pub names

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|image1 = Worshipful Company of Carpenters - Three Compasses.jpg

|caption1 = The Worshipful Company of Carpenters' emblem, 3 compasses

|image2 = Three Compasses, Hornsey, N8 (2509772818).jpg

|caption2 =The Three Compasses pub, Hornsey, London N8

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{{anchor |Red Lion}}

Many pubs have heraldic names, often directly naming the animal or object used as a badge or heraldic charge. Among the most common, both in heraldry and on pub signs is the Red Lion. As a pub sign, it probably has multiple origins: in the arms or crest of a local landowner; as the personal badge of John of Gaunt, founder of the House of Lancaster; or in the royal arms of Scotland, conjoined to the arms of England after the Stuart succession in 1603.{{cite book |author=Dunkling, Leslie, Wright, G. |title=The Wordsworth Dictionary of Pub Names |year=1994 |orig-year=1987 |publisher=Wordsworth Reference |location=Ware, Hertfordshire |isbn=1-85326-334-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/wordsworthdictio0000dunk }} The White Hart was the livery badge of King Richard II of England; it became so popular as an inn sign during his reign that it was adopted by many later inns and taverns. The Blue Boar, the name of many pubs in Westminster, Norwich, Billericay, Maldon, Witney and elsewhere, was the badge of the Earls of Oxford. The Eagle and Child, Oxford, derived from the arms of the Earls of Derby,{{cite book |last=Rothwell |first=David |year=2006 |title=The Wordsworth Dictionary of Pub Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k-4SrdUPNFoC |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |location=Ware, Herefordshire |isbn=978-1840222661 |page=126}} was a meeting place of the Inklings; the name was in 2005 shared by 25 other pubs.{{cite book |last1=Cocker |first1=Mark |last2=Mabey |first2=Richard |author2-link=Richard Mabey |title=Birds Britannica |title-link=Birds Britannica |date=2005 |publisher=Chatto & Windus |isbn=0-7011-6907-9 |page=474}}

Names starting with the word "Three" are often based on the arms of a London Livery company or trade guild. Thus the Three Compasses is named for the Worshipful Company of Carpenters.{{cite web |title=Coat of Arms |url=http://www.thecarpenterscompany.co.uk/pages/history/coat_of_arms/default.aspx |publisher=The Carpenters' Company |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522104616/http://www.thecarpenterscompany.co.uk/pages/history/coat_of_arms/default.aspx |access-date=8 February 2023 |archive-date=22 May 2015 }} Sometimes the livery company or guild is named directly, as in the Cooper's Arms, Little Old Bailey, for the Worshipful Company of Coopers.{{cite news |title=not stated |newspaper=Newcastle Courant |date=17 March 1716 |page=11}}{{cite web |title=Worshipful company of coopers |url=https://www.coopers-hall.co.uk |website=www.coopers-hall.co.uk |access-date=8 April 2021}}

File:The Mechanics Arms, Hindley Green - geograph.org.uk - 77601.jpg, Wigan]]

Some "Arms" signs refer to working occupations, often with local stories behind them. There are several Blacksmiths Arms, such as in Loughborough, Leicestershire{{cite newsletter |last1=Tunks |first1=Bob |last2=Warden |first2=Renter |title=A Pie and a Pint on us! |url=https://static.blacksmithscompany.co.uk/documents/170-9739-wcb61-web.pdf |publisher=The Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths |access-date=19 April 2025 |issue=61 (Spring 2023) }} and Broughton Mills, Cumbria.{{NHLE |num=1335972 |desc=The Blacksmiths Arms, Broughton Mills |accessdate=19 April 2025 |mode=cs2}} Some names have obsolete meanings, as in the Mechanics Arms (now renamed the Old Neighbourhood), near Stroud, Gloucestershire. In this context a mechanic was a bonesetter. Another pub of that name was † in Stamford, Lincolnshire.{{cite news |title=Stamford Petty Sessions |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=29 September 1882 |page=4}}

Among the many other old professions recorded in "Arms" pub names are the Drover's Inn, Loch Lomond, Scotland, named after the cattle drivers;{{cite web |url=https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/food-and-drink-2/celebrating-10-of-the-most-historic-pubs-in-scotland/ |title=Celebtrating 10 of the Most Historic Pubs in Scotland |website=Food & Drink |date=3 May 2019 |access-date=21 September 2021}} there is also an example in Caerleon, near Newport, Wales.{{Cite web |url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/8335945.residents-campaign-to-save-historic-caerleon-pub/ |title=Residents campaign to save 'historic' Caerleon pub |website=South Wales Argus |date=17 August 2010 }} the Glazier's Arms, Stamford †;{{cite news |title=A notorious character |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=29 April 1859 |page=4}} the Gravel Diggers, Cottenham †;{{cite news |title=Cottenham |newspaper=Cambridge Chronicle and Journal |date=April 1891 |page=5}}

the Jolly Gardeners, Hertford †;{{cite news |title=Kimpton & Son |newspaper=Cambridge Independent Press |date=1 May 1847 |page=1}} the Millers Arms, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, whose first publican, Robert Taylor, was a miller by trade;{{Cite web |url=https://pubwiki.co.uk/Lincolnshire/Lincoln/MillersArms.shtml |title=Millers Arms, 88 High Street, Lincoln, Lincolnshire |website=pubwiki.co.uk}} Ye Olde Murenger House, Newport, Wales, named for a medieval worker who collected tolls for the repair of town walls;{{Cadw |num=3025 |desc=Ye Olde Murenger House PH, Stow Hill |grade=II |access-date=3 September 2023}} the Ratcatchers, Cawston, Norfolk;{{cite book |title=Norfolk |author=Beth Bridgewater |publisher=Encompass Press |year=1995 |page=94}} the Recruiting Sergeant, Newton Harcourt;{{cite news |title=Leicester |newspaper=Northampton Mercury |date=4 April 1795 |page=3}} the Spinners' Arms, Hindley Green, Wigan;{{Cite web |url=https://whatpub.com/pubs/LAS/1674/spinners-arms-hindley-green |title=Spinners Arms, Hindley Green |website=whatpub.com}} and the Wire Workers' Arms, St. Neots, Huntingdonshire.{{cite news |title=Sales by Auction |newspaper=Cambridge Independent Press |date=10 March 1899 |page=1}}

Many pub names record aspects of history, real or imagined, from specific events to local legends.

File:SaracensHeadpubsign.jpg , Somerset]]

Several historic events are commemorated in pub names. A few of these, such as the Royal Oak, are extremely common. One or two events, like the Battle of Trafalgar, have resulted in multiple different pub names.

File:The Blind Beggar - Whitechapel - E1.jpg, Whitechapel, London E1]]

Many pub names record long-forgotten professions. For instance the Drum and Monkey, Glasgow may describe showmen who used to travel with a performing monkey whose tricks included beating a drum.{{cite web |title=Welcome to The Drum and Monkey, an historic pub in Glasgow |url=https://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/restaurants/scotlandandnorthernireland/thedrumandmonkeystvincentstreetglasgow#/ |publisher=Nicholson's Pubs |access-date=17 April 2025}}

