Dog daze

Sometimes a pub name and its associated sign can be confusing, a case in point for me was a pub that has since been renamed but was originally called The Talbot. The Talbot had a white dog on its sign, I didnt think too much about it at the time, it was some years ago and I was more concerned with the beer in the pub than the name.

A few years later I was reading a play and came across a John Talbot who was the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and and English officer in the 100 years war serving both Henry IV and Henry V with some distinction before going on to serve under the Child king Henry VI. Towards the end of his career he came up against French forces under the leadership of Joan of Arcand suffered a series of defeats but such was his regard amongst the French that after the battle of Castillon the Victorious French generals raised a monument to Talbot.

Such a character is worthy of having a pub named after him and it seems that a number of “Talbot’s” did appear after this period dedicated to this man but it didn’t explain the dog on the sign I had seen, what did explain it though is the Talbot crest which shows a white hound. Eureka!

It turns out that there actually was a breed of dog called the Talbot which existed in the middle ages but became extinct some time ago, it was a white dog and and a type of hound that died out several hundred years ago. Its origin is unclear but it is mentioned by Chaucer and there are suggestions that the breed was introduced to this country by William the Conquerer although this is disputed.

I have since found out that another popular pub name is The Talbot Arms, which would clearly be a reference to the Talbot family and John Talbot.

I just checked available pubs for lease to see if there is currently a Talbot available but no joy although there is a Hope and Anchor, another name that stirs the memory for me.

A very small surprise

About 7 or 8 years ago I travelled to Suffolk to spend a weekend with friends in Bury St Edmunds. My friends had only recently moved to the town and had been busy getting the house in order so had not really had a chance to explore. The saturday evening we decided to go out for a meal and to visit a few of the pubs in the town centre. My friend worked at the local NHS hospital and had been told that wherever else we went that evening we must be sure to visit a particular pub.

When I arrived a little later than expected thanks to the traffic on the A14 I was hoping for a nice cup of tea but within minutes we were in a Taxi heading for the centre of town, on the way my friend explained that we had to visit a certain pub but she could not explain why other than to say it had been recommended and that it was “different”. I wondered what this meant, was there some sort of wierd live show, something about the architecture perhaps? I was certainly intrigued.

Getting out of the taxi in the centre of town the driver pointed across the square as the direction we should take and off we went. As the pub came into view it didn’t look particularly special, although the frontage looked rather narrow it was a corner building so presumably went back a bit. As we got closer it became clear just how small the frontage was, intrigued we opened the door and stepped inside and were immediately in front of the bar which started perhaps 3 feet or so from the door, there were about 8 or 9 patrons in the pub and with the entry of our group of three the place was pretty much packed out. we had arrived at “The Nutshell” which according to the poster was “The smallest pub in Britain”

This title is disputed by a few other contenders but apparently they have outside seating for punters where the Nutshell has none, only the inside area. We stayed for a couple of drinks and then moved on for a meal at a nearby restaurant and the rest of the evening is now a bit of a blur but I will always remember my weekend trip to Bury St Edmunds and visit to the Nutshell. If you ever visit the town make sure you visit the smallest pub in britain.

Now I am keeping my eye out for a pub to lease myself but I think I would like something with a bit more room and certainly more space behind the counter!