Some of the most popular talks I give are those dealing with the meaning of inn and pub names. Currently we don’t have a great variety of pub names in Wiltshire but we do still have some interesting ones. The Green Dragon at Alderbury was used by Charles Dickens in Martin Chuzzlewitt, as he was staying nearby while writing this novel. Dickens used many hostelries in his books and in this case he renamed it the Blue Dragon; perhaps the sign was somewhat faded to a pale blue and he misinterpreted it as it would have been unlikely that the name was on the building.

 
The Green Dragon at Alderbury

The green dragon came from the earls of Pembroke and many of the early names used the badges of great families. The red lion of John of Gaunt, the black bear of the earls of Warwick and the white hart of Richard II are still common today. From the 18^th century the full coat of arms was often used so that in Fovant we have the Pembroke Arms. The association with the badge or coat of arms often indicated that the family owned the property or were the chief landowners in the area.

Comment (1) Read More...

To most of us the pub has been a permanent feature of our landscape - many of us have navigated by using them as points of reference. They are a part of community history and often the pub, or its name on a variety of buildings has been in the town or village for a couple of centuries or more. The George Inn at Lacock (pictured below) has a 16^th century core and there was a George Inn here in 1361.

The George Inn at Lacock

A chequerboard can be found on the Methuen Arms at Corsham. This sign has ancient origins, being used by the Romans, but here it might have shown either that draughts or backgammon was played or that the innkeeper also acted as a money changer. This inn was known as the Red Lion when it was set up in the 17^th century it survived an early order for its suppression by magistrates.

Comment (3) Read More...