{{Short description |Identification method of public houses}} {{good article}} {{Use British English|date=August 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}} [[File:The Barley Mow - geograph.org.uk - 4509394.jpg |thumb|upright=1.6|The name of the Barley Mow recalls a sheaf of [[barley]], the principal grain from which [[brewing|beer is made]].<ref name="Kok Ye Muller Ow 2019"/>]]
[[File:The White Hart Signboard.jpg|thumb|A White Hart [[pub sign]]: a [[Hart (deer)|white hart]] was the badge of [[King Richard II]] and several noblemen.<ref name=Simpson249/>]]
Pub names in Great Britain identify traditional drinking establishments. Many [[pub]]s are centuries old, from a time when most customers were illiterate but could recognise [[pub sign]]s or symbolic objects, such as a boot hung outside. Names may be for anything from everyday items to sovereigns and landowners, often represented through [[coats of arms]]. Some reflect historic events, occupations, sports, and [[guild|craftsmen' guilds]]. Others are rooted in myths and legends, such as the [[Green Man]] or local stories like the [[Moonrakers]] of Wiltshire.
Names may straightforwardly describe their building or the services offered in addition to serving beer. Several refer to stages in growing barley and in brewing or transporting beer, such as John Barleycorn, the Hop Pole, the Malt Shovel, the Mash Tun, and the Three Barrels. Establishments that served wine might use names like the Spread Eagle, indicating the coat of arms of Germany. Sporting associations appear in names such as the Hare and Hounds or the Bowling Green. Some pub names are literary, referring to books such as ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' or ''[[The Hobbit]]'', fictional characters like [[Sherlock Holmes]], or authors including [[Edgar Wallace]].
Many old pubs are named for famous figures or ordinary trades. Several have names intended to be humorous, including the names used by some pub chains. Among the most common pub names are the Red Lion, the Royal Oak, the Crown, and the Swan. Closed pubs are marked †.
== Heraldry ==
=== Badges ===
[[File:Sign for the Blue Boar - geograph.org.uk - 1650019.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|The Blue Boar was the badge of the [[Earls of Oxford]].<ref name=Simpson249/>]]
{{anchor |Red Lion}} 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.{{efn|Both "Red Lion" and "Red Lion Inn" are used by [[Red Lion#Pubs|multiple pubs]].}} As a [[pub sign]], it probably has multiple origins: in the arms or [[crest (heraldry)|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.<ref name="Pubnames">{{cite book |author=[[Leslie Dunkling|Dunkling, Leslie]], Wright, G. |title=The Wordsworth Dictionary of Pub Names |year=1994 |orig-year=1987 |publisher=Wordsworth Reference |location=Ware, Hertfordshire |isbn=1-85326-334-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/wordsworthdictio0000dunk}}</ref><ref name=Simpson249/> 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.<ref name=Simpson249>{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Jacqueline |title=Green Men & White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ot6AzT3fO6AC&pg=PA249 |year=2011 |publisher=[[Random House]] |isbn=978-0-09-952017-7 |page=249}}</ref> The Blue Boar, the name of many pubs in [[Westminster]], [[Norwich]], [[Billericay]], [[Maldon]], [[Witney]] and elsewhere, was the badge of the [[Earls of Oxford]].<ref name=Simpson249/> The White Boar on the other hand was the badge of [[King Richard III]], while the White Horse was for the [[House of Hanover|Hanoverian]] Kings.<ref name="History Press"/> [[King Edward III]]'s badge was the Rising Sun, the name of several pubs and taverns,{{efn|There are pubs called the [[Rising Sun (disambiguation)#Pubs|"Rising Sun]]"<!--that name alone--> and [[Rising Sun Tavern (disambiguation)|"Rising Sun Tavern"]].}} while the [[Welsh Dragon|Red Dragon denotes Wales]].<ref name="History Press"/> [[The Eagle and Child]], [[Oxford]], its name derived from the arms of the [[Earls of Derby]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Rothwell |first=David |year=2006 |title=The Wordsworth Dictionary of Pub Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k-4SrdUPNFoC |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |location=Ware, Herefordshire |isbn=978-1840222661 |page=126}}</ref> was a meeting place of the [[Inklings]]; the name was in 2005 shared by 25 other pubs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cocker |first1=Mark |last2=Mabey |first2=Richard |author2-link=Richard Mabey |title=Birds Britannica |title-link=Birds Britannica |year=2005 |publisher=[[Chatto & Windus]] |isbn=0-7011-6907-9 |page=474}}</ref>
=== Arms ===
{{multiple image |total_width = 250 |image1 = Worshipful Company of Carpenters - Three Compasses.jpg |caption1 = The [[Worshipful Company of Carpenters]]' emblem, three [[compasses]] |image2 = Three Compasses, Hornsey, N8 (2509772818).jpg |caption2 =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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Coat of Arms |url=http://www.thecarpenterscompany.co.uk/pages/history/coat_of_arms/default.aspx |publisher=The Carpenters' Company |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522104616/http://www.thecarpenterscompany.co.uk/pages/history/coat_of_arms/default.aspx |access-date=8 February 2023 |archive-date=22 May 2015}}</ref> Sometimes the livery company or guild is named directly, as in the Blacksmiths Arms, Bricklayers Arms, Carpenters Arms, Masons Arms, and Saddlers Arms; people in these trades often met in these places.<ref name="History Press"/> Another old profession recorded in a pub name is the Drover's Inn, [[Loch Lomond]], Scotland, named after the [[cattle drovers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/food-and-drink-2/celebrating-10-of-the-most-historic-pubs-in-scotland/ |title=Celebtrating 10 of the Most Historic Pubs in Scotland |website=Food & Drink |date=3 May 2019 |access-date=21 September 2021}}</ref>
== History, myth and legend ==
Many pub names record aspects of history, real or imagined, from specific events to local legends.
=== Historic events ===
Several historic events are commemorated in pub names. A few of these, such as the Royal Oak, are extremely common.<ref name="St Barbe Museum"/> One or two events, like the [[Battle of Trafalgar]], have resulted in multiple different pub names.<ref name="Whichelow 2014"/>
[[File:SaracensHeadpubsign.jpg |upright=0.6|thumb|The sign of the Saracen's Head in Broad Street, [[Bath, Somerset]] recalls the [[crusades]].<ref name="Sussex history"/>]]
[[File:Sign for the Rose and Crown (cropped).jpg|upright=0.6|thumb|Sign for the Rose and Crown shows the combined red-and-white [[Tudor rose]], marking the end of the [[Wars of the Roses]].<ref name="Penn 2012"/> ]]
{| class="wikitable" |+ Events commemorated in pub names |- ! Date !! Event !! Pub name |- | 1095–1291 || [[Crusade]]s || [[Saracen]]'s Head, Turk's Head<ref name="Sussex history">{{cite web |title=The Fascinating History of British Pub Names |url=https://thesussextw.co.uk/history-of-british-pub-names/ |publisher=The Sussex Arms, Tunbridge Wells |access-date=17 April 2025 |quote=The Turk’s Head, The Saracen’s Head, and The Lamb and Flag can all be traced back to the Crusades, during which many inns catered to pilgrims and knights at several points along their journey to the Holy Land.}}</ref> |- | 1133–1855 || [[Bartholomew Fair]] || [[Hand and Shears]]: tailors would gather in the pub the night before the fair and wave their shears announcing that the fair should begin<ref name="hand">{{cite book |last=Rennison |first=Nick |title=The Book of Lists, London |publisher=Canongate |year=2006 |page=10 |isbn=978-1-84195-934-4}}</ref> |- | 1215 || [[Magna Carta]] || Magna Charta, [[Lowdham]], Nottinghamshire<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Jeremy |title='I have driven past for 40-odd years without ever entering' - Food Sleuth makes his debut at Lowdham's Magna Charta |url=https://www.nottinghampost.com/whats-on/food-drink/i-driven-past-40-odd-2564831 |website=Nottinghamshire Live |access-date=19 April 2025 |date=20 February 2019}}</ref> |- | 1485 || [[Wars of the Roses]] || 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. In 1485, at the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]], [[Henry VII of England|Henry Tudor]], a descendant of Lancaster, defeated [[Richard III of England|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.<ref name="Penn 2012">{{cite news |last=Penn |first=Thomas |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/mar/02/tudors-henry-vii-wars-roses?INTCMP=SRCH |title=How Henry VII branded the Tudors |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=2 March 2012}}</ref> |- | 1651 || [[Escape of Charles II|Escape of Prince Charles]] in the [[English Civil War]] || As many as 467 pubs named [[Royal Oak]];<ref name="Strange Names"/><ref name="St Barbe Museum"/> the prince hid in the [[Boscobel House|Boscobel Oak]].<ref name="Strange Names">{{cite web |url=http://www.fatbadgers.co.uk/Britain/weird.htm |title=Strange Names |access-date=19 March 2007 |archive-date=30 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630164030/http://www.fatbadgers.co.uk/britain/weird.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="St Barbe Museum"/> |- | 1759 || [[Battle of Minden]] || The Battle of Minden, [[Portsmouth]], Hampshire †<ref>{{cite news |title=Portsmouth Feb 24 |newspaper=Salisbury and Winchester Journal |date=29 February 1768 |page=3}}</ref> |- | 1805 || [[Battle of Trafalgar]] || The Trafalgar, Wimbledon Chase. The area once had several pubs whose names recalled the battle, its victor [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson]] (the Nelson Arms), his ship [[HMS Victory|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 [[Colliers Wood]].