Buzz
British pubs are a quintessential part of the nation’s culture. With approximately 50,000 pubs scattered across the UK, many claim origins dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries. The oldest known, verified by Guinness, is Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St. Albans, which is said to have been founded in 795 CE.
Given their prevalence, the names of pubs were crafted to be both memorable and visual. Outside almost every traditional pub, you'll spot a hanging signboard featuring a unique image that reflects the pub’s name. This custom is so well established that even modern pubs adopt it. But what’s the reason behind these signs?
The first pub signs in Britain appeared in the 12th century. These were basic images of tankards, hops, and other brewing-related items, designed to show that the establishment sold ale. In an era when education and literacy were scarce, pub signs served as a way for the largely illiterate population to identify where they could find a drink.
In 1393, King Richard II introduced a law requiring pubs and inns to display his emblem, the White Hart, to help identify them for the official ale taster, whose job was to inspect the quality of the ale sold. (Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare, served as one such inspector.) From that time onward, pub signs began to vary in design to reflect the names of the establishments, partly so people could easily distinguish them from similar drinking spots in the expanding towns.
This is why early pub, inn, and tavern names often referenced the sign directly. People would arrange to meet "at the sign of the Eagle and Child" instead of just saying "at the Eagle and Child." While patrons might not have been able to tell "Hart and Stag" apart from "Bear and Staff," they could easily recognize images of these creatures, whether they were locals or travelers passing through.
Or at least, most of the time they could. There are historical examples where signs were likely misinterpreted, leading to official name changes. For instance, an 18th-century London pub called "The Leg and Star" was probably meant to refer to the prestigious Order of the Garter (whose emblem is an eight-pointed star), but customers misread the sign and renamed the pub based on the images they saw—a gartered leg and a star.
In addition to serving as a unique identifier for an establishment, a pub's sign also signified its legal permission to operate. A law passed in 1431 declared that if a pub owner didn't display a sign, their ale could be confiscated. Records also show that if a pub's license to sell ale was revoked, the pub's sign would be removed as a form of punishment.
King Richard II wasn't the only monarch to influence the public house. In the early 1500s, when King Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church to establish the monarch as the head of the Church of England, pub names shifted away from religious symbols and began featuring images of royal figures and royal iconography.
When King James I ascended to the throne of both England and Scotland in 1603, he decreed that the heraldic red lion (one of Scotland's emblems) be added to all significant buildings, including pubs. As a result of this decision, the two most common pub names in the UK are still "The Crown" and "The Red Lion."
Today, this tradition persists mostly out of respect for history, but many pub signs continue to serve a functional purpose. Remote country pubs often use their signboards to guide visitors from busier roads. Though this part of British culture is fading—over 20,000 pubs have closed since 1980—there are still enough around to allow you to pause and appreciate the history and symbolism behind a pub's sign the next time you come across one.
