Talk:Pub names

Comments

This article is still very partial. I am also convinced that there must be a better format for this material. --TheoClarke 03:24, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)

It's a start. Three other popular names (off the top of my head) that you may want to add to the list are The Plume of Feathers, The Checkers and the Horns. David D. 20:46, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

Duly added. --Theo (Talk) 23:20, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

Oh, The Eagle (or Spread Eagle), The Eagle and Child, The Swan (or White Swan), The Saracen's Head (or Turk's Head), The Green Dragon, The White Lion, The Black Horse, The Nag's Head, The Coach and Horses, The Hare and Hounds, The Horseshoes (often Three Horseshoes), The Horse and Groom, The Waggon and Horses, The Plough, The Bell (or <something> Bells), The New Inn, The Ship, The Pineapple, The Rising Sun, The Star (or Seven Stars), The Anchor (often Blue Anchor), The Peacock, The Bull (often Black Bull), The Green Man, The Crossed Keys, The Blacksmith's Arms (or some other specific person's arms), The Railway Tavern, The Lincolnshire Poacher, The Cat and Fiddle, The Bear and Ragged Staff, The Pig and Whistle, The Fawcett Inn, The Grapes, The Golden Lion, The Blue Boar, The Dog and Duck, The Cock, The Lamb And Flag, Dukes (Duke of Wellington, Duke of York), The Angel, The Greyhound, The Globe, The Travellers' Rest, The Hole in the Wall.

Chains: The Rat and Parrot, The Slug and Lettuce, The ... and Firkin, All Bar One.

plus more or less famous old pubs: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, The Cittie of Yorke, The George, London; Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, The Salutation Inn, Nottingham; Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, St Albans; The Old Ferry Boat, Holywell, Cambridgeshire; The Skirrid Mountain Inn, Llanfihangel Crocorney, near Abergavenny; The Clachan Inn, Loch Lomond; The Bingley Arms, Bardsey, Leeds; The Eagle and Child, Stow-on-the-Wold; The Man and Scythe, Bolton. Need I go on?

Links - [1], [2], [3], [4][5], [6], [7]

I need a drink. -- ALoan (Talk) 29 June 2005 19:08 (UTC)

The Chequers

I'm not sure the origin of the name The Chequers is correct, although many pubs so named do tend to have pub signs based on heraldry or chess boards. A less well known, though more likely origin for the name is in relation to the Wild Service Tree or Chequers Tree (Sorbus torminalis). The fruit of the Wild Service Tree, which are also called chequers, were used as a flavouring for beer before the introduction of hops. See for example the description at the bottom of this page]. -- Solipsist 13:21, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Additions and alterations

The Canterbury Tales is not a novel. Its a poem or a series of tales told in verse. It also begins in a pub - The Tabard in Southwark. (Johnny Mac L25 - The Woolton Literati)

I am adding and rewriting many of the derivations of pub names so I better introduce myself. I am Mark Andrew Pardoe (pica pica) and I have researched and lectured on the derivation and history of pub names over the last ten years. I thank those who have gone ahead and hope they will not be angered by my work. Of course I am willing to enter into any discussion and correspondence concerning pub names; in fact I will be greatly interested in what others have to say.

Cheers, Mark

I have just done a little bit of tidying and POV removal. Nothing major. I like the way this article is starting to develop. I've also added the origin of the Swan With Two Necks as a pub name. Hope that meets with everyone's approval. Duncshine 12:26, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

Whatho Duncshine, Thanks for your help. It's probably a good idea to keep my sence of humour under control! Mark --Pica pica 22:50, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Ha ha, no worries. I'm the same, have to force myself not to add facetious comments. I keep meaning to sit down and go through this article, adding some more relevant pub names and filling in more detail on others. Just a question of finding the time. Keep up the good work! Duncshine 08:16, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Whatho Dunshine, You've got me again with the Robin Hood. I can't get anything past you! --Pica pica 18:34, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

And it makes me seem like such a miserable swine! Keep up the good work, though, please! BTW: Looking at this article, I think it needs a bit of an overhaul. The category headings seem a bit higgledy-piggledy to me. What do you think? Duncshine 09:36, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

heraldic badges

The entry Horns, connecting that sign to the white hart of Richard II, implies that antlers are meant, which is surprising. If it means the kind of horns that hunters blow, what has the hart to do with it? —Tamfang 08:08, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

