It's impossible to understand the full significance and symbolism of these signs however without first putting them into their true historical context.   Few pubs were named by accident and many names have meanings long buried in time, the first even harking back to the pre-Christian era.   In some cases, the sign above the door is almost as old as the pleasure of drinking itself.

As we'll discover, the purpose of the early signs was solely to publicise a drinking establishment by hanging outside a distinctive object or simple image that could be  understood easily by a largely illiterate population.   It might advertise not only the location of the inn but also the types of drink, accommodation and entertainment available inside.  

Today they serve much the same purpose although, over the centuries, the names have evolved to honour local trades, national heroes and even the odd fugitive from justice.   Most have fascinating stories to tell and, together, Britain's pub signs form a unique pictorial history of these islands.

Romans and Roaming

Amongst the many civilising influences the Roman invaders brought to Britain in AD 43 - hot baths, straight roads and even the city of London - some may argue that the early public houses are their most enduring contribution to British life.  

Two and a half thousand years earlier the Beaker People, immigrants from North Western Europe, had also settled in Britain.   They brought with them their distinctive pottery beakers and, from these, the native Neolithic population had their first taste of alcohol - a blend of honey, water and yeast now called mead.   Later they added cider made from wild apples to the bill of fare, followed by ales once agriculture and grain supplies were established.  

Before the Romans' arrival there were doubtless places where communities gathered to drink these early alcoholic beverages but the invading force established the first recognisable inns.   Better roads brought increased travel and these early pubs were the Roman equivalent of modern motorway service stations - a place at the side of the road where weary travellers could find warmth, refreshment and often a bed for the night.   

In Ancient Rome these inns, or tabernae, hung bunches of vine leaves outside to show that wine was on sale but the damp, cold, British climate never lent itself to large-scale viticulture so the adaptable invaders improvised with any available evergreen bush.   Pubs called The Bush or The Hollybush can still be found countrywide. 

Bacchus was the Roman god of wine, intoxication and, some say, madness.   Bacchanalian orgies were held in his honour; notorious celebrations that got so out of hand they were eventually banned.   His picture was often hung outside a Roman wine merchant's; probably the first pictorial pub sign.

If the tavern sold beer as well as wine then the stick used to stir the beer, an ale-stake, would also be hung above the door, often with greenery tied around the end.   The ale-stake remained a pub sign for many centuries after the Romans had finally quitted British shores.   Chaucer mentions it twice in his Canterbury Tales; the Summoner wearing a garland on his head as big as if it were for an ale-stake and the Pardoner insisting on drinking and eating cake at the ale-stake.

Religious Influences

Whenever God erects a House of Prayer

The Devil's sure to build a chapel there,

And 'twill be found upon examination

The latter has the larger congregation

Daniel Defoe

Whilst the Church is sometimes characterised as campaigning against the evils of the demon drink it was largely responsible for founding the brewing industry and maintaining the traditions of the roadside inn begun by the Romans.   Monastic houses were the forerunners of modern hotels, keeping rooms for guests and providing food for travellers. They were also often the major employers in an area, as well as providing a focus for life in a particular town.  

Wherever large numbers of people gather, there has always been a demand for alcohol, and the monks prided themselves on the quality of their home-brewed ales.   The Domesday Book, a nationwide survey of Britain taken in 1086, records St Paul's in London brewing almost 68,000 gallons a year: around 1,900 barrels.   However, the monks of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire far exceeded this in later centuries, producing a staggering 60 barrels every ten days, or 21,900 annually.

The monks made sweet, strong ale from malted barley, water and yeast, said to have been twice as potent as modern beer.   Despite this, it became the drink of choice for the majority of the population, including children.   Water pollution had become a problem in larger villages - from household effluent and early industrial processes - so the monks' beer was a purer alternative, the water being sterilised during boiling and fermentation. 

The 11^th Century saw the commencement of The Crusades, a series of wars much romanticised in the legends of The Knights Templar.   The armies of Richard The Lionheart, travelling across England on their way to the Holy Land, stayed overnight in the monasteries.   Many of today's pub names originated at this time, including the one claiming to be Britain's oldest, Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem in Nottingham.  

Long distance travel continued well into the 14^th Century, as described in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales which tells the story of a group of pilgrims setting out from The Tabard in London on their way to Canterbury.   Religious pilgrimages became increasingly popular from the 12^th Century following the murder of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury cathedral.   So much so that the monasteries were no longer able to cope with the passing trade and additional, secular inns were established in towns to cater for the devout travelling between shrines.

Almost as if he'd known how he'd influence the future of hostelries and form the basis of the travel industry, Becket coincidentally trained as a brewer during his time at St Alban's Abbey and is the brewers' patron saint......................

Click here to buy A BOOK ABOUT PUB NAMES and learn more about the fascinating history of Britain's pubs and pub signs.