<ref name="Whichelow 2014">{{cite news |last=Whichelow |first=Clive <!--of The Wimbledon Society--> |title=Wimbledon Heritage: Less than half Nelson? |work=Wimbledon Times |date=13 June 2014}}</ref> |- | 1815 || [[Battle of Waterloo]] || Waterloo Inn, [[Biggin-by-Hartington]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The Waterloo Inn, Biggin |url=https://waterlooinnbiggin.com/ |website=The Waterloo Inn, Biggin |access-date=16 April 2025}}</ref> among others |- | 1826 || [[Siege of Bharatpur (1825–1826)|Siege of Bharatpur]] || Bhurtpore Inn, Aston, Cheshire<!--multiple Astons in Cheshire-->. The Inn is on land that was part of the estates of [[Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere|Lord Combermere]], commander of British forces during the siege.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bhurtpore.co.uk/history.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927024604/http://www.bhurtpore.co.uk/history.htm |url-status=dead |title=see pub website, history page |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref> |- | 1936 || Abdication of [[Edward VIII]] || The Abdication, [[Arnold, Nottinghamshire]]<ref>{{cite news |title=The Abdication |url=https://whatpub.com/pubs/NOT/554/abdication-arnold |website=WhatPub |access-date=5 January 2021}}</ref> |- | 1969 || First human [[moon landing]] || Man on the Moon, [[Northfield, Birmingham]]: originally called ''The Man in the Moon'' and renamed on the day of the first Moon landing<ref>{{cite web |title=Weird and wonderful names of pubs in Birmingham |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/gallery/weird-wonderful-names-pubs-birmingham-29588876 |website=Birmingham Live |date=17 August 2024}}</ref> |}
=== Religion ===
[[File:Lion and Lamb Court, Farnham. - geograph.org.uk - 136630.jpg|thumb|Lion and Lamb, [[Farnham]], Surrey]]
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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ochota |first1=Mary-Ann |title=The history of pub names |url=https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/the-history-of-pub-names/ |publisher=[[Ordnance Survey]] |access-date=18 April 2025 |date=23 October 2016}}</ref> Publicans sometimes changed the names of their premises to something close to the original Catholic meaning, so the St Peter could be renamed to the Crossed Keys (that the saint holds, to the gates of heaven), or the Ark could be called the Ship.<ref name="History Press"/>
Among the surviving religious references, the Lion and Lamb, [[Pennington, Hampshire]], is named from [[St Augustine]]'s usage, where the lion represents the [[resurrection of Christ]], and the lamb denotes Christ's sacrifice.<ref name="St Barbe Museum">{{cite web |title=Local Pubs and Inns |url=https://www.stbarbe-museum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Local-pubs-and-inns.pdf |publisher=[[St Barbe Museum]] |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref> The Shaven Crown, at [[Shipton-under-Wychwood]], once belonged to the monks of [[Bruern Abbey]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/Blog/Twelve-Oldest-Inns-In-England/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001134810/https://www.historic-uk.com/Blog/Twelve-Oldest-Inns-In-England/ |archive-date=1 October 2020 |title=Shaven Crown |website=12 oldest pubs |date=12 February 2019 |access-date=20 September 2021}}</ref> The [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]]'s Hat, [[Harleston, Norfolk]]<ref>{{cite news |title=To Graziers |newspaper=Bury and Norwich Post |date=6 March 1822 |page=3}}</ref> was an inn from at least 1591.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cardinals Hat, Harleston |url=https://www.norfolkpubs.co.uk/norfolkh/harleston/harlesca.htm |website=Norfolk Public Houses |access-date=18 April 2025}}</ref>
=== Myths and legends ===
Several pub names commemorate English myths and legends.
[[File:Interior of The Green Dragon Inn at Hardraw, Nth. Yorkshire - geograph.org.uk - 1755494.jpg|thumb|Interior of the Green Dragon Inn, [[Hardraw]], North Yorkshire]]
[[File:The Robin Hood Inn - Monnow Street, Monmouth - pub sign.jpg|thumb|upright|The many Robin Hood pubs recall the legendary [[Robin Hood|outlaw of Sherwood Forest]].<ref name="Churchard 2017"/>]]
{| class="wikitable" |+ Pubs named for myths and legends |- ! Pub !! Origins |- | Black Bess || Several pubs, usually named after the legendary overnight ride from London to York in 1737 by [[Dick Turpin]] on his mare, Black Bess.<ref>{{cite web |last=Youell |first=Clare |title=What's the meaning behind the names of all these Chelmsford pubs? |url=https://www.essexlive.news/whats-on/food-drink/what-pub-name-meanings-chelmsford-625171 |publisher=Essex Live |date=13 October 2017 |access-date=19 April 2025}}</ref> |- | Brazen George Inn, [[Cambridge]] † || Named after England's patron saint, [[St. George]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Victorian Cambridge: Josiah Chater's Diaries |author=Enid Porter |publisher=Philimore |year=1975 |page=139}}</ref> |- | [[The Bucket of Blood]], [[Hayle, Cornwall]] || Owned by [[St Austell Brewery]]; named after a supposed incident where the landlord brought up a bucket of blood from the building's well, as a murdered smuggler had been dropped there.<ref>{{cite news |last=Utton |first=Dominic |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/11635792/Drinkers-unite-We-must-save-the-great-British-pub-name.html |title=Drinkers, unite! We must save the great British pub name |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=29 May 2015}}</ref> |- | Fiddler's Green || [[Fiddler's Green]] is a legendary place in the afterlife where existence consists of all leisure and no work; in the 19th century, specifically for sailors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R4s9AAAAYAAJ&q=Fiddler%27s+Green&pg=RA2-PA168 |title=The Sailor's magazine, and naval journal – American Seamen's Friend Society |date=February 1898 |page=168 |work=Life on the Ocean |access-date=14 October 2011}}</ref> |- | George and Dragon || Over 100 pubs (as of 2025), named for St George, [[patron saint]] of [[England]], and his conflict with a [[dragon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=112 UK Pubs Called George and Dragon |url=https://pubnames.co.uk/pubcanon.php?canon=George-and-Dragon#loaded |website=Pub Names |access-date=19 April 2025}}</ref> |- | Green Dragon || Several pubs, named for [[dragon]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Green Dragon tavern |url=https://greendragonnorfolk.com |website=www.greendragonnorfolk.com |access-date=5 January 2012}}</ref> |- | Green Man || A name used for many pubs, from folklore of the [[Green Man]] and the image of the Wild Man.<ref name="Sussex history"/> |- | Moonrakers || A Wiltshire folk story holds that [[Moonrakers]] comes from the time when [[smuggling]] was common in the region.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=A. C. |date=1874 |title=On Wiltshire Traditions, Charms and Superstitions |journal=[[Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine]] |publisher=Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society |location=Devizes, England |volume=14 |pages=326–327}}</ref> |- | Robin Hood || Several pubs named for [[Robin Hood]], the lawless anti-hero of [[Sherwood Forest]] in [[Nottinghamshire]]<ref name="Churchard 2017">{{cite news |last=Churchard |first=Clare |title=What's in a name? The stories behind pub monikers |url=https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2017/06/12/What-s-in-a-name-The-stories-behind-pub-monikers/ |work=Morning Advertiser |date=11 June 2017}}</ref> |- | Silent Woman, Quiet Lady or Headless Woman || Of uncertain origin, with various local stories, such as a landlady whose tongue was cut out by smugglers so she couldn't talk to the authorities,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thesilentwoman.co.uk/ |title=The Silent Woman Inn - Welcome to The Silent Woman |publisher=thesilentwoman.co.uk |access-date=15 October 2010}}</ref> or a saint beheaded for her Christianity.<ref name=dick>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k-4SrdUPNFoC&q=silent+woman+pub+saint&pg=PA354 |title=Dictionary of Pub Names |page=354 |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |year=2006 |isbn=1-84022-266-2 |access-date=15 October 2010}}</ref> 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".<ref name=dick/> |}
=== Historic opinions ===
[[File:All Labour in Vain - geograph.org.uk - 905902.jpg|thumb|"All Labour in Vain" pub † sign, [[Horsehay]], Shropshire, 2008]]
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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Labour-Vain-Yarnfield-Cookman-Review/story-12528881-detail/story.html |title=The Labour In Vain, Yarnfield: The Cookman Review |access-date=17 March 2021 |archive-date=14 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814000030/http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Labour-Vain-Yarnfield-Cookman-Review/story-12528881-detail/story.html |url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> 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 [[Charles II of England|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2008/04/04/is-historic-black-boy-pub-racist-55578-20718901/ |title=News: The latest North Wales news from the Daily Post |website=www.dailypost.co.uk}}</ref> In 2021 brewer [[Greene King]] changed the names of three pubs called The Black Boy, and another called The Black's Head.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-56040545 |title =Greene King Black Boy pubs renamed in 'anti-racist' move |work =BBC News |date =13 February 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/what-mr-scott-was-black-bitch-1-1340540|title=What! Mr Scott was Black Bitch?}}</ref>
