The sign of a good pub

PETE Coxon is supping on a pint in one of the finest pubs in York. The building is historic, the service friendly and the beer impeccable. But Pete’s not talking about any of those things.

In fact he’s talking about something that isn’t actually in the pub at all, but which is an integral part of it all the same. Namely: the sign.

This, you see, is Pete’s newfound area of expertise. Having retired from his job at Aviva, he has spent the past three years driving around the country with his wife Vicki, staying in old inns, finding out their history and above all recording their signs.

The result is a joy to behold: a captivating hardback book, The Hart of England, which takes in more than 300 pubs from around England and a few from further afield.

Few pub crawls can ever have been quite this civilised. Nor, indeed, as educational. The photographs are but the focal point for an engaging written account of the history and culture behind the names. It takes in the Magna Carta (Lincoln), The Round Table (London), countless Royals and generals galore. It covers trades, transport, villains and war. Soldiers, sportsmen, witches and religion. The list, it seems, is almost endless.

There are themes that span centuries and countries, and in one case even an ocean – The Waterfront in Boston, England, and The Bell in Hand in Boston, Massachusetts, both tell of the Pilgrim Fathers’ departure from England for America.

“I could have written for ever but I had to draw the line somewhere,” says Pete, who has lived in York for the past 60 of his 64 years.

“I have been to thousands of pubs and stayed in a lot, but you have to be selective. I tried to cover places that people visit – Cathedral cities, market towns, London and places of beauty. These signs reflect the history of where they are.”

Our interview is in the Golden Ball in Cromwell Road, one of about 15 York pubs in the book and one with a truly local story. The golden crucifix atop a golden globe was adopted by Constantine as his symbol in 312 AD, six years after he had been declared Roman Emperor right here in Eboracum.

Many other pubs have adopted the name and the symbol. But, says Pete: “The one in York is more pertinent – because it’s here.”

We stay in the Ball, enjoying the beers, but flick forwards a few chapters to the most famous of York pub signs, that for Ye Olde Starre Inn.

Its beam across Stonegate is now a landmark in its own right, countless tourists walking under it and passing comment every day, but its origins were purely practical.

When a house was built in the courtyard in front of the pub, it hid the Olde Starre from passers-by, and an advert became necessary. On February 5, 1733, landlord Thomas Bulman duly signed a contract with the householder opposite to erect the sign – agreeing that the annual rent of five shillings would be spent in the pub.

The Starre is in the Civil War section of the book, wounded soldiers having reputedly been treated there after the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644, and it sits poignantly beside the Kings Arms in Tregony, near Pendennis Castle in Cornwall, the last Royalist stronghold to fall to Cromwell in 1646.

Towns and cities across England are covered, in 57 chapters, but York’s own history coupled with Pete’s local knowledge mean it is well represented. The first three York Brewery pubs, with their execution-themed names and signs, all get a mention, as does the Guy Fawkes, among others.

In Stamford Bridge, The Swordsman recounts the battle of 1066, while The Boot and Shoe at Tockwith was given the name to show that it was welcoming to both locals and travellers – not like in Goodramgate in York, where the sign of The Golden Slipper was a well-understood warning that it was a place for locals alone.

This is Pete’s third pub-related book, following on from York’s Historic Inns and Landlords and Rogues and it has been, he says, a labour of love.

“We stayed in the coaching inns and some of the signs were really colourful; they were works of art,” he says. “My first idea was to do a book of inn signs. It looked nice but it did not take long to read, so I went back and thought: why don’t I write a history of the stories behind the places? These signs show the characters.”

And if most of those characters are historical and noble, a few lighter ones have crept in too. In Whitby, the sign for The First In, Last Out has a different image on either side – one showing a lively local awaiting admission; and the other showing the same gent being unceremoniously booted out at closing time.

Reading the signs

The Black Swan is one of the more common pub names in England. While some existed earlier, many date to 1736, when landlords painted their white swan signs black in protest at the imposition of a new tax on gin.

The Ducking Stool is in Leominster, the site of the last recorded ducking of a woman in England, in 1809. The punishment was reserved for witches, prostitutes and quarrelsome women – but the sign instead shows a local town official being plunged into the water.

The Wig and Mitre in Lincoln stands equidistant between the Cathedral and the Crown Court. The sign is double-sided – one face showing a bishop, and the other a judge.

Inn the beginning

Pictorial inn signs came into being for practical reasons. In an age when few people could read and write, when houses were not numbered, and when street-signs were few and far between, landlords had to find a way to give their inns an identity. Many would hang a branch or a garland over the door; others sometimes opted for a chess-board. Signs were made obligatory in 1393, and in 1477 the Mayor and Commonality of York ordered that any landlord failing to hang a sign over their door should be fined 13s 4d.

Competition

PETE Coxon and publishers Melrose Books have kindly donated two copies of The Hart of England for us to give away.

To have a chance of winning, just correctly answer this question:

How many years ago was the beam sign for Ye Olde Starre Inne put up?

a) 78
b) 278
c) 878

To enter by phone, call 09011510352 and leave your answer and details when prompted. To enter by text, send your message to 80360. Start with the word PUBS then leave a space, followed by your answer, your name and contact details.

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