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Down at The Old Bull & Bush
It’s a British convention in giving the traveller
directions to use the pubs. Straight on past the Kings
Head, turn left at the The Green Man and it’s opposite
The Swan. In 1393 King Richard II decreed that all
alehouses must post a sign to enable the ale tasters to
find them. As a result of this incredibly long history
a pub sign can offer historical clues to the past and if
you learn to read the signs you can have endless fun
on long coach journeys.
The Romans brought to Britain the first pubs known
as tabernae and from earliest times it was practice to
use as a sign a vine bush to indicate that wine was
sold on the premises, hence the proverb
good wine
needs no bush
, that is to say if something is good it’s
quality will speak for itself and needs no sign. The
Romans also used the chequer board to advertise the
sale of alcohol - several chequer board signs were
found in the ruins of Pompeii. Arriving on these very
un-Mediterranean shores the Romans had to impro-
vise with whatever evergreen bush was available lo-
cally, hence The Holly Bush and indeed any pub with
bush in its name.
Before painted signs became common landlords
might just dangle an object outside their premises –
a copper kettle say or a bent tree branch known as
a crooked billet. By the 12
th
century pilgrimages had
become very popular and although it had been the
duty of religious houses to offer travelling pilgrims
bed and board as numbers increased this just wasn’t
always possible so pubs opened along established
pilgrimage routes and often they took religious names
to imply a monastic connection whether real or
imagined. With a largely illiterate population pictures
spoke a thousand words and pubs with saints names,
or angels or for example Noah’s Ark became popular
as publicans could copy the pictures from the stained
glass and wall paintings in local churches.
The elements of heraldic arms give rise to many pub
names from black and white horses, griffins, bears
and harts to red lions and green dragons. Names
starting with three often refer to livery companies as
in Three Compasses for carpenters, Cups for salters,
horseshoes for farriers, tuns for brewers and
wheatsheafs for bakers. Such pubs went on to become
unofficial employment exchanges visited by men
seeking work and customers seeking craftsmen and
tradesmen and some landlords even went as far as
offering loans to new craftsmen to buy their loyalty.