• Axe 'n Cleaver inn, Boston and North Somercotes, Lincolnshire{{cite news |title=Inquest |newspaper=Lincolnshire Chronicle |date=10 December 1841 |page=3}}
• Bankers, near Walpole St. Andrews, West Norfolk. Named after those involved in making and maintaining the seabanks and riverbanks.{{cite news |newspaper=Norfolk Chronicle |title=Straling Wheat | date=28 October 1854 |page=2}}
• The Blind Beggar, a pub in Whitechapel named for the story of Henry de Montfort{{cite web |url=http://eastlondonhistory.com/blind-beggar-of-bethnal-green/ |title=The Blind Beggar |publisher=eastlondonhistory.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624052748/http://eastlondonhistory.com/blind-beggar-of-bethnal-green/ |access-date=15 July 2012 |archive-date=24 June 2011 }}
• Chemic Tavern (formerly Chemical Tavern), Leeds, West Yorkshire. Named for the workers at the nearby Woodhouse Chemical Works, (C. 1840–1900) it was a beer house on the 1861 census when the licensee was James Lapish.{{cite web |url=http://www.thechemictavern.co.uk |title=The Chemic Tavern - Cosy, historic real ale pub in the heart of Woodhouse. |website=The Chemic Tavern}}{{cite news |title=Local and General |newspaper=Leeds Mercury |date=5 April 1865 |page=4}}
• Fen Plough, Chatteris : named after the local farming equipment.{{cite web |title=Fen Plough |url=http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/cambridgeshire/chatteris_fenplough.html |website=www.closedpubs.co.uk |access-date=5 January 2021}}
• Golden Fleece, for the wool trade{{cite web |url=http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/history/pubsigns1.shtml |last=Saunders |first=Elain |title=A History of Britain in Its Pub Signs |publisher=TimeTravel-Britain |date=2008 |access-date=9 September 2016}}
• Jolly Nailor in Atherton, Greater Manchester, named after nail manufacture, present in the area since the 14th century.{{cite web |url=http://thejollynailor.com/ |title=節税ノウハウ～交際費などわかりやすい |work=thejollynailor.com |access-date=28 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721152652/http://thejollynailor.com/ |archive-date=21 July 2013 |url-status=usurped}}
• The Light Horseman, York. Named for a former cavalry barracks.{{cite web |url=https://victorianweb.org/victorian/places/cities/york/pubs2.html |website=The Victorian Web |title=Coaching houses and inns |accessdate=18 June 2022}}
• Ram Skin, Spalding, Lincolnshire †. Named for the local wool industry, closed in 1970.{{cite news |title=On Saturday last |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=8 February 1833 |page=3}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/lincolnshire/spalding_ramskin.html|title=Ram Skin, Spalding|website=www.closedpubs.co.uk}}
• Rifle Volunteer, Oxhey village, Gunnislake etc.{{cite web |title=Rifle Volunteer |url=https://www.riflevolunteer.com |website=www.riflevolunteer.com |access-date=2 February 2021}}
• Spade and Becket, Chatteris, † Isle of Ely, and Cambridge †, Downham Market †: a combination of two peat digging implements.{{cite web |url=https://chatteris.can.co.uk/content/catalogue_item/upp-in-arms-high-streert-chatteris |title=Spade and Becket |website=www.chatteris.can.co.uk |access-date=6 September 2020}}{{cite news |title=To Blacksmiths |newspaper=Leeds Mercury |date=13 November 1906 |page=2}}
• Three Jolly Watermen, Waterbeach Fen †: named for local water workers.{{cite news |title=Licensing reduction |newspaper=Cambridge Independent Press |date=December 1908 |page=4}}
• Trowel and Hammer, Norwich : thought to be named after local bricklayers.{{cite web |title=Trowel and Hammer |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/trowel-and-hammer-in-norwich-not-closing-1507352 |website=www.edp24.co.uk |date=5 February 2020 |access-date=5 January 2021}}
• Two Brewers, Diss : takes its name from the beer makers.{{cite news |title=Married |newspaper=The Suffolk Chronicle; or Weekly General Advertiser & County Express |date=25 May 1811 |page=4}}
• Volunteers Arms, Llanidloes †. One of many pubs named after Militia or rifle volunteers etc.{{cite news | title=Henry Hamer |newspaper=The Gazette |page=3714 |date=25 July 1865 }}
• Woodman, Woodman's Cottage Inn,{{cite web |title=Woodman's Cottage |url=http://www.woodmansgorefield.co.uk |website=www.woodmansgorefield.co.uk |access-date=2 February 2021}} or Woodsman.https://www.woodsman.pub/

File:Lion and Lamb Court, Farnham. - geograph.org.uk - 136630.jpg, Surrey]]

The amount of religious symbolism in pub names decreased after Henry VIII's break from the church of Rome. For instance, many pubs originally called the Pope's Head were renamed to the less contentious King's Head.{{cite web |last1=Ochota |first1=Mary-Ann |title=The history of pub names |url=https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/the-history-of-pub-names/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=18 April 2025 |date=23 October 2016}} Among the surviving religious references, the Lion and Lamb, Pennington is named from St Augustine's usage, where the lion represents the resurrection of Christ, and the lamb denotes Christ's sacrifice.{{cite web |title=Local Pubs and Inns |url=https://www.stbarbe-museum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Local-pubs-and-inns.pdf |publisher=St Barbe Museum |access-date=17 April 2025}} The Hope & Anchor, Anchor & Hope, or Anchor of Hope get their names from the Letter to the Hebrews (6:19): "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope",{{cite news |title=Publichouse to let |newspaper=Lynn Advertiser |date=10 October 1874 |page=8}} while the Virgin's Inn, Derby is named after the Virgin Mary.{{cite news |title=advertisement |newspaper=Derby Mercury |date=13 September 1733 |page=7}} The Shaven Crown, at Shipton-under-Wychwood, once belonged to the monks of Bruern Abbey.{{cite web |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/Blog/Twelve-Oldest-Inns-In-England/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001134810/https://www.historic-uk.com/Blog/Twelve-Oldest-Inns-In-England/ |archive-date=1 October 2020 |title=Shaven Crown |website=12 oldest pubs |date=12 February 2019 |access-date=20 September 2021}} The Cardinal's Hat, Harleston, Norfolk{{cite news |title=To Graziers |newspaper=Bury and Norwich Post |date=6 March 1822 |page=3}} was an inn from at least 1591.{{cite web |title=Cardinals Hat, Harleston |url=https://www.norfolkpubs.co.uk/norfolkh/harleston/harlesca.htm |website=Norfolk Public Houses |access-date=18 April 2025}}

File:Interior of The Green Dragon Inn at Hardraw, Nth. Yorkshire - geograph.org.uk - 1755494.jpg, North Yorkshire]]

• Black Bess: usually named after the legendary overnight ride from London to York in 1737 by Dick Turpin on his Mare of this name. This fictional account was popularised in a novel, Rookwood (1834), resulting in a surge of Dick Turpin nostalgia and associated pub names.
• Brazen George Inn, Cambridge †. Named after England's patron Saint.{{cite book |title=Victorian Cambridge: Josiah Chater's Diaries |author=Enid Porter |publisher=Philimore |year=1975 |page=139}}
• The Bucket of Blood, is a public house in Phillack, Hayle, Cornwall, owned by St Austell Brewery. It is thought to be named after an incident where the landlord brought up a bucket of blood from the building's well, as a murdered smuggler had been dropped there.{{cite news |last=Utton |first=Dominic |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/11635792/Drinkers-unite-We-must-save-the-great-British-pub-name.html |title=Drinkers, unite! We must save the great British pub name |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=29 May 2015}}
• Fiddler's Green, a legendary place in the afterlife where existence consists of all leisure and no work.
• George and Dragon: St George is the patron saint of England and his conflict with a dragon is essential to his story. This sign is a symbol of English nationalism.
• Green Dragon, Wisbech, Wymondham, etc{{cite web |title=Green Dragon tavern |url=https://greendragonnorfolk.com |website=www.greendragonnorfolk.com |access-date=5 January 2012}}
• Green Man, a name used for many pubs, comes from folklore and the image of the Wild Man.
• Hob in the Well, King's Lynn: pubs of this name can come from Hobgoblin in the well or Dogget's play Flora: or, Hob in the Well (1748).{{cite news |title=Wisbech Chronicle, General Advertiser and Lynn News |date=27 September 1862 |page=5}}{{Cite web |url=https://whatpub.com/pubs/KLN/544/hob-in-the-well-kings-lynn |title=Hob in the Well, King's Lynn |website=whatpub.com}}
• Moonrakers: a Wiltshire folk story holds that this name comes from the time when smuggling was common in the region.{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=A. C. |date=1874 |title=On Wiltshire Traditions, Charms and Superstitions |journal=Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine |publisher=Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society |location=Devizes, England |volume=14 |pages=326–327}}
• Robin Hood, several pubs named for the lawless anti-hero.{{cite news |last=Churchard |first=Clare |title=What's in a name? The stories behind pub monikers |url=https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2017/06/12/What-s-in-a-name-The-stories-behind-pub-monikers/ |work=Morning Advertiser |date=11 June 2017}}
• Silent Woman, Quiet Lady or Headless Woman: The origin is uncertain, with various local stories, such as a landlady whose tongue was cut out by smugglers so she couldn't talk to the authorities,{{cite web |url=http://www.thesilentwoman.co.uk/ |title=The Silent Woman Inn - Welcome to The Silent Woman |publisher=thesilentwoman.co.uk |access-date=15 October 2010 }} or a saint beheaded for her Christianity.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k-4SrdUPNFoC&q=silent+woman+pub+saint&pg=PA354 |title=Dictionary of Pub Names |page=354 |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |year=2006 |isbn=1-84022-266-2 |access-date=15 October 2010 }} The pub signs sometimes have an image of a decapitated woman or the couplet: "Here is a woman who has lost her head / She's quiet now—you see she's dead".

