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.

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!

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”

The production of beers and ales was a thriving trade
Britain, before the 18th century was most commonly known as a place where ale was the most commonly drunk alcoholic beverage and the production of beers and ales was a growing trade. Up until the 15th century, ale in Britain had been produced only from fermented malt. Adding hops to produce the beer was an idea carried over to British ale makers from Holland and it went down very well with Britain’s beer drinkers.

Alehouses acted as brewers and each developed their own distinctive ales up until around the late Seventeenth century when independent breweries began to appear to match the demand for beer and ales. Soon the majority of beer and ale making in Britain was handled by commercial breweries.

Gin-shops become a common sight
The 18th century though was to bring a change as new drinking establishments opened throughout the country to meet the demand for the recently introduced gin. It was the Dutch that brought gin to Britain after the Glorious Revolution of 1688; when poor quality grain that was not good enough to be used in brewing, was used instead for gin making. Gin-shops became a increasingly common sight in Britain and the brewers of ale and beer, countered by opening even more pubs and alehouses.

By the middle of the Eighteenth century, gin was being made at a huge rate six times that of beer and because it was very much cheaper than ales and beers, became widely used amongst Britain’s poor. With over 7,000 Gin Palaces in London alone, the term ‘Gin Craze’ was apt.

Tax eases the ruin of the working class?
Tax then came to the rescue of the poor as The Gin Act of 1736 brought with it a price rise that was designed to bring an end to the drunkenness and lawlessness thought to have been caused by gin. Seen as the ruin of the working classes, the high taxes led to rioting in the streets and the high duty was reduced and eventually discarded in 1742.

Improvements in living conditions, along with improvements in ale and beer production and the essential sanity of the British beer drinker meant that we survived all this to emerge in a modern world of choice that still sees beer and ale with pride-of-place in Britain’s pubs and drinking establishments and indeed running a pub is a popular vocation and across the country there are a good choice of pubs to lease.

“Give my people plenty of beer, good beer, and cheap beer, and you will have no revolution among them.”
-Queen Victoria

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.

So what essentially is a Gastropub? The Gastropub is basically a public house but one that specialises in high-end food and drink. TV chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White have been involved in supporting the phenomenon by opening their own and there are numerous books detailing gastropub style recipes packing out the cookery sections in bookshops across the country and online, featuring fashionable, classier takes on traditional recipe favourites.

The overall look and feel of the pub sees a complete makeover as well. Out go inexpertly upholstered seats in favour of leather dining chairs, all designed to fit in with the aesthetic feel of the pub, right down to every last thread and embellishment in some cases. Out are the tattered, archaic sofas and benches, with more regal styled dining chairs often taking pride of place.

Whilst a wholly new institution, the Gastropubs  still refer back to the historical heritage they have developed from. This rise in popularity has also been supported by some institutional benchmarks such as The Michelin Guide. Now celebrating its 1st centenary year, the 2011 guide has included more pubs in its list of recommendations than at any other time in its history and also issued more of its coveted “stars” to British eateries than ever before – 143 in total.

Many signs are pointing to a significant shift in the UK’s citizens favour towards one of its most important social institutions, and what they expect to see when they get there. Whilst there will always be a place for the traditional, spit n’ sawdust public house, more and more public houses are taking a decidedly more modern approach, and doing rather well as a result. Running a pub has always been a popular business option and forward looking pub companies have modern development and support programmes for prospective landlords looking for a pub to lease.

Challenges to the pub and beer industry

In the second decade of the Millennium, Britain has more than 53,000 public houses and although there have been huge challenges to the pub and beer industry, it continues to innovate in order to survive. The pub may no longer be the drinking house of yesteryear; today’s pubs serve a whole lot more than beer and ale but they remain an important part of British communities today.

Since the days of the Roman taverns and on through the Anglo-Saxon adaptation of them, the alehouse –pubs and beer drinking have been an integral part of life in Britain. Recent challenges have proved overwhelming for many though and it is a sad fact that the number of pubs in Britain has been declining. In fact, nearly half of Britain’s smaller villages no longer have a local pub.

Demise of the great British pub?

Does this mean the eventual demise of this great British tradition, the great British pub? No. The industry has evolved and changed to meet each new era’s challenges and it is impossible to imagine a horizon where no British pubs would be seen.

Many attribute the poor fortune of pubs in Britain to the smoking ban that was introduced from 2006. Researchers recently found that the number of pub losses demonstrate a very close statistical relationship between the introduction of smoking bans and the acceleration of the decline of the British pub.  Researchers focused on information about closures of pubs in Scotland, England and Wales following the introduction of smoking bans in each country and after three years of smoking bans in pubs found:  Scotland had lost 7.1% of its pub estate (467 pubs), Wales 7.3% (274) and England 7.6% (4,148).

“While it is not the only factor in the closure of pubs, the smoking ban is demonstrably the most significant cause of pub closures.”
-Oliver Griffiths, Director of CR Consulting

CR Consulting undertook research into the pattern of closures in British pubs and have watched how laws, pricing, culture and trends have affected the beer drinkers of Britain. The Director of CR Consulting, Oliver Griffiths blamed the continuing decline on the loss of sociability in pubs where smoking has been banned: “With smoking customers spending much of their time outside, some pubs may be becoming less sociable places, leading customers to question whether they want to drink there or at home.”

Where does this all leave the future? The British like to be sociable when they drink and no amount of cheap alcohol for home consumption, can ever replace the British pub and the pub and brewery industry are both resilient and adaptable. The pubs of today typically offer a choice of dining, entertainment, family friendly areas and a lot more warmth and comfort than the alehouses of the past and it is easy to imagine that more innovations to attract the beer drinkers of Britain and their families, will come. Running a pub business in the 21st century is an exciting challenge and the main pub companies such as Greene King and Trust Inns have many attractive pubs for lease for those who want to run their own pub business

“You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline – it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.”
- Frank Zappa, American composer, satirist and song writer