): Cockfighting; but the fighting cock also could be a heraldic charge. Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in Saint Albans rivals Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham for the title of oldest pub; its name advertised actual cockfighting entertainment in the pub.
• Fox and Hounds (or 'Dog and Fox'): Fox hunting
• Gin Trap Inn, Hunstanton. After the animal trap.
• Greyhound: for example to Henry VIII's favourite hunting dog
• Hark to Bellman: Clitheroe later (1826) the Bellman Inn, named after a hound of the huntsman John Peel
• Rabbits, Gainsborough : a frequent object of shooting.

Other sports

• Bowling Green—Bowls has been for many years a popular sport in the Manchester area: many of the greens are attached to pubs, e.g. the Lloyd's Hotel and the Bowling Green Hotel in Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The Bowling Green Hotel in Grafton Street, Chorlton on Medlock, no longer has a green.
• Nine Pins, Cambridge †, a former Star Brewery pub, named after the sport.
• Popinjay Inn, Norwich : a Popinjay is a target used in archery.
• Wrestlers: Great North Road, Hatfield, Hertfordshire and Wisbech † named for the sport.

Places and topography

Some pubs are named for a place, building, or nearby topographic feature.

Nearby structures

A simple example is the Barrack Tavern, Woolwich Common, which is near the army's Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. The Horsefair Tavern, Wisbech (from 2023 The Magwitch) was amed after the Horsefair (once a site for selling horses).

• Bridge Inn (often preceded by the name of a bridge) - located near a river or canal bridge: historically these were good places to establish a pub due to passing traffic on both the road and the water. Bridge and Bridge Inn were both to be found in Wisbech, Isle of Ely †.
• Bunch of Carrots, Hampton Bishop. Named after a rock formation.
• Castle, Wisbech, Isle of Ely; † named after the succession of castles, bishop's palaces and villas that occupy the site known as The Castle.
• Fosdike Inn, near Boston : named after the village of Fosdyke, itself named after an early watercourse.
• First and Last, nickname of The Redesdale Arms, the nearest pub to the border between England and Scotland, on the A68 between Rochester and Otterburn, Northumberland.
• Five Miles from Anywhere Inn: No Hurry, Upware. An isolated hostelry.
• North Pole beerhouse, Wide Bargate, Boston, Lincolnshire. †
• Harbour Hotel, Wisbech, Isle of Ely. next to the harbour.
• Nene Inn, Wisbech, Isle of Ely. Near the river of the same name.
• Theatre Tavern, Gosport. Both theatre and adjacent tavern had the same owner.
• Turnpike: named for a former toll point, as in Turnpike hotel, Wisbech.
• West End, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: (now renamed BLUES), a pub on the West of the town.
• Windmill: 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. The Windmill in Wisbech, Isle of Ely was next to the site of a windmill.

Plants and horticulture

The Hoop and Grapes, Aldgate High Street, London

Several plant names are used for pubs; if "Royal Oak" is accepted as one such, then it is one of the commonest, as the name is used by hundreds of pubs across England.

• Artichoke Tavern, Blackwall refers to a plant.
• Flower Pot, Mirfield, Maidstone, Kent, Aston, Oxfordshire, Henley-on-Thames and Wisbech, Isle of Ely.
• Hand and Flower, Hammersmith, London also Ham, Surrey. Hand and Flowers, Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
• Rose Tavern, a pub in Wisbech, Isle of Ely.
• Wheatsheaf, a Wetherspoon pub in Wisbech.
• Yew Tree, Bassingbourne. Named for Taxus baccata the English Yew.

The landlord's places

• The Australia Inn, Tydd St. Giles † supposedly named as the intended destination of a former occupant.
• The Chislett, Long Sutton, Lincolnshire. Formerly The Ship, the pub was renamed by the new owners after their relations originating from the village of Chislett in Kent.
• Horse Shoe Hole Inn, Leverington was located near the River Nene horse shoe feature.
• Tavistock Inn, as for example at Poundsgate, Dartmoor.
• Twelve Pins or Na Beanna Beola (Finsbury Park, London): the Twelve Pins mountain range in the west of Ireland.

Found objects

The 'Crooked Billet', Worsthorne, Lancashire

Before painted inn signs became commonplace, medieval publicans often identified their establishments by hanging or standing a distinctive object outside the pub. A fictional example of this otherwise real-life practice can be found in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of books, where the pub in Ankh Morpork starts off as The Drum, becomes The Broken Drum after a bar fight damages it and then in later books The Mended Drum. This tradition dates back to Roman times, when vine leaves were hung outside tabernae to show where wine was sold. Other names of this type include the Boot Inn, Whittlesea; the Boot and Slipper, Amersham; the Crooked Billet, Portsmouth St, London (a bent branch from a tree); and the Horne Inn, Wisbech. A former 15th century Inn.

