Pubs remain a prominent feature of the rural and urban landscapes of Britain, but their names very often date back to medieval times. Red lions, white horses, and colourful characters peer from pub signs as landlords choose names to represent local history, legends, landmarks, national figures, or simply imply their drinking establishment has a long and prestigious heritage.
This article presents the meaning behind some of the most common pub names seen across Britain from Penzance to the Hebrides. According to The Wordsworth Dictionary of Pub Names, there were over 50,000 pubs in Britain at the beginning of the 21st century. The same source identifies the top 20 pub names. Red Lion, Crown, and Royal Oak are the top three, then (in alphabetical order) Anchor, Angel, Bell, Bull, Coach & Horses, George, George & Dragon, King's Head, Nelson, New Inn, Plough, Railway, Rose & Crown, Swan, Duke of Wellington, White Hart, and White Horse (269). As the appeal of pubs and inns has widened to other countries, many of the traditional British pub names can be seen today around the world from New York to Melbourne.
The pub names below have been selected because they are especially common, their meaning is obscure, or the history behind them is of particular interest. Self-explanatory but, nevertheless, very common names such as Hop & Grape, Jolly Sailors, or Duke of Marlborough are omitted for want of space. As shall be seen, many variations of a name are possible, even in broad meaning, but a local would always have known the precise significance of their pub's name since, from the late Middle Ages until the mid-19th century, when most of the population was illiterate, it was the pub's sign which gave the establishment its name (and not vice-versa, as is usually the case today). Pub signs, which were made obligatory by a 1393 law, can take the form of a painting, a representation in wrought iron, a three-dimensional model, or even a weather-worn example of the object itself. #Britain #Inn #Pub #History #WHE