== The pub itself ==
=== The pub building ===
[[File:Thecrookedhouse-2023-06.jpg|thumb|[[The Crooked House]], [[Himley]], known for its extreme lean, caused by [[coal mining|mining]] subsidence]]
The Hippodrome in March, Isle of Ely was once a cinema.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hippodrome |url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/cambridgeshire/the-hippodrome-march |website=www.jdwetherspoon.com |access-date=24 September 2020}}</ref> The Hole in the Wall is the name of several very small pubs. One such at [[Waterloo, London]], is spacious but built into a railway viaduct.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hole in the Wall, London |url=https://camra.org.uk/pubs/hole-in-the-wall-london-158449 |publisher=CAMRA |access-date=22 September 2025}}</ref> The Hole in the Wall, Gibraltar was an iconic bar well frequented by the navy workers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Trico |first1=Kelly |title=Jan 22 – Iconic “Hole In T’ Wall” Pub To Close After 40 Years |url=https://www.yourgibraltartv.com/blogs/10935-jan-22-iconic-hole-in-t-wall-pub-to-close-after-40-years |website=Your Gibraltar TV |access-date=22 September 2025}}</ref> The Hundred House Inn, [[Great Witley]] originates from when the building was a collecting house for the tithes from districts in the Doddingtree Hundred.<ref>{{cite news |title=NOTICE is hereby given, that the TOLLS arising |newspaper=Worcester Journal |date=30 May 1833 |page=3}}</ref> The [[List of buildings in King's Lynn|Lattice House]], [[King's Lynn]] was named for its timbered structure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF12005-Lattice-House-Chapel-Street&Index=2&RecordCount=2&SessionID=670b9042-4138-452a-93a2-45a0f410605e |website=Norfolk Heritage Explorer |title=Lattice House |access-date=19 September 2021}}</ref> The Thatched House Tavern, Cambridge is named after the building's roofing.<ref>{{cite news |title=University Intelligence |newspaper=Cambridge Chronicle and Journal |date=8 May 1835 |page=2}}</ref> The Three Legged Mare, [[High Petergate]], York is named after the design of a [[gallows]], like the one in the pub's garden; affectionately known as the Wonky Donkey.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.withinthewallsyork.com/threeleggedmare.html |title =The Three-Legged Mare}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/the-23-weirdest-pub-names-in-britain |website=Weirdest Pub Names |title=Three Legged Mare |date=10 April 2013 |access-date=20 September 2021}}</ref>
=== Services provided by the pub ===
[[File:The Farriers Arms - geograph.org.uk - 527610.jpg|thumb|The Farriers Arms, [[Shilbottle]], Northumberland]]
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]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=This is to give Notice |newspaper=[[Stamford Mercury]] |date=<!--Thursday--> 12 November 1724 |page=12}}</ref> The Pewter Platter, Cross Street, [[Hatton Garden]] †, identified a pub where meals were served.<ref>{{cite news |title=An account of Francis David Stirn |newspaper=The Scots Magazine |date=1 September 1760 |page=6}}</ref> The Coach & Horses indicated a coaching inn,<ref name=TimeTravel1/> while the Farriers Arms was a pub with a [[farrier]] who could re-shoe the traveller's horses while he relaxed,<ref name=TimeTravel1/> and the Wheelwrights was a name for a pub where a coach's wheels could be repaired or replaced.<ref name=TimeTravel1/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Free Press |url=https://cambridgefoodtour.com/the-free-press-pub/ |website=www.cambridgefoodtour.com |access-date=24 September 2020}}</ref>
=== Food ===
<!--[[File:Yeoldcheshirecheese.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, [[Fleet Street]], London]]-->
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,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/life/britains-strangest-pub-names/the-baron-of-beef-in-cambridge/ |title=Britain's strangest pub names |newspaper=Daily Telegraph | date=15 February 2016}}</ref> while the Red Herring, Great Yarmouth is named after [[Red herring (fish)|a product]] of the local fishing industry.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bridgewater |first=Beth |title=Norfolk |publisher=Encompass Press |year=1995 |page=133}}</ref>
=== Beer ===
[[File:Pub names from brewing process.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.35|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.<ref name="History Press"/> <!--The Bushel...{{cn}}--> Names of this type may indicate pubs founded as early as the 12th century.<ref name="History Press"/> The Malt Shovel names a tool used to turn over the soaked barley grain.<ref name="Middle Level">{{cite news |title=Middle Level |newspaper=Lynn Advertiser |date=19 March 1870 |page=8}}</ref> The [[Mashing|Mash Tun]] names the brewery vessel used to mix grains with water.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Mash Tun: Brighton's Beating Heart |url=https://www.mashtun.pub/ |website=Mash Tun |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref> Three [[Barrel]]s<!-- or is this the Company of Brewers?--> names containers for beer.<ref name="History Press"/> The Brewery Tap was a pub on site or adjacent to a [[brewery]]; it often showcased its products to visitors.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Brewery Tap Public House Shefford |date=22 June 2019 |url=https://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/CommunityHistories/Shefford/BreweryTapPublicHouse.aspx |publisher=Bedford Borough Council |access-date=21 February 2024 |quote=The modern name of the public house is derived from the fact that it is owned by the brewery and sells its produce.}}</ref>
Many traditional pub names allude to the beer available inside.<ref name="History Press">{{cite web |title=A history of British pub names |url=https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/a-history-of-british-pub-names/ |publisher=The History Press |access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref> The Barley Mow is a stack or sheaf of [[barley]], the principal grain from which beer is made.<ref name="Kok Ye Muller Ow 2019">{{cite journal |last1=Kok |first1=Yee Jiun |last2=Ye |first2=Lijuan |last3=Muller |first3=Jeroen |last4=Ow |first4=Dave Siak-Wei |last5=Bi |first5=Xuezhi |title=Brewing with malted barley or raw barley: what makes the difference in the processes? |journal=[[Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology]] |volume=103 |issue=3 |year=2019 |issn=0175-7598 |doi=10.1007/s00253-018-9537-9 |pages=1059–1067 |pmid=30515549}}</ref> [[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.<ref name="deVries76">{{cite book |last=de Vries |first=Ad |title=Dictionary of Symbols and Imagery |year=1976 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofsymb0000vrie/page/34 34–35] |publisher=[[North-Holland Publishing Company]] |location=[[Amsterdam]] |isbn=978-0-7204-8021-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofsymb0000vrie/page/34}}</ref>
<!--Burton Stingo, Wisbech is thought to be named after the [[Burton ale]]s and [[Stingo]] on sale within.{{cn}} -->The Cock and Bottle names the [[stopcock]] used to serve beer from a barrel, and a beer bottle.<ref name=BritainExpress>{{cite web |last=Saunders |first=Elaine |url=http://www.britainexpress.com/History/culture/pub-names.htm |title=British Pub Signs - a short history |publisher=Britain Express |access-date=9 September 2016}}</ref> <!--The Leather(n) Bottle was a portable beer container.{{cn}}--> The Tankard, London is named after the drinks container.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brewdog.com/uk/bars/uk/tankard |website=Brewdog |title=Tankard |access-date=20 September 2021}}</ref>{{Clear}}
=== Wine ===
[[File:Hoop and Grapes - London's Oldest Pub^ - geograph.org.uk - 543347.jpg|thumb|The [[Hoop and Grapes, Aldgate]], was originally the Hops and Grapes, as it sold both beer and wine.<ref name="Hoop and Grapes"/>]]
The pub name the Castle sometimes denoted the [[Kingdom of Castile#Arms of the Kingdom of Castile|Coat of Arms of Castile]] in [[Spain]], meaning that Spanish wines were available within.<ref name="Sign">{{cite book |title=The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |year=2001 |page=883}}</ref> The Spread Eagle's name is from the heraldic depiction of an [[Eagle (heraldry)|eagle 'displayed']], probably from the arms of [[Germany]], indicating that German wines were available within.<ref name="Sign"/>
The name of the [[Hoop and Grapes, Aldgate]] High Street, London is a version of the Hops and Grapes, its original name, meaning that it sold both beer and wine. The pub survived the 1666 [[Great Fire of London]], which stopped just short of the building.<ref name="Hoop and Grapes">{{cite web |title=Welcome to The Hoop and Grapes, an historic pub in Aldgate |url=https://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/restaurants/london/thehoopandgrapesaldgatelondon#/ |publisher=Nicholsons Pubs |access-date=19 April 2025}}</ref>
=== Objects denoting the pub ===
[[File:The 'Crooked Billet', Worsthorne, Lancashire - geograph.org.uk - 553587.jpg|thumb|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. This tradition dates back to [[Roman Britain]], when vine leaves were hung outside ''[[tabernae]]'' to show where wine was sold.<ref name="HUK">{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=Ben |title=Pub Signs of Britain |url=http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Pub-Signs-of-Britain/ |publisher=Historic UK |access-date=9 September 2016}}</ref> Pubs named the Hollybush, [[the Old Bull and Bush|the Bull and Bush]], or just the Bush may represent survivals of this custom.<ref name="History Press"/>