Transport

Air

Hatfield, The Comet pub and memorial; the carving of the pillar is by Eric Kennington

• Air Balloon, Birdlip, Gloucestershire. Near a field where early ascents were made.
• Airman, Feltham, Middlesex: named for its proximity to the London Air Park (latterly Hanworth Air Park).
• Balloon, † Stamford. The balloonist Mr. H.Green had made a number of ascents in the vicinity in previous years.
• Canopus, Hill Road, Borstal, Rochester † : named after the flying boats produced at the nearby Short Brothers aircraft factory.
• Comet, Hatfield, Hertfordshire: the pub is named for the de Havilland DH.88 racer, famous for winning of the 1934 McRobertson Cup air race.
• Flying Bedstead, Hucknall, Nottinghamshire † (now demolished): was named after the prototype aircraft which led to the Harrier Jump Jet.
• Flying Boat, Dartford: the pub building was the office of Beadles, a company which manufactured the floats for Sunderland flying boats in the Second World War.
• Red Arrow, Lutterworth, Leicestershire: a pub with a sloping triangular roof. The pub was formerly called the "flying saucer".

Road

• Highway Inn, Burford. On the King's Highway.
• I Am the Only Running Footman, Mayfair, London; named after a servant employed to run ahead of a carriage and pay tolls.
• Rusty Bicycle, new name of the Eagle in Oxford. Oxford's students often cycle round the town.
• Steamer, Welwyn, Hertfordshire: It is found at the top of a steep hill where 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 as its sweat evaporated.
• Waggon and Horses, such as a pub in Elstree, Hertfordshire.

Water

• Black Buoy, Wivenhoe. Originally named after King Charles II and later renamed after a type of Channel marker buoy, as the owners had nautical connections.
• Locks Inn, Geldeston. Named for the nearby locks.
• Am Politician, Eriskay. Named after the SS Politician which sank close to the island in 1941 with a cargo including large amounts of whisky. ("Am" represents a Gaelic definite article, not an English verb.)
• The Fishing Buss, Southwold. Named after a type of fishing vessel.
• Lifeboat Inn, Holme-Next-The-Sea. A smuggler's Inn named after the rescue boat.
• Old Ferryboat, Holywell, Cambridgeshire
• Pilot Boat, Bembridge, Isle of Wight, Southwold, and Lyme Regis, Dorset
• Ship Defiance, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: †
• Shroppie Fly: Audlem, named after a type of canalboat called a 'Shropshire Fly'
• Steam Packet Tavern, Rose Corner, Norwich.
• Tide End Cottage: in Teddington, at the tidal limit of the River Thames

Names with a purpose

Puns, jokes and corruptions

One of the pubs called Cat and Fiddle, in Hinton Admiral, Hampshire

Although puns became increasingly popular through the twentieth century, they should be considered with care. Supposed corruptions of foreign phrases can have simpler explanations. Many old names for pubs that appear nonsensical are often alleged to have come from corruptions of slogans or phrases, such as "The Bag o'Nails" (Bacchanals), "The Cat and the Fiddle" (supposedly but implausibly a corruption of Caton le Fidèle, "the faithful", a governor of Calais loyal to King Edward III,) and "The Bull and Bush", which purportedly celebrates the victory of Henry VIII at "Boulogne Bouche" or Boulogne-sur-Mer Harbour. The Dolphin is anglicised from the French Dauphin, commemorating battles in which England defeated France. For example the one in Wellington, Somerset is named in honour of Wellington's victory at the Battle of Waterloo.

Some are simply humorous, like the Paraffin Oil Shop †, in eastern Liverpool, named so that people could say that they were going to buy paraffin.

Others allude to popular sayings; the Bird in-hand, Wisbech alludes to the proverb "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".

• Axe and Gate: Possibly from "ax (or ask) and get".
• Beartown Tap, Congleton, Cheshire. 'Beartown' is the nickname for Congleton, as local legend claims its townsfolk once 'sold the bible to buy the bear', that is, spent money set aside to buy a parish Bible on providing bear-baiting at their fair.
• Buck and Ear in the Steveston area of Richmond, British Columbia. The name alludes not only to the maritime heritage of the area but also to a previous establishment at the same location that was called "The Buccaneer".
• Case is Altered: The title of an early comedy by Ben Jonson, first published in 1609, based on a remark by lawyer Edmund Plowden which entered into common currency. Examples in England include a pub at Hatton, Warwickshire and two, both now closed, in Wisbech, Isle of Ely.
• Goat and Compass[es]: Possibly based on the arms of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, whose coat of arms contains three goats, together with the Worshipful Company of Carpenters, whose coat of arms contains three compasses. (either that, or from "God encompass us")
• Pig and Whistle: from the phrase "pigs and whistles", meaning "odds and ends" (originally the stock in trade of a tinker).
• Swan With Two Necks: In England and Wales, wild mute swans swimming in open water have traditionally been the property of the reigning monarch, who had the right to grant swan marks. In the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I granted the right to ownership of some swans to the Worshipful Company of Vintners. The company's swans' beaks were marked with two notches, or nicks. The word 'nick' was mistaken for 'neck'. When Swan Upping is carried out nowadays, rings are used in lieu of nicking beaks.

