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Pub Names Derbyshire pubs are blessed with some unusual and unique names and we turn our attention to a few of these in this article. BLUE STOOPS: ‘Stoops’ or ‘stoups’ was local dialect for ‘posts’. Prior to the introduction of house numbering in the 18th century, pillars or posts supporting a porch were painted distinctive colours as an easy means of identifying the house or property. In a similar manner, adopting Blue Stoops/Posts as a pub sign was simply a way of identifying it as ‘the building with blue posts’. Examples of pubs with this name are found in both Chesterfield and Dronfield. Both pubs were actually originally known as the ‘Blue Posts’. DERBY TUP: Derived from the popular ballad “The Derby Ram”. The ram was the badge/emblem of the wool trade. The ballad of the Derby Ram was also the basis for a mumming play - The Derby Tup - which was popular in North East Derbyshire pubs (but not often seen today). This inspired the re-naming of the Derby Tup at Whittington Moor in 1983. The Tup was previously known as the ‘Brunswick Hotel’ - an etched window bearing this fact still remains. PIG OF LEAD: A name inspired by the local lead mining industry, ‘Pig’ being a term for an oblong mass of unpurified metal, obtained in the smelting process. A pub with this name in Bonsall closed in 1995. QUIET WOMAN: Whilst not unique to Derbyshire, this relatively rare sign is found at both Bolsover and Earl Sterndale. It is a variation on the more common sign of the ‘Good Woman’. Originally it was probably intended as a historical reference to female saints who had suffered decapitation and also to two wives of Henrys VIII who paid the ultimate price for matrimonial fallout with the King. However this sign has a further meaning which will delight male chauvinists. One licensee in Yorkshire added a rhyme to his sign, just in case anyone was uncertain of the intended pun: ‘Here is a woman who has lost her head, She’s quiet now - you see she’s dead’ The sign at Earl Sterndale depicts a headless woman and the motto ‘soft words turneth away wrath’ which has given rise to some entertaining, if unlikely, local legends explaining its origin and we will leave it there. No doubt the use of the name reflected the male view that women talk too much (surely not?), and that the pub was seen as a shelter away from verbose wives/sisters/mothers. The latter may still hold true today. Jim McIntosh
This webpage was last updated on Sunday, 07 October 2007 |
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