Other objects used as pub names include a Boot, Copper Kettle, Plough,<ref name="History Press"/> Boot and Slipper,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chefandbrewer.com/pubs/buckinghamshire/boot-slipper/ |title=Boot and Slipper |website=Chef & Brewer |access-date=21 September 2021}}</ref> Horn(e),<ref>{{cite book |title=Wisbech Inns, Taverns and Beer-Houses : Past and Present |last=Ketley |first=Andy |volume=3 |publisher=Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum |year=2022 |page=76}}</ref> and Crooked Billet (a bent branch).<ref>{{cite news |title=Public Office, Bow-street |newspaper=[[The Sun (1792–1876)|The Sun]] |location=London |date=17 August 1805 |page=3}}</ref>
==Sports ==
[[File:Sign for the Bat and Ball, Breamore - geograph.org.uk - 688578.jpg|thumb|upright |Sign for the Bat and Ball, [[Breamore]], Hampshire]]
=== Hunting, shooting, and fishing ===
Names like Fox and Hounds, Greyhound, and Hare and Hounds indicate hunting grounds nearby.<ref name="History Press"/> The Anglers Beerhouse, Wisbech<ref name="Ketley 2021">{{cite book |last=Ketley |first=Andrew B. N. |title=Wisbech Inns, Taverns and Beer-Houses:Past and Present |publisher=Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum |year=2021 |page=28}}</ref> similarly indicates fishing in the vicinity.<ref name="Ketley 2021"/> An unusual foxhunting pub name is the Hark to Bellman, [[Clitheroe]], named after a hound of the huntsman [[John Peel]].<ref>The Manchester Courier And Lancashire General Advertiser 8 July 1848</ref> The Rabbits, [[Gainsborough, Lincolnshire|Gainsborough]] names a frequent object of shooting.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mary Ringrose |newspaper=Stamford Mercury - Friday 23 August 1833 |page=4}}</ref> The Bird in Hand denotes [[falconry]], possibly from King Henry VIII's liking for that activity.<ref name="History Press"/> The Dog and Duck once named pubs where [[duck-baiting]] events were held.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dl.tufts.edu/concern/images/2f75rh564 |title=Image | Old sign of the dog and duck. | ID: 2f75rh564 | |publisher=Tufts Digital Library}}</ref> The Fighting Cocks (or just 'Cock') indicated cockfighting (or 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,<ref name=TimeTravel1/> accompanied by gambling on the winner.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oldest.org/food/pubs-england/ |title=Ye Old Fighting Cocks |website=Oldest Pubs in England |date=13 November 2017 |access-date=21 September 2021}}</ref>
=== Other sports ===
Some pubs are named for other kinds of sport. [[Bowls]] is popular in the Manchester area: some of the greens are attached to pubs, including the Bowling Green Hotel in [[Chorlton-cum-Hardy]].<ref>Lloyd, John (1972) ''The Township of Chorlton-cum-Hardy''. Manchester: E. J. Morten; pp. 104–06</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thcamra.org.uk/cms/images/stories/TheNotOxfordRoadPubSurvey.pdf |title=The not Oxford Road pub survey, October 2008 |last=Bruderer |first=Adam |access-date=13 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309042708/http://www.thcamra.org.uk/cms/images/stories/TheNotOxfordRoadPubSurvey.pdf |archive-date=9 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Nine Pins, Cambridge † was named after that sport,<ref>{{cite web |title=Nine Pins |url=https://www.closedpubs.co.uk/cambridgeshire/cambridge_ninepins.html |publisher=The Lost Pubs Project |access-date=21 April 2025}}</ref> while the Cricketers Arms<ref name="History Press"/> and the Bat and Ball indicate [[cricket]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bat and Ball |url=https://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/food-and-drink/the-bat-and-ball-p1665021 |website=Visit Hampshire |access-date=20 April 2025}}</ref>
== Places and things ==
Some pubs are named for a place, building, nearby topographic feature, or local animals and plants.
=== Nearby structures ===
[[File:First and Last Inn, Sennen - geograph.org.uk - 5463900.jpg|thumb|First and Last Inn, [[Sennen]], Cornwall, at the Western tip of the [[Penwith peninsula]] ]]
A simple example is the Barrack Tavern, [[Woolwich Common]], which is near the army barracks at [[Royal Arsenal, Woolwich]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Masonic Intelligence |newspaper=Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser |date=10 June 1828 |page=3}}</ref> The ''Horsefair Tavern'', Wisbech (from 2023 The Magwitch) was named after the Horsefair (once a site for selling horses).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.admiraltaverns.co.uk/pubs/horsefairtavern/ |title=Horsefair Tavern |website=www.admiraltaverns.co.uk |access-date=30 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Liberal Club |url=https://calm.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=KWL1%2FV%2F157 |website =Cambridgeshire County Council |access-date=28 September 2021}}</ref> The Bridge Inn, [[Wilburton]], Cambridgeshire, was named for the nearby floating bridge, held in place with chains, across the [[River Great Ouse]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bridge Inn, Twenty Pence Inn, Wilburton |url=https://capturingcambridge.org/east-cambridgeshire/wilburton/bridge-inn-twenty-pence-inn-wilburton/ |website=Capturing Cambridge |access-date=21 April 2025}}</ref> The Windmill Inn, [[Newbold Verdon]], Leicestershire, was named for the nearby [[windmill]], which ground grain until about 1910.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reay |first1=Jim |title=Jim's Jaunt: Newbold Verdon & Brascote |url=https://leicester.camra.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2017-Feb-Newbold-Verdon-Brascote.pdf |publisher=Campaign for Real Ale |access-date=21 April 2025}}</ref>
A few pubs are named for features of the natural landscape: The Nene Inn, Wisbech is named for [[River Nene|the nearby river]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Images of Wisbech no.4 |year=2020 |publisher=Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum |author=Andy Ketley}}</ref> while the Bunch of Carrots, [[Hampton Bishop]] is named after a rock formation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/the-23-weirdest-pub-names-in-britain |website=Weirdest pub names |title=Bunch of Carrots |date=10 April 2013 |access-date=20 September 2021}}</ref>
The First and Last is the nickname of The Redesdale Arms, the nearest pub to the border between England and Scotland, on the A68 between [[Rochester, Northumberland|Rochester]] and [[Otterburn, Northumberland]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Redesdale Arms |url=https://redesdale-arms.co.uk/about-us-1 |publisher=Redesdale Arms |access-date=17 April 2025 |quote=The Redesdale Arms in a 16th century coaching inn, known as the "First & Last" Inn on route to Scotland}}</ref> Similarly commemorating an isolated location is the Five Miles from Anywhere Inn: No Hurry, [[Upware]], Cambridgeshire.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fivemilesinn.com |title=Five Miles from Anywhere |website=www.fivemilesinn |access-date=30 December 2020}}</ref>
=== Animals ===
[[File:Sign at the Bustard Inn - geograph.org.uk - 5564012.jpg|thumb|upright|The Bustard Inn sign]]
Several pubs have animal names, some of them old. The Pied Bull in [[Chester]] in reputed to be the oldest licensed house in that city and dates back to 1155.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.piedbull.co.uk/ |title=The Pied Bull Restaurant, Hotel, Pub and Brewery in Chester |website=The Pied Bull}}</ref> The Pyewipe Inn, [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]] (attested in 1863<ref>{{cite news |title=Lincoln City Police |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=18 December 1863 |page=5}}</ref>), gets its name from the [[Lincolnshire dialect]] word for the [[lapwing]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.expedia.co.uk/Lincoln-Hotels-The-Pyewipe-Inn.h16270047.Hotel-Information|title=The Pyewipe Hotel information}}</ref> Other pubs with animals in their names include the Bald Faced Stag Inn, [[Finchley]]; it was notorious as frequented by murderers and criminal gangs, and possibly at the site of the local [[gibbet]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The History of Gibbeting |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-9vdDwAAQBAJ&q=wisbech+paddy%27s+nightcap&pg=PT156 |via=www.google.co.uk |isbn=978-1526755193 |access-date=2 February 2021 |last1=Priestley |first1=Samantha |date=30 March 2020 | publisher=Pen and Sword History |page=PT156}}</ref> The Black Bear, [[Walsoken]] once had a stuffed black bear at its entrance.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Black Bear |url=https://www.visitcambridgeshirefens.org/the-black-bear-192 |website=www.visitcambridgeshirefens.org |access-date=24 September 2020}}</ref> The [[Bustard]] Inn, [[South Rauceby]] (†, now a restaurant) was named in 1860 for a large bird; local tradition holds that the last [[great bustard]] in England was shot on the hill behind the restaurant.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our History |url=https://thebustardinn.co.uk/bar/ |publisher=The Bustard Inn |access-date=21 April 2025 |quote=The Bustard Inn, which is a Grade II listed building, was so named because of the legend which states that the last Great Bustard in England was shot on Bustard Hill, which is sited behind the inn and is now known as Tom Lane. The Great Bustard, which is the heaviest flighted bird in the world with the male bird weighing up to 20kg, became extinct in this country in the mid-19th century.}}</ref> The Crane, [[Cambridge]] was named for that species, once numerous in [[The Fens]]; crane is a nickname for the inhabitants.<ref>{{cite book |last=Porter |first=Edith |title=Victorian Cambridge: Josiah Chater's Diaries |publisher=[[Phillimore & Co|Phillimore]] |year=1975 |page=19}}</ref> The Lobster, [[Sheringham]] was patronised by the lifeboat crew who formed the Shanty Men.<ref>{{cite book |title=Norfolk |author=Beth Bridgewater |publisher=Encompass Press |year=1995 |page=80}}</ref>
