History and Information on Inn Signs of Pubs and Taverns of the Midlands for Local Historians, Family Research and Genealogy

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. 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 an inn sign that I have 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 the Romans who introduced inn signs to Great Britain and three modern signs can be traced back to their occupation of England. 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 knees-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 and beyond.