The royal arms of Scotland featured a red lion long before Robert II, the first Stewart king, so it's misleading to call it a Stuart symbol. (The Stewart coat of arms is Or, a fess chequy azure and argent.) And what does that mean, anyway, "James I decreed that the Red Lion be displayed throughout the kingdom"? That it was now an element of the royal arms of England, or something else? —08:08, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

puns questioned

The suggestion that the names Dew Drop Inn or Hop Inn are puns seems to me to be totally erroneous. The Drop of Dew (also a pub name) is a traditional way of referring to alcoholic drinks, especially spirits (mountain dew, collecting the dew from the barmaid's apron), while the importance of hops in the brewing process hardly justifies the less obvious interpretation of it as a pun. The appeal of pub names to those who like to offer 'explanations' is very great. Elephant and Castle is emphatically not a corruption of Infanta de Castille, and there is no reason to suppose the Goat and Compasses is a corruption of God Encompasseth Us. As always, areas of uncertainty attract those who like to stamp authority, no matter how baselessly.(Tomwootton (talk) 08:13, 12 March 2008 (UTC))

(Please add new sections at the bottom, using the '+' button.) On the other hand, it would be going too far to say that the pun value was never a consideration in adopting a name such as Dew Drop Inn. —Tamfang (talk) 17:28, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Moved from Public house#Names

Some of this could be merged into the article where appropriate. SilkTork *^YES! 23:32, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Here is a list of categories:

• relating to its location: The Three Arrows, The Cross, The Railway, The Church
• reflecting local trades or related to the pub's clientele: The Mason's Arms, The Foresters, The Square and Compass
• ironic descriptions of the pub itself: the smallest pub in Britain is called The Nutshell
• local sporting activities: The Cricketers, The Fox and Hounds, The Fighting Cocks
• a noted individual: The Marquis of Granby (see below), The Earl of Derby, The Emma Hamilton
• an historic event: The Trafalgar, The Royal Oak
• often incorporating the word 'Head'; The King's Head, The Queen's Head, The Sultan's Head
• alluding amusingly to everyday phrases: The Nowhere Inn Particular (now closed, see picture), The Dewdrop Inn, The Drift Inn (known locally as the "stagger oot"), Down The Hatch, The Occasional Half
• with a royal or aristocratic association: The Royal Standard, The King's Arms, The King's Head, The Queen Victoria, The Duke of Cambridge, The Anglesea Arms
• with the names of two objects that may or may not be complementary: The George and Dragon, The Goat and Compasses (humorous corruption of the puritan phrase "God encompass" of the 1600s in England), The Rose and Crown, The Dog and Handgun, The Elephant and Castle, The Crow and Gate, The Rummer and Grapes.
• The surname of its landlord, particularly in Ireland: O'Neill's, Tí hAnraí (Henry's house).
• with names of tools or products of trades: The Harrow, The Propeller,The Plow, The Wheatsheaf
• with names of items, particularly animals, that may be part of a coat of arms (heraldic charges): The Red Lion, The Unicorn, The White Bear.
• with reference to history of the local area, for example The Strugglers in Lincoln refers to how people being publicly executed by hanging would struggle for air. Ironically the famous executioner Albert Pierrepoint was landlord of the Help the Poor Struggler at Hollinwood, near Oldham, for several years after World War II, and had to hang one of his own regulars, James Corbitt. Also Ye olde Trip to Jerusalem, (Nottingham, 1189), refers to its role as a resting place for the knights of King Richard I on their way to the Third Crusade.

Pub Task Force

Anyone interesting in working for a while on improving the pub articles? Sorting out the stubs. Organising the categories. Creating a Pub InfoBox. Drawing up some kind of notability guideline, and checking that pub articles are meeting the guidelines. Drawing up a Style guideline. Working on the editing of the main articles - Public house,List of public houses in the United Kingdom, Bar (establishment), etc. Considering how to integrate all the drinking establishments around the globe. Perhaps create a new parent article: Drinking establishment. I've started working on the pub articles, but I would really like to work with other people to bounce ideas and keep within consensus. Check in at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Beer#Pub_Task_Force, or respond here or drop a message on my talkpage. Cheers! SilkTork *^YES! 23:32, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Platform 13

Is a hotel bar opposite Birmingham New Street Station, which has its platforms numbered 1-12. Since it's not a pub strictly speaking I haven't put it in the article.