Some pubs are named after individual animals; several pubs, mostly in Yorkshire, are named after the [[Craven Heifer]] (1807-1812), a cow bred on the [[Bolton Abbey]] estate, famous as England's largest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cravenheifer.co.uk/history.cfm |title=The Craven Heifer Inn|access-date=31 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701065435/http://www.cravenheifer.co.uk/history.cfm|archive-date=1 July 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
A particular case is naming after individual racehorses: at least 20 pubs have such names.<ref name="Racehorse Pubs 2023"/> The Windmill at [[Tabley Inferior]] is named after a racehorse once owned by former local landowner [[Lord de Tabley]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://camra.org.uk/pubs/windmill-tabley-173567|title=Windmill, Tabley|website=CAMRA - The Campaign for Real Ale}}</ref> The Altsidora at [[Bishop Burton]] recalls [[Altisidora|the horse of that name]] that won the [[St Leger Stakes]] in 1813. The Amato at [[Epsom]] commemorates the winner of the Derby in 1838, while the Arkle in [[Ashleworth]] is named for [[Arkle|the famous Irish 1960s racehorse]], and the Red Rum in [[Grimethorpe]] recalls [[Red Rum|the thoroughbred with that name]] that won the [[Grand National]] steeplechase three times.<ref name="Racehorse Pubs 2023">{{cite web |title=THIRST PAST THE POST: Pubs Named After Racehorses |url=https://issuu.com/dronfieldcamra/docs/_2023-12_spring/s/22053397 |publisher=Dronfield & District [[CAMRA]] |access-date=13 March 2026 |year=2023}}</ref>
=== Plants ===
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.<ref name="St Barbe Museum"/> Among the pubs named Hand and Flower(s) is one in [[Hammersmith]], London.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to The Hand & Flower |url=https://www.handandflower.co.uk/ |publisher=The Hand & Flower |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref> Other plant-named pubs include the Artichoke at [[Chartham]], Kent,<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to the Artichoke |url=https://www.artichokechartham.co.uk/ |publisher=The Artichoke, Chartham |access-date=21 April 2025}}</ref> and the Olde Yew Tree Inn, [[Westbere]], Kent, founded in 1348.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kent's Oldest Pub |url=https://www.yewtreewestbere.co.uk/ |publisher=Yew Tree, Westbere |access-date=21 April 2025}}</ref>
== Transport ==
=== Land ===
Some pub names allude to the road they are on, like the Highway Inn, [[Burford]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/Blog/Twelve-Oldest-Inns-In-England/ |title=Highway Inn |website=12 oldest pubs |date=12 February 2019 |access-date=20 September 2021}}</ref> or to things that were once seen on their road, like the Steamer, [[Welwyn]], Hertfordshire: the pub is 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mcmullens.co.uk/steamer |website=www.mcmullens.co.uk |title=Steamer |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref> Several pub names are from common sights on 18th-century roads, like the Coach and Horses, Horse and Groom, or Waggon and Horses.<ref name="History Press"/> A less common name is [[I Am the Only Running Footman]], [[Mayfair]], London; it is named after a servant employed to run ahead of a carriage and pay tolls.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ash |first=Russell |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d8Lrn8fcsrMC&pg=PT268 |title=Top 10 of Britain |chapter=British pubs with the longest names |publisher=Hachette |year=2009 |isbn=978-0600622512}}</ref> More recently, the Rusty Bicycle has become the new name of the Eagle in Oxford: the [[University of Oxford]]'s students often cycle round the town.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arkells.com/pubs_more2.php?id=609 |title=The Rusty Bicycle, Oxford - Cowley pub/food/functions - Arkell's Brewery Swindon |work=arkells.com}}</ref> With the construction of canals and then railways in the [[Industrial Revolution]], pubs named Navigation Inn and then Railway Inn or Station Inn became commonplace.<ref name="History Press"/>
=== Water ===
[[File:The Politician - panoramio.jpg|thumb|{{lang|gd|Am Politician}}, [[Eriskay]]'s only pub, was named after the [[SS Politician|SS ''Politician'']] which sank there in 1941, releasing its cargo of cases of whisky.<ref name="Am Politician"/>]]
Many pubs are beside water or in ports, benefiting from visitors from both land and sea. Pub names recalling sailors include the Jolly Sailor,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.almond-pubs.co.uk/pubs/the-jolly-sailor/ |website=www.almond-pubs.co.uk |title=Jolly Sailor |access-date=28 May 2025}}</ref> Jovial Sailor,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baronspubs.com/jovialsailor/ |website=www.baronpubs.com |title=The Jovial Sailor |access-date=28 May 2025}}</ref> and Valiant Sailor.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lynn |newspaper=Norwich Mercury |date=31 August 1833 |page=3}}</ref> The Black Buoy, [[Wivenhoe]] is named after a type of channel marker [[buoy]], as the owners had nautical connections.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blackbuoy.co.uk/food.html |website=www.blackbuoy.co.uk |title=Black Buoy |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref>
Pubs by canals include the Locks Inn, [[Geldeston]], named for the nearby [[Lock (water navigation)|locks]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Norfolk |author=Beth Bridgewater |publisher=Encompass Press |year=1995 |page=198}}</ref> The Shroppie Fly: [[Audlem]], is named after a type of canalboat, the 'Shropshire Fly'.<ref>http://www.shroppiefly.co.uk/ {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213004047/http://www.shroppiefly.co.uk/ |date=13 February 2012}} The Shroppie Fly website</ref> As for rivers, the Tide End Cottage, [[Teddington]] marks the former [[tidal limit]] of the [[River Thames]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tide End Cottage |url=https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/middlesex/tide-end-cottage/book/ |website=www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref>
Some pubs are named for types of boat, including The Fishing Buss, [[Southwold]];<ref name="auto1">{{cite news |newspaper=Norfolk Chronicle |title=To Brewers, Wine and Spirit Merchants |date=29 July 1820 |page=1}}</ref> the Lifeboat Inn, [[Holme-Next-The-Sea]], once a smuggler's inn;<ref>{{cite book |title=Norfolk |publisher=Encompass Press |author=Beth Bridgewater |year=1975 |page=50}}</ref> the Old Ferryboat, Holywell, Cambridgeshire;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/pubs-and-bars/britains-oldest-pubs-in-pictures/the-old-ferryboat-inn-holywell-cambridgeshire/ |website=Telegraph |access-date=19 September 2021 |title=Old Ferryboat |date=6 May 2016}}</ref> the Pilot Boat, such as at [[Bembridge]], Isle of Wight;<ref name="auto1"/> and the Steam Packet Tavern, Norwich.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Steam Packet Tavern |newspaper=Norfolk Chronicle |date=20 March 1858 |page=8}}</ref>
A special case is {{lang|gd|Am Politician}}, [[Eriskay]]. It is named (in [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]]) after the [[SS Politician|SS ''Politician'']] which sank close to the island in 1941 with a cargo including large amounts of whisky, prompting the story of the [[Compton Mackenzie]] novel ''[[Whisky Galore (novel)|Whisky Galore]]''.<ref name="Am Politician">{{cite web |title=Am Politician |url=https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/food-and-drink/am-politician-p525701 |website=Visit Outer Hebrides |publisher=Outer Hebrides Tourism (Trading) |access-date=12 June 2023}}</ref>
=== Air ===
[[File:Hatfield, The Comet hotel - geograph.org.uk - 209701.jpg|thumb|Hatfield, The Comet pub and memorial; the carving of the pillar is by [[Eric Kennington]]<ref name="Comet"/>]]
Air transport began with balloons, commemorated in pubs such as the Balloon, Stamford † (attested in 1848), near where the [[balloonist]] Mr. H. Green had made several ascents,<ref>{{cite news |title=Stamford |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=3 March 1848 |page=2}}</ref> and the [[Air Balloon (pub)|Air Balloon]] in [[Birdlip]], Gloucestershire, again near a field where early ascents were made.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.airballoon-pub-gloucestershire.co.uk/ |title=Pubs in Birdlip - The Air Balloon - Old English Inns |work=airballoon-pub-gloucestershire.co.uk}}</ref>