File:All Labour in Vain - geograph.org.uk - 905902.jpg, Shropshire, 2008]]

All Labour In Vain or Labour In Vain is a pub name probably of Biblical origins. The name was formerly often illustrated by a person trying to scrub the blackness off a black child. Such signs have been mostly replaced with more innocuous depictions of wasted effort.{{Cite web |url=http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Labour-Vain-Yarnfield-Cookman-Review/story-12528881-detail/story.html |title=The Labour In Vain, Yarnfield: The Cookman Review |access-date=17 March 2021 |archive-date=14 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814000030/http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Labour-Vain-Yarnfield-Cookman-Review/story-12528881-detail/story.html |url-status=bot: unknown }} There are numerous old pubs and inns in England named The Black Boy(s), many now claimed to refer either to child chimneysweeps or coal miners, or to a (genuine) historic description of King Charles II. The Black Boy Inn in Caernarfon, North Wales, has received at least a dozen complaints from visitors over the name, which dates back at least 250 years.{{cite web |url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2008/04/04/is-historic-black-boy-pub-racist-55578-20718901/ |title=News: The latest North Wales news from the Daily Post |website=www.dailypost.co.uk}} In 2021 brewer Greene King changed the names of three pubs called The Black Boy, and another called The Black's Head.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-56040545 |title =Greene King Black Boy pubs renamed in 'anti-racist' move |work =BBC News |date =13 February 2021}} The Black Bitch, a pub in Linlithgow, West Lothian, is named after the local legend of a black greyhound who is said to have repeatedly swum to an island in the town's loch to bring food to its imprisoned master, only to suffer the same fate when its efforts were discovered. The pub's name has caused more than a few surprised tourists to question the name or decry it as racist.{{Cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/what-mr-scott-was-black-bitch-1-1340540|title=What! Mr Scott was Black Bitch?}}

File:Thecrookedhouse-2023-06.jpg, Himley, known for its extreme lean, caused by mining subsidence]]

The Hippodrome in March, Isle of Ely was once a cinema.{{cite web |title=Hippodrome |url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/cambridgeshire/the-hippodrome-march |website=www.jdwetherspoon.com |access-date=24 September 2020}}

The Hole in the Wall is the name of several very small pubs. One such at Waterloo, London, is spacious but built into a railway viaduct. The Hole in the Wall, Gibraltar was an iconic bar well frequented by the navy workers.{{cite web |url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTpoic-g187510-i1247-k8111551-Hole_in_t_wall-Gibraltar.html |website=www.tripadvisor.com |title=Hole in the wall |access-date=20 September 2020}}

The Hundred House Inn, Great Witley originates from when the building was a collecting house for the tithes from districts in the Doddingtree Hundred.{{cite news |title=NOTICE is hereby given, that the TOLLS arising |newspaper=Worcester Journal |date=30 May 1833 |page=3}}

The Lattice House, King's Lynn was named for its timbered structure.{{cite web |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF12005-Lattice-House-Chapel-Street&Index=2&RecordCount=2&SessionID=670b9042-4138-452a-93a2-45a0f410605e |website=Norfolk Heritage Explorer |title=Lattice House |access-date=19 September 2021}}

The Thatched House Tavern, Cambridge is named after the building's roofing.{{cite news |title=University Intelligence |newspaper=Cambridge Chronicle and Journal |date=8 May 1835 |page=2}}

The Three Legged Mare, High Petergate, York is named after the design of a gallows, like the one in the pub's garden; affectionately known as the Wonky Donkey.{{Cite web |url=https://www.withinthewallsyork.com/threeleggedmare.html |title =The Three-Legged Mare}}{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/the-23-weirdest-pub-names-in-britain |website=Weirdest Pub Names |title=Three Legged Mare |date=10 April 2013 |access-date=20 September 2021}}

Vaults is the name of a number of pubs, not all with vaults as an architectural feature; the word also had the general meaning of 'storeroom'.{{Cite web |url=https://www.oed.com/start;jsessionid=3CBB45FE509FA299486CA3B219D6A214?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F221743 |title=Home : Oxford English Dictionary |website=www.oed.com}}

File:The Farriers Arms - geograph.org.uk - 527610.jpg

Several old pub names describe services (other than serving beer) that were provided by a pub. Checkers or Chequer(s), such as at March, Isle of Ely, harks back to ancient Rome, when a chequer board indicated banking services. The checked board was used as an aid to counting, and is the origin of the word exchequer.{{cite news |title=This is to give Notice |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date= 12 November 1724 |page=12}} The Pewter Platter, Cross Street, Hatton Garden †, identified a pub where meals were served.{{cite news |title=An account of Francis David Stirn |newspaper=The Scots Magazine |date=1 September 1760 |page=6}} The Coach & Horses indicated a coaching inn, while the Farriers Arms was a pub with a farrier who could re-shoe the traveller's horses while he relaxed, and the Wheelwrights was a name for a pub where a coach's wheels could be repaired or replaced. Names could also be one-offs, like the Free Press in Cambridge, named for when part of the building was used to print a newspaper.{{cite web |title=The Free Press |url=https://cambridgefoodtour.com/the-free-press-pub/ |website=www.cambridgefoodtour.com |access-date=24 September 2020}}

Some pub names refer to items of food to tempt the hungry traveller. For example, The Baron of Beef in Cambridge refers to a double sirloin joined at the backbone,{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/life/britains-strangest-pub-names/the-baron-of-beef-in-cambridge/ |title=Britain's strangest pub names |newspaper=Daily Telegraph | date=15 February 2016}} while the Red Herring, Great Yarmouth is named after a product of the local fishing industry.{{cite book |last=Bridgewater |first=Beth |title=Norfolk |publisher=Encompass Press |year=1995 |page=133}}

File:Pub names from brewing process.svg

Several pub names allude to the stages of brewing and serving the beer. The Hop Pole names an item used to support hops, that flavour the beer, while the Barley Mow names the process of harvesting the barley that will be fermented into the beer itself. The Malt Shovel names a tool used to turn over the soaked barley grain.{{cite news |title=Middle Level |newspaper=Lynn Advertiser |date=19 March 1870 |page=8}} The Mash Tun names the brewery vessel used to mix grains with water.{{cite web |title=The Mash Tun: Brighton's Beating Heart |url=https://www.mashtun.pub/ |website=Mash Tun |access-date=13 January 2024}} Three Barrels names containers for beer. The Brewery Tap was a pub on site or adjacent to a brewery; it often showcasing its products to visitors.{{cite web |title=The Brewery Tap Public House Shefford |date=22 June 2019 |url=https://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/CommunityHistories/Shefford/BreweryTapPublicHouse.aspx |publisher=Bedford Borough Council |access-date=21 February 2024 |quote=The modern name of the public house is derived from the fact that it is owned by the brewery and sells its produce.}}

File:The Barley Mow, Clifton Hampden (wide).jpg ]]

Many traditional pub names allude to the beer available inside.{{cite web |title=A history of British pub names |url=https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/a-history-of-british-pub-names/ |publisher=The History Press |access-date=30 December 2023}} The Barley Mow is a stack or sheaf of barley, the principal grain from which beer is made.{{cite journal |last1=Kok |first1=Yee Jiun |last2=Ye |first2=Lijuan |last3=Muller |first3=Jeroen |last4=Ow |first4=Dave Siak-Wei |last5=Bi |first5=Xuezhi |title=Brewing with malted barley or raw barley: what makes the difference in the processes? |journal=Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology |volume=103 |issue=3 |date=2019 |issn=0175-7598 |doi=10.1007/s00253-018-9537-9 |pages=1059–1067 |pmid=30515549 }} John Barleycorn is a character of English traditional folk music and folklore, similar to a Green Man. He is annually cut down at the ankles, thrashed, but always reappears—an allegory of growth and harvest based on barley.{{cite book |last=de Vries |first=Ad |title=Dictionary of Symbols and Imagery |year=1976 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofsymb0000vrie/page/34 34–35] |publisher=North-Holland Publishing Company |location=Amsterdam |isbn=978-0-7204-8021-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofsymb0000vrie/page/34 }}

The Cock and Bottle, or simply the Cock names the stopcock used to serve beer from a barrel, and a beer bottle.{{cite web |url=http://www.britainexpress.com/History/culture/pub-names.htm |title=British Pub Signs - a short history |publisher=Britain Express |first=Elaine |last=Saunders |access-date=9 September 2016}} The Pint Shop names a common unit of volume,{{cite web |title=Pint shop |url=https://pubs.sawdays.co.uk/britain/england/cambridgeshire/pint-shop#search_type=keyword&search_text=cambridgeshire& |website=www.pubs.sawdays.co.uk |access-date=24 September 2020}} while The Tankard, London is named after the drinks container.{{cite web |url=https://www.brewdog.com/uk/bars/uk/tankard |website=Brewdog |title=Tankard |access-date=20 September 2021}}

File:Hoop and Grapes - London's Oldest Pub^ - geograph.org.uk - 543347.jpg, Aldgate, was originally the Hops and Grapes, as it sold both beer and wine.]]

