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Introduction
OK, I'm going to come clean - I'm now an official sad git. It all
started off a few years ago - that's when I should have sought medical
help. I'd already been taking photographs of pubs when I thought "hang
on, I should be taking photographs of the signs too." And now I can't
travel anywhere without keeping one eye peeled for a good inn sign. Even
when I'm out of the Midlands region and beyond the parameters of the
website, I can't stop. Well, I can - as I slam the brakes on in the
middle of some ridiculous town centre situation so I can hop out and
take a quick photograph.
I have noticed that signs are slowly being changed from traditional
hand-painted boards to computer-generated stick-on images so if you have
any interest in this area I urge you to take photographs of the old
painted signs before they disappear forever. Yes, it's another craft
going down the pan.
There's been an added bonus to all my sadness. In studying or
researching a inn sign that I've captured on a photograph, I have
learned many historical facts that I wouldn't have necessarily gone out
of my way to discover - and many of the stories unearthed can,
amazingly, make for a good dinner conversation or a bit of waffle over a
pint down the pub. For example, everyone knows who first clambered up to
the summit of Everest, but I didn't realise that the measurements of the
mountain changed in 1999. And if you didn't know yourself have a look at
the sign's entry for more details. Of course, I wouldn't bore the pants
off everyone in the bar - I'd make some sort of claim that I'd have
climbed the soddin' mountain myself in the 1990's but now I can't be
bothered with that extra seven foot. I mean, I'd have to pack an extra
Kendal Mint Cake.
If you can handle the 'sad git' handle, then the study of inn signs can
be a satisfying hobby. Indeed, it can be most informative because the
name of a pub can reveal something about its past. Some pub names often
enjoyed their period of vogue and some in particular will give hints or
clues as to the pub's history. For example, if you stumbled across a pub
called The Yew Tree - and there seem to be quite a few of them - then it
could be that the pub originates from (or shortly after) the period when
Henry V was on the throne. The tree was of particular significance in
that it was used to make bows. An Act was passed during the reign of
Henry V to protect the tree and it was subsequently planted in
churchyards to act as an evergreen symbol of immortality. This is
perhaps the most common place to see a yew tree nowadays. However, you
have to tread carefully with pub names as they can sometimes be
misleading - a pub named The Yew Tree may have existed before such an
Act was passed and changed its name accordingly. Or the pub could be
quite recent, say Victorian, and it was named simply because a
magnificent example of a Yew Tree stands near the pub. It all adds to
the fun and mystery of our wonderful inn signs.
It was those clever-clog Romans who introduced inn signs to Great
Britain and three modern signs can be traced back to the days of Maximus
the Gladiator. A branch of greenery tied to a pole and placed outside a
building would identify it as a taberna and the sign was called an
alestake or a bush - hence perhaps the oldest pub name, The Bush. The
Romans also used the Chequers as a sign for a pub. It would indicate
that, in addition to a good piss-up, games like chess and draughts could
be played there - along with a bit of gambling of course! The third sign
used by the Romans was more pictorial. A vintner was advertised using a
picture of two slaves carrying an amphora of wine suspended on a pole
between them. The modern day version shows Two Brewers or draymen
delivering beer and carrying a cask between them, again slung from a
pole. Up until recent times, there were still seventeen pubs in London
with the name The Two Brewers. Most are probably called something like
the Frog and Spanner Wrench now as corporate identity and marketing
plonkers have done for many of our interesting pub names.
It was during the middle ages that pub signs of unique character really
emerged. Perhaps it was due to the increasing number of inns that drove
landlords to try to attract customers with a grand sign. As most people
were illiterate, there was little point in displaying a name so a
picture would be used. The pub, in most cases, would have been named
after the sign because people would have spoke of being at the sign of
The Bush (or whatever name) rather than being at a pub called The Bush.
Of course, it wasn't just pubs that used such sign language - most
businesses erected signs to advertise their trade.
At one time pub landlords had no option but to erect a sign. In 1393
King Richard II decreed that pubs must have signs. He stated that
"Whosoever shall brew ale in the town (London) with the intention of
selling it must hang out a sign; otherwise he shall forfeit his ale".
Since that day pubs and their signs became synonymous. And no other
country proudly displays its history on their pub signs. We're certainly
the richer for this. So, if you enjoy looking at a bit of history, take
a virtual journey with me around the inn signs of the Midlands.
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