From the 20th century, several pub names recall pioneering aircraft, like the Comet at [[Hatfield, Hertfordshire]]: the pub is named for the [[de Havilland DH.88]] racer, famous for winning of the 1934 McRobertson Cup air race.<ref name="Comet">{{cite web |title=History of the Comet Hotel |url=https://comethotel.co.uk/history/ |publisher=Comet Hotel |access-date=17 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119224043/https://comethotel.co.uk/history/ |archive-date=19 January 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Canopus, Hill Road, Borstal, Rochester † is similarly named after the [[flying boat]]s produced at the nearby [[Short Brothers]] aircraft factory,<ref>{{cite web |title=Canopus |url=http://www.dover-kent.com/2014-project-a/Canopus-Borstal.html |website=Dover Kent Archives |access-date=17 April 2025}}<!--also https://gbps.org.uk/information/downloads/magazines/philatelic-bulletin/pdfs/Philatelic%20Bulletin%2040-11.pdf--></ref> while the Flying Boat, Dartford is housed in what was the office of Beadles, a company which manufactured the floats for [[Sunderland flying boat]]s in the Second World War.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Flying Boat pub |url=https://www.kentlive.news/whats-on/music-nightlife/hidden-history-behind-every-wetherspoons-3851667 |publisher=Kent Live |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref> The Airman, [[Feltham]], Middlesex is named for its proximity to the London Air Park (latterly Hanworth Air Park).<ref>{{cite web |title=Airman, Feltham |url=https://camra.org.uk/pubs/airman-feltham-121724 |publisher=CAMRA |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref> The Flying Bedstead, [[Hucknall]], Nottinghamshire † (now demolished): was named after [[Flying Bedstead|the prototype aircraft]] which led to the [[Harrier Jump Jet]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Flying Bedstead, Hucknall |url=https://camra.org.uk/pubs/flying-bedstead-hucknall-162727 |publisher=CAMRA |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref> Finally the name of the Red Arrow, [[Lutterworth]], Leicestershire recalls the name of [[Red Arrows|the RAF aerobatics team]]; the pub has a sloping triangular roof and was formerly called the "[[flying saucer]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=Lutterworth heritage assets preserved for future generations |url=https://rugbyobserver.co.uk/news/lutterworth-heritage-assets-preserved-for-future-generations/ |publisher=Lutterworth Observer |access-date=17 April 2025 |date=23 February 2022}}</ref>
== Literature ==
=== Names from fiction ===
<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=200 heights=200 caption="Some pub names from fiction"> File:The 'Moon Under Water', High Street, Watford - geograph.org.uk - 610214.jpg|The Moon Under Water, [[Watford]], named after [[George Orwell]]'s description File:Escaped convict Magwitch, by J. Clayton Clarke (Kyd), c. 1900.jpg|[[Abel Magwitch]], by "Kyd" ([[Joseph Clayton Clark]]), c. 1900 File:The Hobbit Southampton (cropped).JPG|[[The Hobbit, Southampton]], named for [[The Hobbit|the 1937 book]] by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] </gallery>
Several pubs are named for works of fiction, their lead characters, or their authors.
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Books, characters, and authors commemorated in pub names |- ! style="width: 225px;" | Pub ! style="width: 150px;" | Work ! style="width: 150px;" | Author ! style="width: 50px;" | Date<!--of book--> ! style="width: 400px;" | Notes |- | [[Lass O'Gowrie|Lass o' Gowrie]], Manchester || "Lass o' Gowrie" || [[Carolina Nairne]] || {{circa|1750}} || Poem<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thelass.co.uk/the_lass_o_gowrie.php |title=Lass o'Gowrie |access-date=30 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907042811/http://www.thelass.co.uk/the_lass_o_gowrie.php |archive-date=7 September 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |- | [[Peveril of the Peak (pub)|Peveril of the Peak]], Manchester || ''[[Peveril of the Peak]]'' || [[Sir Walter Scott]] || 1823 || Name more likely from the [[Manchester]] to London stagecoach<ref>{{cite web |title=Pevril of the Peak<!--sic-->|url=http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/pubs/pevril.html |publisher=Manchester History |access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref> |- | Paul Pry Inn, [[Peterborough]] || ''[[Paul Pry (play)|Paul Pry]]'' || [[John Poole (playwright)|John Poole]] || 1825 || Main character in play of same name<ref>{{cite news |title=Peterborough Police |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=7 July 1911 |page=6}}</ref> |- | Uncle Tom's Cabin,<br />[[Reach, Cambridgeshire]] || ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' || [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]] || 1852 || Campaigned for abolition of slavery<ref>{{cite news |title=Licencing reduction |newspaper=Cambridge Independent Press |date= 4 December 1908 |page=4}}</ref> |- | Eagle, [[City Road]] || "[[Pop Goes the Weasel]]" || Traditional || {{circa|1852}} || "Up and down the City Road / In and out the Eagle" is a couplet in the second verse of the song<ref>{{cite book |last=Zwart |first=P. |title=Islington; a History and Guide |location=London |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1973 |page=42}}</ref> |- | [[Magwitch]], [[Wisbech]] || ''[[Great Expectations]]'' || [[Charles Dickens]] || 1861 || Named after Abel Magwitch; the manuscript is in [[Wisbech & Fenland Museum]]<ref>{{cite journal |title=Great Expectations |journal=The Fens |year=2023 |issue=85 |page=20 |last=Monger |first=Garry}}</ref> |- | Three Pigeons, Norwich, etc || ''[[Our Mutual Friend]]'' || [[Charles Dickens]] || 1865 || Used in several books and plays<ref>{{cite news |title=Estates by auction |newspaper=Norfolk Chronicle |date=September 1812 |page=1}}</ref> |- | Jabez Clegg, [[Manchester]] † || ''[[The Manchester Man (novel)|The Manchester Man]]'' || [[Isabella Banks]] || 1876 || Named after the title character<ref>{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Jennifer |title=Manchester student nightspot Jabez Clegg closes after being sold to university |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/jabez-clegg-closes-legendary-student-6319362 |access-date=27 May 2018 |work=[[Manchester Evening News]] |date=19 November 2013}}</ref> |- | Sherlock Holmes, [[Charing Cross]], London || Series of books and short stories || [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] || 1887 on || Main character in the books. The pub contains a reproduction of [[Sherlock Holmes]]'s study<ref>{{cite news |title=Buildings with Sherlock Holmes connections |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/pictures/10547398/Buildings-with-Sherlock-Holmes-connections.html?frame=2779593 |access-date=27 May 2018 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |quote=Not far from Charing Cross station is the Sherlock Holmes pub, which in the 1950s inherited the contents of an exhibition dedicated to Sherlock Holmes which had been created for the 1951 Festival of Britain. The owners installed a replica of Holmes' and Watson's sitting room and study in the pub which can still be seen today.}}</ref> |- | Cat and Custard Pot,<br />[[Shipton Moyne]] || ''[[Handley Cross; or, Mr. Jorrock's Hunt]]'' || [[R. S. Surtees]] || 1892 || Imaginary pub of this name in the book<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Harriet |title=The Cat & Custard Pot Inn {{!}} Shipton Moyne, Gloucestershire, England |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/gloucestershire/hotels/cotswolds-the-cat-and-custard-pot-inn-hotel/ |access-date=27 May 2018 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}</ref> |- | Herbert Wells, [[Woking]] || ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' || [[H. G. Wells]] || 1897 || The town of Woking was destroyed by Martian invaders in the novel. 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<ref>{{cite web |title=The Herbert Wells |url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pub-histories/england/surrey/the-herbert-wells-woking |publisher=J. D. Wetherspoon |access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref> |- | Moon and Sixpence<br />(multiple places) || ''[[The Moon and Sixpence]]'' || [[W. Somerset Maugham]] || 1919 || [[Wetherspoons]] pubs in [[Portland, Oregon]]; [[Whitby, North Yorkshire]]; Harrow, Middlesex; Soho, London<ref>{{cite web |title=The Moon and Sixpence |url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/london/the-moon-and-sixpence-hatch-end |publisher=[[Wetherspoons]] |access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref> |- | John Masefield, [[New Ferry]], Merseyside || — || [[John Masefield]] || 1930 on || Masefield was [[Poet Laureate]] from 1930 to 1967. He served for some years on a naval training ship, [[HMS Conway (school ship)|HMS ''Conway'']], off New Ferry pier<ref>{{cite web |title=The John Masefield {{!}} Our History |url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/merseyside/the-john-masefield-new-ferry |publisher=J. D. Wetherspoon |access-date=27 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706071746/https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/merseyside/the-john-masefield-new-ferry |archive-date=6 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> |- | Edgar Wallace, [[The Strand, London]] || — || [[Edgar Wallace]] || 1930s || Wrote a series of mystery books<ref>{{cite web |title=The Edgar Wallace |url=http://www.theedgarwallace.co.uk/index |publisher=The Edgar Wallace |access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref> |- | [[The Hobbit, Southampton]] || ''[[The Hobbit]]'' || [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] || 1937 || Threatened with legal action by US movie lawyers<ref name="BBC 2012">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-17350103 |title=Hobbit pub in Southampton threatened with legal action |work=[[BBC News]] |date=13 March 2012}}</ref> |- | Moon Under Water (multiple places) || "[[The Moon Under Water]]" || [[George Orwell]] || 1946 || Essay describes Orwell's perfect pub.<ref name=GuardianPerfectPub>{{cite web |last1=Moody |first1=Paul |last2=Turner |first2=Robin |title=What's your perfect pub? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/08/whats-your-perfect-pub |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=9 September 2016 |date=8 December 2011}}</ref> The [[Wetherspoons]] pub chain has used the name for 13 of its outlets<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs?searchterm=moon%20under%20water|title=Wetherspoon's website|access-date=14 January 2018}}</ref> |}