Curiosities

The pubs with the shortest and longest names in Britain are both in Stalybridge: Q and The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn. The longest name of a London pub, I am the Only Running Footman, was used as the title of a mystery novel by Martha Grimes. There is a "pub with no name" in Southover Street, Brighton, and another near to Petersfield, Hampshire, so known (despite having an actual name), because its sign on the nearest main road has been missing for many years. The Salley Pussey's Inn at Royal Wootton Bassett is said to have been named after Sarah Purse, whose family owned The Wheatsheaf pub in the 19th century. In the 1970s the name was changed to the Salley Pussey's.

Branding

Some pub chains in the UK adopt the same or similar names for many pubs as a means of brand expression. Examples include "The Moon Under Water", commonly used by the JD Wetherspoon chain (and inspired by George Orwell's 1946 essay in the Evening Standard, "The Moon Under Water"), and the "Tap and Spile" brand name used by the now defunct Century Inns chain. The "Slug and Lettuce" is another example of a chain of food-based pubs with a prominent brand; founder Hugh Corbett had owned a small number of pubs, to which he gave humorous or nonsensical names, with the effect of differentiating them from competitors.

Most common

One of the many Swan Inns, this one in Stroud, Gloucestershire

An authoritative list of the most common pub names in Great Britain is hard to establish, owing to several ambiguities, such as what counts as a pub as opposed to a licensed restaurant or nightclub, so lists of this form tend to vary hugely. Major surveys include those by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), and Pubs Galore. In addition, many pubs have closed. In 2008, there were some 50,000 pubs in Britain; by 2018 there were about 39,000.

Most common pub names according to different sources

BBPA, 2007 Red Lion (759) Royal Oak (626) White Hart (427) Rose and Crown (326) King's Head (310) King's Arms (284) Queen's Head (278) The Crown (261)

CAMRA, 2007 Crown (704) Red Lion (668) Royal Oak (541) Swan (451) White Hart (431) Railway (420) Plough (413) White Horse (379) Bell (378) New Inn (372)

Pubs Galore, 2019 Red Lion (558) Crown (509) Royal Oak (432) White Hart (317) Swan (296) Plough (294) Railway (294) White Horse (286) Kings Arms (245) Ship (244)

See also

• List of pubs in Australia
• List of pubs in the United Kingdom

References

Sources

• Brewer, E. Cobham (1898) Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. London: Cassell and Co.
• Cox, Barrie (1994) English Inn and Tavern Names. Nottingham: Centre for English Name Studies, ISBN 978-0-9525343-0-3
• Dunkling, Leslie (1994) Pub Names of Britain, London: Orion (1994), ISBN 1-85797-342-9
• Dunkling, Leslie & Wright, Gordon (2006) The Dictionary of Pub Names. Ware: Wordsworth Editions ISBN 1-84022-266-2
• Myrddin ap Dafydd (1992) Welsh Pub Names. Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch ISBN 0-86381-185-X (Translation of: Enwau tafarnau Cymru)
• Wright, Gordon & Curtis, Brian J. (1995) Inns and Pubs of Nottinghamshire: the stories behind the names. Nottingham: Nottinghamshire County Council ISBN 0-900943-81-5

Further reading

• [Anon] (1969) Inn Signs: their history and meaning. London: the Brewers' Society.
• Delderfield, Eric R. (1965). British Inn Signs and Their Stories. London: David & Charles.
• Douch, H. L. (1966) Old Cornish Inns and their place in the social history of the County. Truro: D. Bradford Barton.
• Lamb, Cadbury and Wright, Gordon (1968) Inn Signs. London: Shire Publications.
• Monson-Fitzjohn, G. J. (1926) Quaint Signs of Old Inns. London: Senate Books.
• Richardson, A. E. (1934) The Old Inns of England. London: B. T. Batsford.
• Townsend, C. R. (2005) Inn-vestigated. The Origins of Public House Names. Leicester: Reprint.

External links

Media related to Pubs by name at Wikimedia Commons

• The Inn Sign Society
• Collection of images of Pub Signs at pubandshopsigns.com
• Brewery Arts, a short history of studio inn signs