The pub name The Castle sometimes denoted the Coat of Arms of Castile in Spain, meaning that Spanish wines were available within.{{cite book |title=The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |year=2001 |page=883}} The Spread Eagle's name is from the heraldic depiction of an eagle 'displayed', probably from the arms of Germany, indicating that German wines were available within.

The name of the Hoop and Grapes, Aldgate High Street, London is a version of the Hops and Grapes, its original name, meaning that it sold both beer and wine. The pub survived the 1666 Great Fire of London, which stopped just short of the building.{{cite web |title=Welcome to The Hoop and Grapes, an historic pub in Aldgate |url=https://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/restaurants/london/thehoopandgrapesaldgatelondon#/ |publisher=Nicholsons Pubs |access-date=19 April 2025}}

File:The 'Crooked Billet', Worsthorne, Lancashire - geograph.org.uk - 553587.jpg, Lancashire]]

Before painted inn signs became commonplace, medieval publicans often identified their establishments by hanging or standing a distinctive object outside the pub. A fictional example of this otherwise real-life practice can be found in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of books, where the pub in Ankh Morpork starts off as The Drum, becomes The Broken Drum after a bar fight damages it and then in later books The Mended Drum. This tradition dates back to Roman Britain, when vine leaves were hung outside tabernae to show where wine was sold.{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=Ben |title=Pub Signs of Britain |url=http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Pub-Signs-of-Britain/ |publisher=Historic UK |access-date=9 September 2016}} Other names of this type include the Boot Inn, Whittlesea;{{cite news |title=A Fire |newspaper=Cambridge Chronicle and Journal |date=7 October 1825 |page=3}} the Boot and Slipper, Amersham;{{cite web |url=https://www.chefandbrewer.com/pubs/buckinghamshire/boot-slipper/ |title=Boot and Slipper |website=Chef & Brewer |access-date=21 September 2021}} and the Horne Inn, Wisbech, a former 15th century Inn.{{cite book |title=Wisbech Inns, Taverns and Beer-Houses : Past and Present |last=Ketley |first=Andy |volume=3 |publisher=Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum |year=2022 |page=76}} The Crooked Billet in Portsmouth St, London, takes its name from a bent branch from a tree;{{cite news |title=Public Office, Bow-street |newspaper=Sun (London) |date=17 August 1805 |page=3}} another Crooked Billet, at Stoke Row in Oxfordshire, associated with highwayman Dick Turpin, is a Grade II listed building.{{NHLE |num=1180667 |desc=The Crooked Billet public house |grade=II |access-date=25 July 2018}}[http://www.thecrookedbillet.co.uk/ The Crooked Billet]{{cite web |url=https://www.thecrookedbillet.co.uk/history |title=History |publisher=The Crooked Billet |access-date=22 February 2024}}

File:Sign for the Bat and Ball, Breamore - geograph.org.uk - 688578.jpg]]

Names like Fox and Hounds, Dog and Duck, Dog and Gun, Hare and Hounds, etc., and Anglers Beerhouse (at Wisbech){{cite book |last=Ketley |first=Andrew B. N. |title=Wisbech Inns, Taverns and Beer-Houses:Past and Present |publisher=Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum |year=2021 |page=28}} refer to the country sports of fox hunting, shooting, and fishing. An unusual foxhunting pub name is the Hark to Bellman, Clitheroe, named after a hound of the huntsman John Peel.The Manchester Courier And Lancashire General Advertiser 8 July 1848 Finally, the Rabbits, Gainsborough names a frequent object of shooting.{{cite news |title=Mary Ringrose |newspaper=Stamford Mercury - Friday 23 August 1833 |page=4}}

Animal names coupled with colours, such as White Hart and Red Lion, are often heraldic. A white hart featured as a badge of King Richard II, while a red lion was a badge of John of Gaunt and the Dukes of Bedford amongst others and a blue boar of the Earls of Oxford.{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Jacqueline |title=Green Men & White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ot6AzT3fO6AC&pg=PA249 |year=2011 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-09-952017-7 |page=249}} The Bird in Hand denotes the hawk sitting on the left gauntlet in falconry. The Dog and Duck once named pubs where duck-baiting events were held.{{cite web |url=https://dl.tufts.edu/concern/images/2f75rh564 |title=Image | Old sign of the dog and duck. | ID: 2f75rh564 | |publisher=Tufts Digital Library}} The Fighting Cocks (or just 'Cock') indicated cockfighting (or a heraldic charge). Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in Saint Albans rivals Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham for the title of oldest pub; its name advertised actual cockfighting entertainment in the pub, accompanied by gambling on the winner.{{cite web |url=https://www.oldest.org/food/pubs-england/ |title=Ye Old Fighting Cocks |website=Oldest Pubs in England |date=13 November 2017 |access-date=21 September 2021}}

A few pubs are named for other kinds of sport. Bowls is a popular sport in the Manchester area: many of the greens are attached to pubs, e.g. the Lloyd's Hotel and the Bowling Green Hotel in Chorlton-cum-Hardy.Lloyd, John (1972) The Township of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Manchester: E. J. Morten; pp. 104–06{{cite web |url=http://www.thcamra.org.uk/cms/images/stories/TheNotOxfordRoadPubSurvey.pdf |title=The not Oxford Road pub survey, October 2008 |last=Bruderer |first=Adam |access-date=13 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309042708/http://www.thcamra.org.uk/cms/images/stories/TheNotOxfordRoadPubSurvey.pdf |archive-date=9 March 2012 |url-status=dead}} The Nine Pins, Cambridge †, a former Star Brewery pub, named after the sport.

The Popinjay Inn, Norwich is named for a kind of target used in archery.{{cite news |title=To let |newspaper=The Ipswich Journal |date=10 October 1761 |page=4}}

Some pubs are named for a place, building, or nearby topographic feature.

File:First and Last Inn, Sennen - geograph.org.uk - 5463900.jpg, Cornwall, at the Western tip of the Penwith peninsula ]]

A simple example is the Barrack Tavern, Woolwich Common, which is near the army's Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.{{cite news |title=Masonic Intelligence |newspaper=Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser |date=10 June 1828 |page=3}} The Horsefair Tavern, Wisbech (from 2023 The Magwitch) was amed after the Horsefair (once a site for selling horses).{{cite web | url=https://www.admiraltaverns.co.uk/pubs/horsefairtavern/ |title=Horsefair Tavern |website=www.admiraltaverns.co.uk |access-date=30 December 2020}}{{cite web |title=Liberal Club |url=https://calm.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=KWL1%2FV%2F157 |website =Cambridgeshire County Council |access-date=28 September 2021}} Pubs named for a nearby building include the Theatre Tavern, Gosport: both theatre and adjacent tavern had the same owner.{{cite news |title=For Sale |newspaper=Hampshire Chronicle |date=24 September 1798 |page=1}}

A few pubs are named for features of the natural landscape: The Nene Inn, Wisbech is named for the nearby river,{{cite book |title=Images of Wisbech no.4 |year=2020 |publisher=Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum |author=Andy Ketley}} while the Bunch of Carrots, Hampton Bishop is named after a rock formation.{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/the-23-weirdest-pub-names-in-britain |website=Wierdest pub names |title=Bunch of Carrots |date=10 April 2013 |access-date=20 September 2021}}