=== Pubs in fiction from real-world pubs ===
{{further|List of real London pubs in literature}}
[[File:The Ivy Bush pub - geograph.org.uk - 152096.jpg|thumb|The Ivy Bush, [[Edgbaston]], West Midlands]]
Some well-known pub names in fiction derive from real English pubs. The ''[[Hedera helix|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 Baggins|Bilbo]] and [[Frodo Baggins]], who were about to throw a magnificent joint birthday party.<ref>''The Fellowship of the Ring'', "A Long-expected Party".</ref> 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.<ref>Blackham, Bob, 'Tolkien's Birmingham', in ''Mallorn'', the journal of [[The Tolkien Society]] issue 45, Spring 2008, p.27</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hooker |first=Mark T. |year=2009 |title=The Hobbitonian Anthology |publisher=Llyfrawr |page=81 |isbn=978-1448617012}}</ref> The [[The Fortune of War (public house)|Fortune of War]], [[Smithfield, London|Smithfield]] was on "Pie Corner" (where the [[Great Fire of London]] stopped) and was frequented by [[Resurrectionists in the United Kingdom|Resurrectionists]] including the [[London Burkers]], two of whom, John Bishop and Thomas Williams, were hanged for murder after they sold the bodies for dissection.<ref>{{cite news |title=Executions |newspaper=Leicester Journal |date=9 December 1831 |page=4}}</ref> The pub is mentioned in [[William Makepeace Thackeray]]'s 1848 ''[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thackeray |first=William Makepeace |author-link=William Makepeace Thackeray |title=[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]] |year=1848 |chapter=How to Live Well on Nothing a Year}}</ref> The 1903 [[music hall]] song "[[Under the Anheuser Bush|Down at the old Bull and Bush]]" is named for [[The Old Bull and Bush]] pub in Hampstead.<ref>{{cite web |title=Artist Biography: Florrie Forde |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/florrie-forde-mn0000798137 |website=Allmusic |access-date=20 April 2025}}</ref>
== People ==
=== Individuals ===
[[File:Portrait of the Marquess of Granby.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Numerous pubs are named after the [[John Manners, Marquess of Granby|Marquess of Granby]].<ref name="Marquess of Granby"/>]]
Royal pub names include The King of Prussia, [[Gosport]], for [[Frederick the Great]];<ref>{{cite news |title=To be sold by auction |newspaper=Hampshire Chronicle |date=24 September 1798 |page=1}}</ref> The [[Queen of Bohemia]], Wych Street, London, † named after Elizabeth, daughter of [[James VI and I|James I]] and [[Anne of Denmark]];<ref>{{cite news |title=Sunday Night |newspaper=Bury and Norwich Post |date=29 April 1801 |page=2}}</ref> and The Three Queens Inn, Burton.<ref>{{cite news |title=Advertisement |newspaper=Derby Mercury |date=5 February 1735 |page=4}}</ref>
People commemorated directly in pub names include the local lifeguard William Adams at [[Gorleston-on-Sea]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/20729789.this-beyond-wildest-dreams---familys-pride-new-wetherspoon-pub-opens-gorleston/|title='This is beyond my wildest dreams' - family's pride as new Wetherspoon pub opens in Gorleston|date=13 March 2018|website=Eastern Daily Press}}</ref> the actor [[David Garrick]], Cambridge †,<ref>{{cite book |title=Victorian Cambridge =Josiah Chater's Diaries |author=Enid Porter |publisher =Philimore |year=1875 |page=164}}</ref> and the many pubs named after [[John Manners, Marquess of Granby]].<ref name="Marquess of Granby">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k-4SrdUPNFoC&q=Marquess+of+Granby+pub&pg=PA250 |title=Dictionary of Pub Names – Google Books |date=September 2006 |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |isbn=9781840222661 |access-date=26 July 2009}}</ref> Other famous figures on pub signs include [[Shakespeare]], Redland, Bristol,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theshakespearebristol.co.uk/ |title=The Shakespeare |work=Redland, Bristol}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitbritain.com/gb/en/4-pubs-shakespeare-actually-drank-you-can-too |title=Shakespeare's Tree |work=Visit Britain |date=21 April 2016}}</ref> and the politician [[Robert Walpole]], at the Walpole Arms, [[Itteringham]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Norfolk |author=Beth Bridgewater |publisher=Encompass Press |year=1995 |page=92}}</ref>
Victorious sailors commemorated in pub names include Admiral [[Lord Nelson]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Lord Nelson |url=https://www.lordnelsonsouthwark.com/ |publisher=Lord Nelson, Southwark |access-date=18 April 2025}}</ref> [[Admiral Rodney]] at the Rodney Inn, Wisbech,<ref>{{cite book |title=Wisbech Inns, Taverns and Beer-Houses : Past and Present |last=Ketley |first=Andy |year=2023 |publisher=Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum |volume=5 |page=79}}</ref> [[Admiral Collingwood]] in several pubs in the North-East of England,<ref name="Churchard 2017"/> [[Earl of Warwick|Guy Earl of Warwick]], in [[Welling]], Dartford,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/53134/ |title=Guy Earl of Warwick |work=Pubs Galore}}</ref> dates from at least 1896.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://londonpublichouse.com/LondonSuburbs1896/Publicans1896SouthG.shtml |title=London (South) 1896 Suburban Publicans directory listing - G |work=londonpublichouse.com}}</ref>
=== Trades ===
[[File:The Blind Beggar - Whitechapel - E1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|The [[Blind Beggar]], [[Whitechapel]], London E1]]
Many pub names record long-forgotten professions.
{| class="wikitable" |+ Some pubs named for trades |- ! Pub !! Commemorated trade |- | [[The Blind Beggar]], [[Whitechapel]] || The story of [[Henry de Montfort]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eastlondonhistory.com/blind-beggar-of-bethnal-green/ |title=The Blind Beggar |publisher=eastlondonhistory.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624052748/http://eastlondonhistory.com/blind-beggar-of-bethnal-green/ |access-date=15 July 2012 |archive-date=24 June 2011}}</ref> |- | Chemic Tavern (formerly Chemical Tavern), [[Leeds]], West Yorkshire || Workers at the nearby Woodhouse Chemical Works, ({{circa|1840–1900}}); it was a beer house on the 1861 census when the licensee was James Lapish.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thechemictavern.co.uk |title=The Chemic Tavern - Cosy, historic real ale pub in the heart of Woodhouse. |website=The Chemic Tavern}}</ref> |- | Drum and Monkey, [[Glasgow]] || Showmen who travelled with a performing monkey whose tricks included beating a drum<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to The Drum and Monkey, an historic pub in Glasgow |url=https://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/restaurants/scotlandandnorthernireland/thedrumandmonkeystvincentstreetglasgow#/ |publisher=Nicholson's Pubs |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref> |- | Fen Plough, [[Chatteris]] || Arable farming<ref>{{cite web |title=Fen Plough |url=http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/cambridgeshire/chatteris_fenplough.html |website=www.closedpubs.co.uk |access-date=5 January 2021}}</ref> |- | Golden Fleece || The wool trade<ref name=TimeTravel1>{{cite web |url=http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/history/pubsigns1.shtml |last=Saunders |first=Elain |title=A History of Britain in Its Pub Signs |publisher=TimeTravel-Britain |year=2008 |access-date=9 September 2016}}</ref> |- | Jolly Nailor in [[Atherton, Greater Manchester]] || Nail manufacture, present in the area since the 14th century<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thejollynailor.com/ |title=節税ノウハウ～交際費などわかりやすい |work=thejollynailor.com |access-date=28 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721152652/http://thejollynailor.com/ |archive-date=21 July 2013 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> |- | The Light Horseman, [[York]] || Local cavalry<ref>{{cite web |url=https://victorianweb.org/victorian/places/cities/york/pubs2.html |website=The Victorian Web |title=Coaching houses and inns |accessdate=18 June 2022}}</ref> |- | Ram Skin, [[Spalding, Lincolnshire]]† || Local wool industry<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/lincolnshire/spalding_ramskin.html|title=Ram Skin, Spalding|website=www.closedpubs.co.uk}}</ref> |- | Rifle Volunteer, or Volunteers Arms || The army<ref>{{cite web |title=Rifle Volunteer |url=https://www.riflevolunteer.com |website=www.riflevolunteer.com |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref> |- | Spade and Becket, [[Chatteris]], † Isle of Ely || Peat digging<ref>{{cite web |url=https://chatteris.can.co.uk/content/catalogue_item/upp-in-arms-high-streert-chatteris |title=Spade and Becket |website=www.chatteris.can.co.uk |access-date=6 September 2020}}</ref> |- | Trowel and Hammer, [[Norwich]] || Local bricklayers<ref>{{cite web |title=Trowel and Hammer |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/trowel-and-hammer-in-norwich-not-closing-1507352 |website=www.edp24.co.uk |date=5 February 2020 |access-date=5 January 2021}}</ref> |- | Woodsman, Woodman's Cottage || Forestry<ref>{{cite web |title=Woodman's Cottage |url=http://www.woodmansgorefield.co.uk |website=www.woodmansgorefield.co.uk |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to The Woodsman |url=https://www.woodsman.pub/ |publisher=The Woodsman |access-date=21 April 2025}}</ref> |}
