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Royal Pub Names in North
East Derbyshire Bless ‘em all! Our various Royal families over the centuries have inspired more names and images for pub signs than any other family, quite willingly allowing themselves to adorn signs up and down the country. It’s just a shame that so many were, how can I put it, ‘physically unappealing’. So why exactly are so many pub names inspired by the monarchy? It can’t exactly be as a reward for their outstanding support for our alehouses/inns/pubs over the last 1000 or so years. Ever since the middle ages, monarchs have taxed our ale and inns to support the endless crusades and wars that seemed to be an annual necessity (must have been in the Royal job description).
((Left) Crown & Cushion, Low Pavement, Chesterfield. Photograph taken at the time of re-opening after rebuilding, c.1930. The licensee, James Walter Furness (stood in the doorway) was at the Crown & Cushion from 1925 to 1940. Three of the four men standing in front of the car are (from L to R): No.1 Freddie Gilthorpe from Whittington Moor. No. 2 Charles Marshall (nephew of Walter Furness), later was licensee of the Red Lion, Vicar Lane. No.4 Frank Ellis, said to have been the licensee of the Royal Oak in the Shambles at some time. Photograph courtesy of Chesterfield Library Local Studies. Before leaving the general names, you can still find the Royal Hotel in Eckington. Turning to positions and starting at the very top of a Royal Family, there is the Kings Head at Bonsall. This pub can be dated back to 1649, a particularly bad year for kings’ heads as King Charles I lost his. The current premises were built in 1677 and the signboard shows Charles I, head intact. The Queens Head, as found in Chesterfield and Clay Cross, is a reference to Mary Queen of Scots. Incidentally Mary is thought to have stayed at the Angel Hotel in Chesterfield (destroyed by fire in 1917) during her captivity. Use of the sign Queens Arms, examples are found at Bakewell and Taddington, would have reflected the original licensee’s support for a reigning monarch. The Taddington pub was previously known as the Miner’s Arms until the name was changed to mark the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. Moving on to the ‘other’ Royal titles, there are a number of pubs in the area called the Prince of Wales, for example, at Brampton, Eckington, Baslow, Barlborough (Low Common) and Brimington. As a general rule, these pubs opened in the 1860s and were named after the hugely popular Edward, Prince of Wales. He eventually became Edward VII in 1901 on the death of Queen Victoria and reigned until his own death in 1910. It is said that he was blessed with great charm, good nature and social tact, qualities that were not passed down to all of the later generations. The title of Duke of York, as found at Elton and Eckington, has existed since 1385 although the most famous holder, the ‘Grand Old Duke of York’, was Frederick Augustus (second son of George III, who lived 1763-1827). He commanded the English army in Flanders (in Belgium) during 1794-5 (not particularly successfully) and of course the one thing that Belgium is definitely short of is…hills. But why spoil a good song? Let us turn now to pubs named after individual monarchs. There are still a number of examples of the George Inn in this area. Those at Eckington and Marsh Lane (which closed in late 2002) were both named after George IV who reigned 1820-30 and was depicted on both signboards. Other examples at Youlgreave and Tideswell are older pubs and more likely to have opened during the reign of an earlier King George. Although she ruled for 50 or more years, Queen Victoria has not inspired a large number of pub names. However, as a 13-year old princess she did stay at Matlock Bath and the Princess Victoria there is so named to commemorate this fact. She also gave her name to the Victoria Inn (examples at Brampton, Whittington Moor and Staveley) whilst her consort lent his name to the Albert Inn at Woodthorpe. Another pub named after a particular monarch is the Queen Anne at Great Hucklow. Anne was the last monarch from the House of Stuart and reigned 1702-14. During that time a key event in history occurred, an event that was to have a massive influence on the package holiday industry – Minorca fell into British hands (and they probably erected the first ‘authentic British pub’ to celebrate?). There is just sufficient space to mention a
pub that was given a royal name, but never subsequently built. In March 1939
Gilmours Brewery submitted an application to build a new pub at Tinkersick
(this area, situated at Brimington near the crematorium, is no longer marked
on maps). The proposed name, Ordinary Fellow, was inspired by a comment
attributed to King George V, made during a parade through cheering crowds to
celebrate his Silver Jubilee in 1935, that he was “just an ordinary fellow”. For those interested in the origins of pub names, the Inn Sign Society aims to make people more aware of the amazing picture gallery we take for granted on our streets and hopes to encourage people to delve into the history behind the names. A colour A4 journal (‘At the Sign of ’) is sent to members four time’s a year. Membership is £15 per annum (£20 overseas). Enquiries to Carol Rose, 9 Denmead Drive, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV11 2QS. Jim McIntosh Pub Signs - The Peacock
There have been at least nine pubs called the Peacock locally. The Peacock at Rowsley was built in 1662 as a dower house (part of the widow’s share of her husband’s estate) for the Duke of Rutland. The Duke’s actual seat, Haddon Hall, is close by. By the 1820s the building’s use had changed to an inn. The Peacock at Cutthorpe is another pub that dates back to the 19th Century. The sign shown opposite is from this ex-Brampton Brewery pub. Nearby is the former Peacock Inn at Barlow. This ex-Chesterfield Brewery pub was the only one in the village in 1828 when the landlord was William Haslam. In the 19th century the Lord of the Manor for Barlow was the Duke of Rutland. The pub changed its name to the ‘Old Pump’ in 2002, inspired by the fact that the pub stands over the pump for the original well which supplied Barlow with fresh water for many a year. Finally the Peacock at Bridge Street, Bakewell was opened
in 1819 to overcome a shortage of rooms in the town for travellers, the
inn’s stables are now bedrooms. Jim McIntosh
This webpage was last updated on Sunday, 02 September 2007 |
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The
answer is basically that their images have always been very recognisable,
quite a consideration when the majority of the population could neither read
nor write (rumoured to still be the case in parts of Sunderland). Before
considering local names based on Royal positions
The
Peacock is a name that, although not exclusive to Derbyshire, is frequently
encountered in the North Eastern part of the County. The origin as a pub
name comes from the family badge of the Manners family, whose head was the
Duke of Rutland. The name is often, although not exclusively, found in the
areas where the Duke owned land and was Lord of the Manor. Using the Duke’s
name (e.g. Rutland Arms, or an item from the family’s badge e.g. a Peacock)
could be either an acknowledgement of the Duke’s power and influence, or
that the Duke could indeed have owned the inn.