The First and Last is the nickname of The Redesdale Arms, the nearest pub to the border between England and Scotland, on the A68 between Rochester and Otterburn, Northumberland.{{cite web |title=Redesdale Arms |url=https://redesdale-arms.co.uk/about-us-1 |publisher=Redesdale Arms |access-date=17 April 2025 |quote=The Redesdale Arms in a 16th century coaching inn, known as the "First & Last" Inn on route to Scotland}} Similarly commemorating an isolated location are the Five Miles from Anywhere Inn: No Hurry, Upware,{{cite web |url=https://www.fivemilesinn.com |title=Five Miles from Anywhere |website=www.fivemilesinn |access-date=30 December 2020}} and the North Pole beerhouse, Wide Bargate, Boston, Lincolnshire. †{{cite news |title=Holland Compensation Authority |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=3 August 1906 |page=4}}

Pubs attested in the 18th century with animal names include the Bull Inn (1723), Stamford : the town was the last in England to practice bull-running.{{cite news |title=Advertisements |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=16 May 1723 |page=10}} the Barking Dogs (attested 1733), Hoxton †.{{cite news |title=A list |newspaper=The Ipswich Journal |date=28 August 1773 |page=4}}, the Dog (1761), Westhall,{{cite news |title=To be sold |newspaper=The Ipswich Journal - Saturday 11 April 1761 |page=4}} the Dove (1736), Ipswich, with a biblical source,{{cite news |title=Advertisement |newspaper=Ipswich Journal |date=24 July 1736 |page=7}} the Four Swans (1740), Butchers Market, Cambridge †,{{cite news |title=not stated |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=17 April 1740 |page=4}} the Packhorse and Pig (1747), Aldergate Street, London,{{cite news |title=London |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=21 May 1747 |page=2}} the Red-Hart Inn (1728), Petty Cury, Cambridge †, which claimed to have the only cockpit in the town,{{cite news |title=To be let |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=1 August 1728 |page=7}} the Rein Deer (1756), Lincoln †,{{cite news |title=To be lett |newspaper=Ipswich Journal |date=14 August 1756 |page=3}} and the Py'd Bull (1728), Lincoln †, advertised at that time as convenient for drovers.{{cite news |title=This is to give notice |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=11 January 1728 |page=8}} The Pied Bull in Chester in reputed to be the oldest licensed house in that city and dates back to 1155.{{Cite web |url=https://www.piedbull.co.uk/ |title=The Pied Bull Restaurant, Hotel, Pub and Brewery in Chester |website=The Pied Bull}}

Animal-named pubs attested in the 19th century include the Heathcock Tavern (1840), Strand, London, named after a game bird,{{cite news |title=Insolvents |newspaper=Leeds Mercury |date=15 February 1840 |page=3}} the Pickerel Inn (1812), Cambridge: named after young pike,{{cite news |title=Midshipman |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=30 October 1812 |page=3}} the Pyewipe Inn (1863), Lincoln, pyewipe being the Lincolnshire dialect name for the lapwing,{{cite news |title=Lincoln City Police |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=18 December 1863 |page=5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.expedia.co.uk/Lincoln-Hotels-The-Pyewipe-Inn.h16270047.Hotel-Information|title=The Pyewipe Hotel information}} and the String of Horses (1864), Spalding †.{{cite news |title=Spalding Petty Sessions |newspaper=Lincolnshire Chronicle |date=8 July 1864 |page=8}}

Among the many other pubs with animals in their names is the Bald Faced Stag Inn, Finchley; it was notorious as frequented by murderers and criminal gangs, and possibly at the site of the local gibbet.{{cite book |title=The History of Gibbeting |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-9vdDwAAQBAJ&q=wisbech+paddy%27s+nightcap&pg=PT156 |via=www.google.co.uk |isbn=978-1526755193 |access-date=2 February 2021 |last1=Priestley |first1=Samantha |date=30 March 2020 | publisher=Pen and Sword History |page=PT156}}

The Black Bear, Walsoken once had a stuffed black bear at its entrance.{{cite web |title=The Black Bear |url=https://www.visitcambridgeshirefens.org/the-black-bear-192 |website=www.visitcambridgeshirefens.org |access-date=24 September 2020}} The Bustard Inn, South Rauceby † was named for the once common bird of that name,{{cite news |title=An inquest |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=23 November 1883 |page=4}} while the Crane, Cambridge was named for that species, once numerous in The Fens; crane is a nickname for the inhabitants.{{cite book |last=Porter |first=Edith |title=Victorian Cambridge: Josiah Chater's Diaries |publisher=Phillimore |year=1975 |page=19}} The Lobster, Sheringham was patronised by the lifeboat crew who formed the Shanty Men.{{cite book |title=Norfolk |author=Beth Bridgewater |publisher=Encompass Press |year=1995 |page=80}}

Several plant names are used for pubs; if "Royal Oak" is accepted as one such, then it is one of the commonest, as the name is used by hundreds of pubs across England. There is a Hand and Flower pub in Hammersmith, London{{cite web |title=Welcome to The Hand & Flower |url=https://www.handandflower.co.uk/ |publisher=The Hand & Flower |access-date=17 April 2025}} and another in Ham, Surrey.{{cite web |title=The Hand and Flower |url=https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g191301-d25467187-Reviews-The_Hand_and_Flower-Richmond_upon_Thames_Greater_London_England.html |publisher=TripAdvisor |access-date=17 April 2025}} Hand and Flowers, Marlow, Buckinghamshire.{{cite web |title=The Hand and Flowers |url=https://thehandandflowers.co.uk/ |publisher=The Hand and Flowers |access-date=17 April 2025}} Other plant-named pubs include the Artichoke Tavern, Blackwall,{{cite news |title=A spacious wharf |newspaper=Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser |date=5 April 1836 |page=1}} and the Yew Tree, Bassingbourne.{{cite news |title=Licensing reduction |newspaper=Cambridge Independent Press |date=4 December 1908 |page=4}}

Some pub names allude to the road they are on, like the Highway Inn, Burford,{{cite web |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/Blog/Twelve-Oldest-Inns-In-England/ |title=Highway Inn |website=12 oldest pubs |date=12 February 2019 |access-date=20 September 2021}} or to things that were once seen on their road, like the Steamer, Welwyn, Hertfordshire: the pub is at the top of a steep hill where carriers required an extra horse (a cock-horse) to help get the wagon up the hill. After its exertion the cock-horse could be seen standing steaming on a cold day as its sweat evaporated.{{cite web |url=https://www.mcmullens.co.uk/steamer |website=www.mcmullens.co.uk |title=Steamer |access-date=2 February 2021}} A Waggon and Horses was a common sight, giving its name to pubs like the one in Elstree, Hertfordshire.{{cite web |title=The Waggon & Horses Pub |url=https://www.waggonpub.co.uk/ |publisher=The Waggon |access-date=17 April 2025}} A less common name is I Am the Only Running Footman, Mayfair, London; it is named after a servant employed to run ahead of a carriage and pay tolls.{{cite book |last=Ash |first=Russell |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d8Lrn8fcsrMC&pg=PT268 |title=Top 10 of Britain |chapter=British pubs with the longest names |publisher=Hachette |year=2009 |isbn=978-0600622512}} More recently, the Rusty Bicycle has become the new name of the Eagle in Oxford: the University of Oxford's students often cycle round the town.{{cite web |url=http://www.arkells.com/pubs_more2.php?id=609 |title=The Rusty Bicycle, Oxford - Cowley pub/food/functions - Arkell's Brewery Swindon |work=arkells.com}}

File:The Politician - panoramio.jpg's only pub, was named after the SS Politician which sank there in 1941, releasing its cargo of cases of whisky.]]