== Names with a purpose ==
=== Puns, jokes and corruptions ===
[[File:Cat and Fiddle public house - geograph.org.uk - 40707.jpg|thumb|One of the pubs called Cat and Fiddle, in [[Hinton Admiral]], Hampshire]]
Although [[pun]]s became increasingly popular through the 20th century, they should be considered with care. Supposed corruptions of foreign phrases can have simpler explanations. The Dolphin is anglicised from the French ''[[Dauphin of France|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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedolphinwellington.co.uk |title=The Dolphin - Wellington, Somerset |work=thedolphinwellington.co.uk}}</ref> Some names are simply humorous, like the Paraffin Oil Shop †, in eastern [[Liverpool]], named so that people could say that they were going to buy [[kerosene|paraffin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/lancashire/liverpool_l13_paraffinoilshop.html |title=Paraffin Oil Shop, Liverpool - another lost pub |website=www.closedpubs.co.uk}} [https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4099299,-2.9170457,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s1k-k5U11NpKA3tPjlBAhrg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en Google Earth view]</ref>
=== Curiosities ===
[[File:Drunken Duck from Black Crag - geograph.org.uk - 1184439.jpg|thumb|The Drunken Duck pub seen from Black Crag in the [[Lake District]]]]
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''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wolfe-Robinson |first1=Maya |title=Pub with longest name in UK reopens next to pub with shortest |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/16/pub-longest-name-uk-reopens-next-pub-shortest-stalybridge-rifleman-q |access-date=5 September 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=16 June 2019}}</ref> The longest name of a London pub, ''[[I am the Only Running Footman]]'',<ref>{{cite web |title=I am the Only Running Footman |url=https://www.diffordsguide.com/pubs-and-bars/1588/london/the-only-running-footman-pub |website=Difford's Guide |access-date=5 September 2020}}</ref> was used as the title of a [[mystery novel]] by [[Martha Grimes]].<ref name="Grimes 1987">{{cite book | last=Grimes | first=Martha | title=I am the only running footman | publisher=Headline | location=London | year=1987 | isbn=978-0-7472-3103-5 | oclc=32016323 | page=Title page}}</ref> There is a "pub with no name" in Southover Street, [[Brighton]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Brighton's best pubs revealed |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/2286055.brightons-best-pubs-revealed/ |access-date=22 September 2025 |newspaper=[[The Argus (Brighton)|The Argus]] |date=21 May 2008 |quote=Southover Street's The Pub With No Name is definitely a fine establishment, well loved by locals and spacious.}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.whitehorsepetersfield.co.uk/ |title=The White Horse - Home |website=www.whitehorsepetersfield.co.uk}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Marshman |first=Mike |title=Sarah Purse becomes Sally Pussey |url=https://wshc.org.uk/sarah-purse-becomes-sally-pussey/ |publisher=Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre |date=25 February 2014}}</ref> The Defector's Weld, [[Shepherd's Bush]] is apparently named for the coming together of the [[Cambridge Five]] spies during the [[Cold War]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Defector's Weld, Shepherds Bush |url=https://camra.org.uk/pubs/defectors-weld-shepherds-bush-128695 |publisher=CAMRA |access-date=19 April 2025}}</ref>
The [[Lake District]] pub the Drunken Duck is supposedly named for a 19th-century event, when a landlady found her ducks apparently dead. After she had plucked them in preparation for cooking them, they awoke, recovering from eating some beer-soaked feed. She is said to have knitted woollen waistcoats for them to replace their feathers.<ref name="Churchard 2017"/>
=== Pairing and branding ===
[[File:Slug & Lettuce, St Mary Street, Cardiff.jpg|thumb|One of the [[Slug and Lettuce]] chain of pubs, in [[Cardiff]] ]]
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 (1711)|The Spectator]]'' echoed this complaint, deriding such contemporary paired names as 'Bell and [[Cattle|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.<ref name="Simpson 2010">{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Jacqueline |author-link=Jacqueline Simpson |title=Green Men and White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names |publisher=[[Random House]] |isbn=978-1-84794-515-0 |year=2010 |pages=}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Moon under Water |url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com |website=www.jdwetherspoon.com |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Century inns |url=https://dev.qynn.co.uk/company/02638211/century-inns-limited |website=www.dev.gynn.co.uk |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref> Paired names intended to be amusing like the [[Slug and Lettuce]] pub chain (all with the same name),<ref name="Simpson 2010"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Feel Good at Slug and Lettuce |url=https://www.stonegategroup.co.uk/press/feel-good-at-slug-and-lettuce/ |publisher=Stonegate Group |access-date=19 April 2025}}</ref> and the [[Firkin Brewery]]'s chain with names like 'Frog and Firkin' in the late 20th century (discontinued when it was taken over by [[Punch Taverns]]), was responsible for many more pub names.<ref>{{cite news |last=Murray-West |first=Rosie |title=Firkin chain to go as Punch Taverns looks to future |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/4463723/Firkin-chain-to-go-as-Punch-Taverns-looks-to-future.html |accessdate=1 July 2016 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=1 September 2000}}</ref>
== Most common ==
{{see also|List of pubs in the United Kingdom}}
<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=200 heights=200 caption="Some of the most common pub names"> File:Red Lion public house.jpg|Red Lion, [[Avebury]], Wiltshire File:The Royal Oak (2) - sign, 15 Trinity Churchyard - geograph.org.uk - 2100861.jpg|Royal Oak, [[Guildford]], Surrey File:SwanInn.jpg|Swan, [[Stroud]], Gloucestershire File:Crown Hotel, Nantwich (1).JPG|Crown, [[Nantwich]], Cheshire </gallery>
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]], so lists of this form tend to vary hugely. Major surveys include those by the [[British Beer and Pub Association]] (BBPA),<ref name="BBPA common names"/> the [[Campaign for Real Ale]] (CAMRA),<ref name="Camra common names"/> and Pubs Galore.<ref name="Pubs Galore">{{cite web |url=http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/stats/pubs/pub-names/#Most |title=Common pub names on Pubs Galore |website=www.pubsgalore.co.uk}}</ref> In addition, many pubs have closed. In 2008, there were some 50,000 pubs in Britain; by 2018 there were about 39,000.<ref name="ONS Census 2021">{{cite web |title=Economies of ale: small pubs close as chains focus on big bars |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/articles/economiesofalesmallpubscloseaschainsfocusonbigbars/2018-11-26 |website=Census 2021 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=30 January 2025 |date=26 November 2018}}</ref>
{| |+'''Most common pub names according to different sources'''
|valign=top| ; BBPA, 2007<ref name="BBPA common names">{{cite web |url=http://www.beerandpub.com/pub_facts.aspx |title=British Beer and Pub Association Fact Sheet, 2007 |publisher=BBPA |access-date=31 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408222543/http://www.beerandpub.com/pub_facts.aspx |archive-date=8 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> #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)
|valign=top| ; CAMRA, 2007<ref name="Camra common names">{{cite web |url=http://www.solihullcamra.org.uk/features_archive.htm |title=Article at Solihull CAMRA site, 2007 |publisher=CAMRA |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301171337/http://www.solihullcamra.org.uk/features_archive.htm |archive-date=1 March 2012}}</ref> #Crown (704) #Red Lion (668) #Royal Oak (541) #Swan (451) #White Hart (431) #Railway (420) #Plough (413) #White Horse (379) #Bell (378)<ref>In 2008 it was claimed that the total number of names incorporating the word 'Bell' totalled 412.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.horfieldringers.org/bell_anthology.htm#Pub |title=Horfield Ringers - Bell Anthology |work=horfieldringers.org |access-date=2 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918023140/http://horfieldringers.org/bell_anthology.htm#Pub |archive-date=18 September 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> #New Inn (372)
|valign=top| ;Pubs Galore, 2019<ref name="Pubs Galore"/> #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]]
== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
=== 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}} * [[Leslie Dunkling|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]]. * {{cite book |last=Delderfield |first=Eric R. |year=1965 |title=British Inn Signs and Their Stories |location=London |publisher=David & Charles |ref=none}} * 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 ==
{{commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.innsignsociety.com The Inn Sign Society] * [http://www.breweryartists.co.uk Brewery Arts], a short history of studio inn signs
[[Category:Pubs|Names in Great Britain]] [[Category:Names]]