Pub names tell history of England
It’s ironic. Once nearly nonexistent, the proliferation of the so-called “pub” in the U.S. seems to be inversely correlated with the decline of English pubs in Britain.
Numbering around 69,000 in 1980, those lovely old pubs in England now hover around 52,000 and declining. At the end of last year, 27 more pubs closed each week. Beer tax was reduced a couple of years ago, but higher rents and competition with supermarkets — which now outnumber pubs — have been blamed.
We Americans may be falling in love with pubs, but we still don’t quite get it. American bars and even attempts at British-style pubs here still tend to be loud, boisterous places. In England and Ireland, typical pubs are more family style, relaxed, and often have no piped music at all. Rather quiet, in fact. Good food, diverse menus. A nice fire. Kiddies, teetotaling grandma, and loners absorbed in a book are just as comfortable in the traditional British pub as beer-guzzling college kids (U.K. drinking age is 18). While the law requiring England’s pubs to close at 11 p.m. changed in 2003, it’s still hard to get a drink much later than that. Publicans want to go home.
From what I can gather from travel, journals, and English family and friends, Brits see pubs more like Americans do coffee shops, rather than bars. At least in terms of purpose: relationships, relaxation, friends. Drinking generally secondary.
Their losses affect history as much as business. British public houses have a long tradition, beginning simply as inns for weary travelers before evolving to the modern pub concept. Many still in business date back centuries at the same site, as early as the 1500s. The concept — like so many other things in Western culture — has ancient Rome to thank. Romans, who settled and named Londonium in 43-47 C.E., frequented wine bars with hanging vines outside to beckon drinkers.
Fun fact: Wine grapes don’t grow well in England, so early pubs hung bushes instead — the first pub signs.
On those signs are so many funny, and often very old, names — The Flying Bull, the Drunken Duck, The Slurping Toad.
Some are dark, such as the The Hung, Drawn, and Quartered we saw across the street from the Tower of London. Others are religious: The Ship (as in ark) and The Anchor (of faith). Many are loyal to kings and the peerage: The King’s Head, The Crown, The Duke of (Cornwall, Sussex, Kent), or tributes such as Lord Nelson, Wellington, and Dickens. For a different sort of leader there are nine English pubs called Robin Hood and Little John, with a few more Little Johns and Robin Hoods.
Then there are the sports, especially — um, roosters: Hunting and bear baiting were a common theme, such as The Dog & Duck, Bear & Ragged Staff, Fox & Hounds; the once-popular cockfighting brought signs for the Cock Inn, Ye Old Fighting Cocks, The Cock and Bull. Note, The Cock and Bottle is a different kind; that cock is a draught pull.
Other centuries-old pubs of the giggle variety with innocent meanings: Dirty Dicks (Richard, Est. 1745), and The Black Bitch in Scotland (yes, a real dog in 1679).
Some are entire sentences: The Case is Altered and The Gate Hangs Well. Trades are another old theme, such as The Golden Fleece, The Coopers, or the Masons Arms.
Some names don’t just sound funny, but have funny origins. Legend has it The Flying Monk in Malmesbury was named for an 11th century monk who claimed his faith was so strong it would help him fly. Sadly, he tried to prove it from the top of an abbey. Also sadly, the once-popular Flying Monk pub was permanently closed to make way for a supermarket.
Pub names often have stories, which blended together form a sort of history of England. Discovering them could be as much fun as a pub crawl.
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Sholeh Patrick is a quiet columnist for the Hagadone News Network who prefers a quiet English pub to an American bar.