Many pubs are beside water or in ports, benefiting from visitors from both land and sea. Pub names recalling sailors include the Valiant Sailor, King's Lynn.{{cite news |title=Lynn |newspaper=Norwich Mercury |date=31 August 1833 |page=3}} The Black Buoy, Wivenhoe is named after a type of channel marker buoy, as the owners had nautical connections.{{cite web |url=http://www.blackbuoy.co.uk/food.html |website=www.blackbuoy.co.uk |title=Black Buoy |access-date=2 February 2021}}

Pubs by canals include the Locks Inn, Geldeston, named for the nearby locks.{{cite book |title=Norfolk |author=Beth Bridgewater |publisher=Encompass Press |year=1995 |page=198}} The Shroppie Fly: Audlem, is named after a type of canalboat, the 'Shropshire Fly'.http://www.shroppiefly.co.uk/ {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213004047/http://www.shroppiefly.co.uk/ |date=13 February 2012 }} The Shroppie Fly website

As for rivers, the Tide End Cottage, Teddington marks the former tidal limit of the River Thames.{{cite web |title=Tide End Cottage |url=https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/middlesex/tide-end-cottage/book/ |website=www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk |access-date=2 February 2021}}

Some pubs are named for types of boat, including The Fishing Buss, Southwold;{{cite news |newspaper=Norfolk Chronicle |title=To Brewers, Wine and Spirit Merchants |date=29 July 1820 |page=1}} the Lifeboat Inn, Holme-Next-The-Sea, once a smuggler's inn;{{cite book |title=Norfolk |publisher=Encompass Press |author=Beth Bridgewater |year=1975 |page=50}} the Old Ferryboat, Holywell, Cambridgeshire;{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/pubs-and-bars/britains-oldest-pubs-in-pictures/the-old-ferryboat-inn-holywell-cambridgeshire/ |website=Telegraph |access-date=19 September 2021 |title=Old Ferryboat |date=6 May 2016}}

the Pilot Boat, such as at Bembridge, Isle of Wight; and the Steam Packet Tavern, Norwich.{{cite news |title=The Steam Packet Tavern |newspaper=Norfolk Chronicle |date=20 March 1858 |page=8}}

A special case is {{lang|gd|Am Politician}}, Eriskay. It is named (in Gaelic) after the SS Politician which sank close to the island in 1941 with a cargo including large amounts of whisky, prompting the story of the Compton Mackenzie novel Whisky Galore.{{cite web |title=Am Politician |url=https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/food-and-drink/am-politician-p525701 |website=Visit Outer Hebrides |publisher=Outer Hebrides Tourism (Trading) |access-date=12 June 2023}}

File:Hatfield, The Comet hotel - geograph.org.uk - 209701.jpg]]

Air transport began with balloons, commemorated in pubs such as the Balloon, Stamford † (attested in 1848), near where the balloonist Mr. H. Green had made several ascents,{{cite news |title=Stamford |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=3 March 1848 |page=2}} and the Air Balloon, Birdlip, Gloucestershire, again near a field where early ascents were made.{{cite web |url=http://www.airballoon-pub-gloucestershire.co.uk/ |title=Pubs in Birdlip - The Air Balloon - Old English Inns |work=airballoon-pub-gloucestershire.co.uk}}

From the 20th century, several pub names recall pioneering aircraft, like the Comet at Hatfield, Hertfordshire: the pub is named for the de Havilland DH.88 racer, famous for winning of the 1934 McRobertson Cup air race.{{cite web |title=History of the Comet Hotel |url=https://comethotel.co.uk/history/ |publisher=Comet Hotel |access-date=17 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119224043/https://comethotel.co.uk/history/ |archive-date=19 January 2025 |url-status=live}} The Canopus, Hill Road, Borstal, Rochester † is similarly named after the flying boats produced at the nearby Short Brothers aircraft factory,{{cite web |title=Canopus |url=http://www.dover-kent.com/2014-project-a/Canopus-Borstal.html |website=Dover Kent Archives |access-date=17 April 2025}} while the Flying Boat, Dartford is housed in what was the office of Beadles, a company which manufactured the floats for Sunderland flying boats in the Second World War.{{cite web |title=The Flying Boat pub |url=https://www.kentlive.news/whats-on/music-nightlife/hidden-history-behind-every-wetherspoons-3851667 |publisher=Kent Live |access-date=17 April 2025}} The Airman, Feltham, Middlesex is named for its proximity to the London Air Park (latterly Hanworth Air Park).{{cite web |title=Airman, Feltham |url=https://camra.org.uk/pubs/airman-feltham-121724 |publisher=CAMRA |access-date=17 April 2025}} The Flying Bedstead, Hucknall, Nottinghamshire † (now demolished): was named after the prototype aircraft which led to the Harrier Jump Jet.{{cite web |title=Flying Bedstead, Hucknall |url=https://camra.org.uk/pubs/flying-bedstead-hucknall-162727 |publisher=CAMRA |access-date=17 April 2025}} Finally the name of the Red Arrow, Lutterworth, Leicestershire recalls the name of the RAF aerobatics team; the pub has a sloping triangular roof and was formerly called the "flying saucer".{{cite web |title=Lutterworth heritage assets preserved for future generations |url=https://rugbyobserver.co.uk/news/lutterworth-heritage-assets-preserved-for-future-generations/ |publisher=Lutterworth Observer |access-date=17 April 2025 |date=23 February 2022}}

File:The 'Moon Under Water', High Street, Watford - geograph.org.uk - 610214.jpg, named after George Orwell's description]]

File:The Hobbit Southampton (cropped).JPG, named for the 1937 book by J. R. R. Tolkien ]]

• Cat and Custard Pot in Shipton Moyne is said to originate from the 1892 book Handley Cross; or, Mr. Jorrock's hunt by R. S. Surtees.{{cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Harriet |title=The Cat & Custard Pot Inn {{!}} Shipton Moyne, Gloucestershire, England |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/gloucestershire/hotels/cotswolds-the-cat-and-custard-pot-inn-hotel/ |access-date=27 May 2018 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}
• Jabez Clegg in Manchester, now closed, was named after the title character in Isabella Banks' 1876 novel The Manchester Man.{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Jennifer |title=Manchester student nightspot Jabez Clegg closes after being sold to university |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/jabez-clegg-closes-legendary-student-6319362 |access-date=27 May 2018 |work=Manchester Evening News |date=19 November 2013}}
• The Hobbit, Southampton is named after J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 book and threatened with legal action by US movie lawyers, because of this.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-17350103 |title=Hobbit pub in Southampton threatened with legal action |work=BBC News |date=13 March 2012}}
• Lass O' Gowrie in Manchester, named after the poem by Carolina Nairne.{{cite web |url=http://www.thelass.co.uk/the_lass_o_gowrie.php |title=Lass o'Gowrie |access-date=30 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907042811/http://www.thelass.co.uk/the_lass_o_gowrie.php |archive-date=7 September 2011 |url-status=dead}}
• The Magwitch in Wisbech, named after Abel Magwitch in the Charles Dickens 1861 novel Great Expectations, the manuscript of which is in Wisbech & Fenland Museum.{{cite journal |title=Great Expectations |journal=The Fens |year=2023 |issue=85 |page=20 |last=Monger |first=Garry}}
• Moon and Sixpence pubs in Portland, Oregon; Whitby, North Yorkshire; Harrow, Middlesex; and Soho, London are named after Somerset Maugham's 1919 novel of the same name.{{cite web |title=The Moon and Sixpence |url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/london/the-moon-and-sixpence-hatch-end |publisher=J. D. Wetherspoon |access-date=27 May 2018}}
• Moon Under Water, inspired by George Orwell's 1946 essay describing his perfect pub{{cite web |last1=Moody |first1=Paul |last2=Turner |first2=Robin |title=What's your perfect pub? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/08/whats-your-perfect-pub |work=The Guardian |access-date=9 September 2016 |date=8 December 2011}}
• Paul Pry Inn, Peterborough. Named after the main character in the 1825 play of that name.{{cite news |title=Peterborough Police |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=7 July 1911 |page=6}}
• Peveril of the Peak, in Manchester, commemorates a stagecoach that once connected Manchester and London, but the pub itself claims it is named for the 1823 novel by Sir Walter Scott.{{cite web |title=Pevril of the Peak |url=http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/pubs/pevril.html |publisher=Manchester History |access-date=27 May 2018}}
• Sherlock Holmes in Charing Cross, London contains a reproduction of the (1887 onwards) great detective's study.{{cite news |title=Buildings with Sherlock Holmes connections |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/pictures/10547398/Buildings-with-Sherlock-Holmes-connections.html?frame=2779593 |access-date=27 May 2018 |work=The Daily Telegraph |quote=Not far from Charing Cross station is the Sherlock Holmes pub, which in the 1950s inherited the contents of an exhibition dedicated to Sherlock Holmes which had been created for the 1951 Festival of Britain. The owners installed a replica of Holmes' and Watson’s sitting room and study in the pub which can still be seen today.}}
• Three Pigeons, Norwich and other locations. Used in a number of books and plays e.g. Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend (1864–65).{{cite news |title=Estates by auction |newspaper=Norfolk Chronicle |date=September 1812 |page=1}}
• Herbert Wells in Woking, a town that was fictionally destroyed by Martian invaders in H. G. Wells's 1897 The War of the Worlds. A 25 feet (7.6-metre) tall statue of a Martian stands in Chobham Road in the town, and a Martian is depicted in a drawing in the pub.{{cite web |title=The Herbert Wells |url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pub-histories/england/surrey/the-herbert-wells-woking |publisher=J. D. Wetherspoon |access-date=27 May 2018}}
• Edgar Wallace, The Strand, London, named for the 1930s mystery writer.{{cite web |title=The Edgar Wallace |url=http://www.theedgarwallace.co.uk/index |publisher=The Edgar Wallace |access-date=27 May 2018}}
• John Masefield in New Ferry, named for the Poet Laureate from 1930 to 1967 who served for some years on a naval training ship, HMS Conway, off New Ferry pier.{{cite web |title=The John Masefield {{!}} Our History |url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/merseyside/the-john-masefield-new-ferry |publisher=J. D. Wetherspoon |access-date=27 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706071746/https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/merseyside/the-john-masefield-new-ferry |archive-date=6 July 2017 |url-status=live}}
• Uncle Tom's Cabin, Reach, Cambridgeshire : from the 1852 book of that name.{{cite news |title=Licencing reduction |newspaper=Cambridge Independent Press |date= 4 December 1908 |page=4}}

