A Dictionary of Pub, Inn and Tavern Signs: An A-Z Reference Guide to Pub Names – Their meaning, origin and history
£10.40
There are few things that symbolise British culture better than the good old-fashioned pub. Over centuries, their colourful hanging signs have become an integral part of the country’s backdrop. But how much do you really know about the names of these pubs, and how they came to have them?
Have you ever found yourself at the Red Lion, the Swan with Two Necks, the Jolly Roger, the Golden Fleece or the Beetle & Wedge, and stopped to wonder how it came by its name? Or what that name might reveal about the history of the building?
The answers to all these questions, and hundreds more, are contained with A Dictionary of Pub, Inn and Tavern Signs.
Here you’ll find out how public drinking houses have changed through history, progressing from the simple custom of hanging grapes outside to boards depicting a name and illustration; how, after the Norman Conquest, some inn-keepers found themselves obliged to display elements of their new lord’s coat of arms – a lion, griffin, deer or hart; how some pubs’ names (the Plough & Harrow or the Three Horseshoes, for example), came to represent the livelihoods of many of the inn’s customers.
This illustrated reference book, arranged alphabetically, provides a brief guide to the meaning, origin and history of these names and sheds light on an important part of Britain’s heritage.
Colin Waters is also the author of A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations and A Dictionary of Saints’ Days, Fasts, Feasts & Festivals.
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Countryside Books, First Edition (24 Mar. 2005) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 160 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1853069140 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1853069147 |
| Dimensions | 14.61 x 1.27 x 20.32 cm |
by P. Jarosz
poor, non pictorial, which is ironic considering the subject involved.
by boogalouie
On reading the other two comments I really do not know what they expected from this book. You got exactly what the title suggested.
I thought it was informative and interesting, just shows you cannot please everyone. but I thought it well worth a read.
by Barry
Pretty much perfect condition and very interesting to read. This is more than just a dictionary, it is a compendium of pub names.
by septimus-blake
This book contains lots of names but no more than a couple of lines are given to each in a dictionary type format. Left me wanting more information about the hows and whys behind the names. An in depth examination of fewer names would have made it a more interesting and useful book.
Elaine Saunders
Author: A Book About Pub Names
[]
by P. Jarosz
England is certainly well-known around the world for its pubs with the names, signs, and history being a good part of its uniqueness & charm. Books on this subject are quite rare, therefore it rates at least three stars. The book certainly has many pub names (around 3000), and naturally with 60 or 70 thousand pubs in the UK, one would expect a lot to be missing, but I was frankly surprised at all the famous pubs that were not included (e.g. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, the Black Friar, Prospect of Whitby, etc. in London), nor many of the unique ones (e.g. the Bucket of Blood in Cornwall). FatBadgers website has a good list of strange pub names, yet you won’t find many of them in this book. This book does have a few black & white photos of pub signs, but they’re all the general ones you see every day. I would have expected photos of the strange pubs signs as that would have been much more interesting (e.g. the Silent Woman in Slaithwaite where a woman is holding her cut-off head on a dark night). Why not include pubs with strange backgrounds or stories? Bottomline is the book provides some background on many of the general pubs (and a few odd ones), but still misses out on being intriguing.