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Pub Names
From: InnSpire - Issue 21 – October 1999
The pub is an important part of British
social heritage and many pub names reflect this. It is an unfortunate trend
of the 1990s to scrap the name that has served the pub well over the
centuries and re-name it with something more ‘modern’. If pub names and
signs were listed, in the same way that buildings are, then the modern-day
marketing vandals could be prevented from changing them without planning
permission.
The most popular names nationally, in order,
are believed to be Red Lion, Crown and Royal Oak, each of which have over
500 pubs bearing the name.
Detailed here are the origins of five of the
most common pub names in this area (based on entries in the Yellow Pages for
Chesterfield and Mansfield). Anyone interested in such matters should
consider joining the Inn Sign Society, which aims to make people more aware
of the historical importance of many pub signs and names. Details can be
obtained from: The Secretary, The Inn Sign Society, 9 Denmead Drive,
Wenesfield, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV11 2QS. The annual subscription
is good value at £10 and includes a quarterly newsletter.
WHITE HART
As with a number of pub names, there is a royal link here, as it refers
to the shield badge of King Richard II, a tyrant king who ruled 1377-99. The
use of his shield by innkeepers was to show allegiance to him. It also had
the advantage of being a distinctive sign in times, when few people could
read, and the hart, or male deer, was a common sight. Later use of the name
is simply a recognition that it had become a well-known name for a pub,
rather than being a direct reference to King Richard.
RED LION
Named after the badge of John of Gaunt (1340-99), adopted when he styled
himself ‘King of Castile and Leon’, and the most powerful man in England at
that time. A second source of this name is a heraldic reference to Scotland.
The red lion on a gold background was the original arms of the Kings of
Scotland and was used on shields, flags and other such artefacts of war.
When James I ascended the English throne in 1603 (an early example of
multi-tasking for he was also James VI of Scotland), he symbolised the
“greater union” arising from his crowning by combining the badges of his two
realms and the red lion took its place on the arms of the English King.
GATE
The generally accepted explanation is that the pub was situated near a
tollgate, church gate or town gate. However in agricultural areas, the name
may also be a more general reference to one of the most common pieces of
farming furniture - the five-bar gate. Such gates are often depicted on the
pub sign together with the verse: ‘This gate hangs well and hinders none,
refresh and pay and travel on’, an example of which can be found at The Gate
Inn at Troway, near Eckington. The Gate Inn at Overgreen, Cutthorpe takes
its name from White Gate Farm which is situated nearby.
ROYAL OAK
A reference to the Boscobel Oak, near Shifnel, Salop in which the then
Prince Charles hid, to escape after his army had been defeated at the battle
of Worcester in 1651. After the restoration of the monarchy, Prince Charles
became Charles II and declared that 29 May (his birthday) should be
celebrated as ‘Royal Oak Day’ to give thanks for his escape. The fact that
the tale was well-known and could easily be depicted on a sign by showing
the king in the tree, made it a popular choice of name in the 17th century,
and many of the names remain today.
DEVONSHIRE ARMS
Whilst there is a definite local theme to this name, it is also common
in London, Devon and Yorkshire. The Dukes of Devonshire have been part of
the aristocracy, and large landowners, for many centuries. Given their
position of influence it would be natural to name inns after them. Indeed
the Devonshire Arms at Beeley, close to the Chatsworth Estate, is actually
owned by the Duke.
Jim McIntosh
This webpage was last updated on
Sunday, 02 September 2007
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