{{further|List of real London pubs in literature}}

File:The Ivy Bush pub - geograph.org.uk - 152096.jpg]]

Some well-known pub names in books derive from real English pubs. The Ivy Bush is a "small inn on the Bywater road" near Hobbiton in The Shire in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Here Gaffer Gamgee recounted to the other regulars his stories about Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, who were about to throw a magnificent joint birthday party.The Fellowship of the Ring, "A Long-expected Party". The most likely real-world source is an Edgbaston pub called the Ivy Bush, near where Tolkien lived when he was growing up in Birmingham.Blackham, Bob, 'Tolkien's Birmingham', in Mallorn, the journal of The Tolkien Society issue 45, Spring 2008, p.27{{cite book |last=Hooker |first=Mark T. |date=2009 |title=The Hobbitonian Anthology |publisher=Llyfrawr |page=81 |isbn=978-1448617012}} The Fortune of War, Smithfield was on "Pie Corner" (where the Great Fire of London stopped) and was frequented by Resurrectionists including the London Burkers, two of whom, John Bishop and Thomas Williams, were hanged for murder after they sold the bodies for dissection. The pub is mentioned in William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 Vanity Fair.{{cite news |title=Executions |newspaper=Leicester Journal |date=9 December 1831 |page=4}}

File:The King's Arms, Marazion - geograph.org.uk - 893669.jpg]]

Royal pub names include the King of Prussia, Gosport, for Frederick the Great;{{cite news |title=To be sold by auction |newspaper=Hampshire Chronicle |date=24 September 1798 |page=1}} the Queen of Bohemia, Wych Street, London, † named after Elizabeth, daughter of James I and Anne of Denmark;{{cite news |title=Sunday Night |newspaper=Bury and Norwich Post |date=29 April 1801 |page=2}} and the Three Queens Inn, Burton.{{cite news |title=Advertisement |newspaper=Derby Mercury |date=5 February 1735 |page=4}}

People commemorated directly in pub names include the local lifeguard William Adams at Gorleston-on-Sea,{{Cite web|url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/20729789.this-beyond-wildest-dreams---familys-pride-new-wetherspoon-pub-opens-gorleston/|title=‘This is beyond my wildest dreams’ - family’s pride as new Wetherspoon pub opens in Gorleston|date=March 13, 2018|website=Eastern Daily Press}} the soldier poet Rupert Brooke in Grantchester,{{cite web |title=Rupert Brooke |url=https://pubs.sawdays.co.uk/britain/england/cambridgeshire/the-rupert-brooke#search_type=keyword&search_text=cambridgeshire& |website=www.pubs.sawdays.co.uk |access-date=24 September 2020}} the actor David Garrick, Cambridge †,{{cite book |title=Victorian Cambridge =Josiah Chater's Diaries |author=Enid Porter |publisher =Philimore |year=1875 |page=164}} the many pubs named after the Marquis of Granby,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k-4SrdUPNFoC&q=Marquess+of+Granby+pub&pg=PA250 |title=Dictionary of Pub Names – Google Books |date=September 2006 |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |isbn=9781840222661 |access-date=26 July 2009}} Admiral Lord Nelson,{{cite web |title=Lord Nelson |url=https://www.lordnelsonsouthwark.com/ |publisher=Lord Nelson, Southwark |access-date=18 April 2025}} Admiral Rodney at the Rodney Inn, Wisbech,{{cite book |title=Wisbech Inns, Taverns and Beer-Houses : Past and Present |last=Ketley |first=Andy |year=2023 |publisher=Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum |volume=5 |page=79}} Admiral Collingwood in several pubs in the North-East of England, Guy Earl of Warwick, in Welling, Dartford,{{cite web |url=http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/53134/ |title=Guy Earl of Warwick |work=Pubs Galore}} dates from at least 1896.{{cite web |url=http://londonpublichouse.com/LondonSuburbs1896/Publicans1896SouthG.shtml |title=London (South) 1896 Suburban Publicans directory listing - G |work=londonpublichouse.com}} The Shakespeare, Redland, Bristol,{{cite web |url=https://theshakespearebristol.co.uk/ |title=The Shakespeare |work=Redland, Bristol}}{{cite web |url=https://www.visitbritain.com/gb/en/4-pubs-shakespeare-actually-drank-you-can-too |title=Shakespeare's Tree |work=Visit Britain |date=21 April 2016}} the politician Robert Walpole, at the Walpole Arms, Itteringham{{cite book |title=Norfolk |author=Beth Bridgewater |publisher=Encompass Press |year=1995 |page=92}} and General Wolfe, Laxfield.{{cite news |title=The Creditors |newspaper=Ipswich Journal |date =24 March 1798 |page=3}}

File:Cat and Fiddle public house - geograph.org.uk - 40707.jpg, Hampshire]]

Although puns became increasingly popular through the twentieth century, they should be considered with care. Supposed corruptions of foreign phrases can have simpler explanations. Many old names for pubs that appear nonsensical are often alleged to have come from corruptions of slogans or phrases, such as "The Bag o'Nails" (Bacchanals), "The Cat and the Fiddle" (supposedly but implausibly a corruption of Caton le Fidèle, "the faithful", a governor of Calais loyal to King Edward III,{{cite web |url=http://www.bartleby.com/81/13751.html |title=E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898 |access-date=17 October 2008}}) and "The Bull and Bush", which purportedly celebrates the victory of Henry VIII at "Boulogne Bouche" or Boulogne-sur-Mer Harbour.{{cite web |url=http://www.bartleby.com/81/13751.html |last=Brewer |first=E. Cobham |title=Dictionary of Phrase and Fable |year=1898 |access-date=17 October 2008}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k-4SrdUPNFoC&q=pub+names&pg=PA7 |title=Dictionary of Pub Names |access-date=31 August 2009 |isbn=978-1-84022-266-1 |date=2006 |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |page=7}} The Dolphin is anglicised from the French Dauphin, commemorating battles in which England defeated France. For example the one in Wellington, Somerset is named in honour of Wellington's victory at the Battle of Waterloo.{{cite web |url=http://www.thedolphinwellington.co.uk |title=The Dolphin - Wellington, Somerset |work=thedolphinwellington.co.uk}} Some names are simply humorous, like the Paraffin Oil Shop †, in eastern Liverpool, named so that people could say that they were going to buy paraffin.{{cite web |url=http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/lancashire/liverpool_l13_paraffinoilshop.html |title=Paraffin Oil Shop, Liverpool - another lost pub |website=www.closedpubs.co.uk}} [https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4099299,-2.9170457,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s1k-k5U11NpKA3tPjlBAhrg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en Google Earth view]

File:Drunken Duck from Black Crag - geograph.org.uk - 1184439.jpg]]

