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.

Whats in a name 2

Continuing in my search for a pub to lease I came across one called The Black Bull. That is a pretty straight forward name that you see quite often across England in various forms along with Cows. I have also seen that The Bull could have been used as a name that signalled Catholic sympathies during the reformation although that seems unlikely to me as its a bit obvious (papal Bull). Its much more likely that the name was based on a renowned animal to be found locally, Black Bull, Spotted Cow etc. its also possible that names including Bull where indications of Bull baiting which was popular as a sport in parts of england through to the 17th century.

There is also a pub called The Old Bull and Bush in north london near Hampstead Heath and It turns out that this is the very pub mentioned in the old music hall song, This pub had a large garden and was a popular trip our from central london. An underground station on the Northern line was partially build near the pub that was to be named Bull and Bush or North End between Hampstead and Golders Green, it would have been the Highest station on the underground resulting in the deepest depth between station and the actual track but it was never completed because of planning complications, there is an interesting article about this station on the Underground History web site http://underground-history.co.uk/bullbush.php

While we are talking about Black animal names we should look at The Black Horse. There are a number of theories about the origin of this pub name but the ones that seem are most interesting are that the Black horse was associated with the Earl of Warwick during the wars of the roses and that pubs named The Black horse where showing a favour or connection to the Earls of Warwick and the Neville family and the theory I really like is that The Black horse is a reference to King Arthurs cavalry horses, supposed to be Black Fresians. This theory was developed after some research which identified that many pubs named The Black Horse can be found along what was the border between the Briton and Saxon kingdoms, This would of course also explain the term “Black Horse Country”

Whats in a Pub name

As someone interested in history who has travelled the length and breadth of the UK over the years one subject that has always interested me is the subject of Pub names and how they originated.

For example when I see a pub called “the Crown” my first thought is to wonder whose crown exactly are they talking about? Of course some pub names are pretty straight forward and easy to reconcile but many names seem obscure and often the reference and meaning behind them are lost in the mists of time and may never be completely understood.

One name that had me searching the internet to find it’s reference was “The Peveril of the Peak” which is a pub I first came across on a visit to the Hacienda music venue in Manchester. “The Pev” as it is locally known as is a interesting pub which had 3 or 4 small sections or “snugs” and offered a warm welcome on a cold and wintry night when I came across it.

As it turned out the name of the pub is a reference to the novel of the same name by Walter Scott which is based around Peveril Castle, a real place in the Peak District of Derbyshire and not far from Manchester itself. Finding this out led me to read the novel itself which is a great book set at the time of the English civil war which I heartily recommend.

One of the things I want to at some point achieve is to become a landlord one day so I am always looking at pubs for lease to see what opportunities are around and I still find the names interesting, for example a quick look at north east pubs currently available offers me a Crown inn, a Duke of York, an Eagle and an Engineers Arms to mention just a few, I need to do some more research on these however I think the Robbie Burns is pretty self explanatory.