The pubs with the shortest and longest names in Britain are both in Stalybridge: Q and The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn.{{cite news |last1=Wolfe-Robinson |first1=Maya |title=Pub with longest name in UK reopens next to pub with shortest |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/16/pub-longest-name-uk-reopens-next-pub-shortest-stalybridge-rifleman-q |access-date=5 September 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=16 June 2019}} The longest name of a London pub, I am the Only Running Footman,{{cite web |title=I am the Only Running Footman |url=https://www.diffordsguide.com/pubs-and-bars/1588/london/the-only-running-footman-pub |website=Difford's Guide |access-date=5 September 2020}} was used as the title of a mystery novel by Martha Grimes.{{cite book | last=Grimes | first=Martha | title=I am the only running footman | publisher=Headline | location=London | year=1987 | isbn=978-0-7472-3103-5 | oclc=32016323 | page=Title page}} There is a "pub with no name" in Southover Street, Brighton,{{cite web |url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Restaurant_Review-g186273-d3722852-Reviews-Pub_With_No_Name-Brighton_East_Sussex_England.html |title=The Southover |work=tripadvisor.com.au}} and another near to Petersfield, Hampshire, so known (despite having an actual name), because its sign on the nearest main road has been missing for many years.{{Cite web |url=https://www.whitehorsepetersfield.co.uk/ |title=The White Horse - Home |website=www.whitehorsepetersfield.co.uk}} The Salley Pussey's Inn at Royal Wootton Bassett is said to have been named after Sarah Purse, whose family owned The Wheatsheaf pub in the 19th century. In the 1970s the name was changed to the Salley Pussey's.{{cite web |last=Marshman |first=Mike |title=Sarah Purse becomes Sally Pussey |url=https://wshc.org.uk/sarah-purse-becomes-sally-pussey/ |publisher=Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre |date=25 February 2014}} The Defector's Weld, Shepherd's Bush is apparently named for the coming together of the Cambridge Five spies who were working at the BBC nearby during the Cold War.{{cite web |title=Defector's Weld, Shepherds Bush |url=https://camra.org.uk/pubs/defectors-weld-shepherds-bush-128695 |publisher=CAMRA |access-date=19 April 2025}}

The Lake District pub the Drunken Duck is supposedly named for a 19th century event, when a landlady found her ducks apparently dead. After she had plucked them in preparation for cooking them, they awoke, recovering from eating some beer-soaked feed. She is said to have knitted woollen waistcoats for them to replace their feathers.

File:Slug & Lettuce, St Mary Street, Cardiff.jpg chain of pubs, in Cardiff ]]

Common enough today, the pairing of words in the name of an inn or tavern was rare before the mid-17th century. By 1708, it had become frequent enough for a pamphlet to complain of "the variety and contradictory language of the signs", citing absurdities such as 'Bull and Mouth', 'Whale and Cow', and 'Shovel and Boot'. Two years later an essay in The Spectator echoed this complaint, deriding such contemporary paired names as 'Bell and Neat's Tongue', though accepting 'Cat and Fiddle'. One explanation for doubling is the combining of businesses, for example when a landlord of one pub moved to another premises.{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Jacqueline Simpson |title=Green Men and White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-84794-515-0 |year=2010 |pages= }}

Some pub chains in the UK adopt the same or similar names for many pubs as a means of brand expression. Examples include "The Moon Under Water", commonly used by the JD Wetherspoon chain (and inspired by George Orwell's 1946 essay in the Evening Standard, "The Moon Under Water"), and the "Tap and Spile" brand name used by the now defunct Century Inns chain.{{cite web |title=Moon under Water |url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com |website=www.jdwetherspoon.com |access-date=2 February 2021}}{{cite web |title=Century inns |url=https://dev.qynn.co.uk/company/02638211/century-inns-limited |website=www.dev.gynn.co.uk |access-date=2 February 2021}} Paired names intended to be amusing like the Slug and Lettuce pub chain (all with the same name),{{cite web |title=Feel Good at Slug and Lettuce |url=https://www.stonegategroup.co.uk/press/feel-good-at-slug-and-lettuce/ |publisher=Stonegate Group |access-date=19 April 2025}} and the Firkin Brewery's chain with names like 'Frog and Firkin' in the late 20th century (discontinued when it was taken over by Punch Taverns), was responsible for many more pub names.{{cite news |last=Murray-West |first=Rosie |title=Firkin chain to go as Punch Taverns looks to future |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/4463723/Firkin-chain-to-go-as-Punch-Taverns-looks-to-future.html |accessdate=1 July 2016 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=1 September 2000}}

Pubs that were in existence in the 19th century with paired names include the Black Boy and Trumpet (attested 1850), Peterborough †;{{cite news |title=To be Lett |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=11 October 1850 |page=1}} the Boot and Shoe (1839) March;{{cite news |title=Valuable Estates |newspaper=Cambridge Chronicle and Journal |date=5 January 1839 |page=1}} the George and Vulture Tavern (1838) St. Michael's Alley, Cornhill, London;{{cite news |title=Notice |newspaper=London Evening Standard |date=1 June 1838 |page=2}} the Goat and Boot Inn (1859) Colchester;{{cite news |title=Goat and Boot Inn |newspaper=Essex Standard |date=24 June 1859 |page=3}} the Plough and Sail (1817), Marshland Smeeth †;{{cite news |title=To be sold by auction |newspaper=Norfolk Chronicle |date=1 November 1817 |page=3}} and the Lion and Adder (1829), Northgate, Newark.{{cite news |title=Public House |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |date=27 February 1829 |page=2}} An example of a more recent name is the Pink and Lily, Princes Risborough.{{cite web |url=https://pink-lily.com |website=Pink and Lily |title=Pink and Lily |access-date=30 December 2021}}

{{see also|List of pubs in the United Kingdom}}

File:SwanInn.jpg, Gloucestershire ]]

An authoritative list of the most common pub names in Great Britain is hard to establish, owing to several ambiguities, such as what counts as a pub as opposed to a licensed restaurant or nightclub, so lists of this form tend to vary hugely. Major surveys include those by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), and Pubs Galore.{{cite web |url=http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/stats/pubs/pub-names/#Most |title=Common pub names on Pubs Galore |website=www.pubsgalore.co.uk}} In addition, many pubs have closed. In 2008, there were some 50,000 pubs in Britain; by 2018 there were about 39,000.{{cite web |title=Economies of ale: small pubs close as chains focus on big bars |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/articles/economiesofalesmallpubscloseaschainsfocusonbigbars/2018-11-26 |website=Census 2021 |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=30 January 2025 |date=26 November 2018}}

• List of pubs in Australia
• List of pubs in the United Kingdom

{{reflist}}

• Brewer, E. Cobham (1898) Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. London: Cassell and Co.
• Cox, Barrie (1994) English Inn and Tavern Names. Nottingham: Centre for English Name Studies, {{ISBN |978-0-9525343-0-3}}
• Dunkling, Leslie (1994) Pub Names of Britain, London: Orion (1994), {{ISBN |1-85797-342-9}}
• Dunkling, Leslie & Wright, Gordon (2006) The Dictionary of Pub Names. Ware: Wordsworth Editions {{ISBN |1-84022-266-2}}
• Myrddin ap Dafydd (1992) Welsh Pub Names. Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch {{ISBN |0-86381-185-X}} (Translation of: Enwau tafarnau Cymru)
• Wright, Gordon & Curtis, Brian J. (1995) Inns and Pubs of Nottinghamshire: the stories behind the names. Nottingham: Nottinghamshire County Council {{ISBN |0-900943-81-5}}

• [Anon] (1969) Inn Signs: their history and meaning. London: the Brewers' Society.
• {{cite book |last=Delderfield |first=Eric R. |year=1965 |title=British Inn Signs and Their Stories |location=London |publisher=David & Charles |ref=none}}
• Douch, H. L. (1966) Old Cornish Inns and their place in the social history of the County. Truro: D. Bradford Barton.
• Lamb, Cadbury and Wright, Gordon (1968) Inn Signs. London: Shire Publications.
• Monson-Fitzjohn, G. J. (1926) Quaint Signs of Old Inns. London: Senate Books.
• Richardson, A. E. (1934) The Old Inns of England. London: B. T. Batsford.
• Townsend, C. R. (2005) Inn-vestigated. The Origins of Public House Names. Leicester: Reprint.

{{commons category-inline}}

• [http://www.innsignsociety.com The Inn Sign Society]
• [http://www.breweryartists.co.uk Brewery Arts], a short history of studio inn signs

Category:Pubs

Category:Names