Crown Review: The Commonest Pub Name in Britain
Crown Review: The Commonest Pub Name in Britain | It means loyalty, and it meant it at a time when the alternative was being hanged for the alternative
Tag: traditional pub
The Hermits Cave Review: The Solitary Holy Man and His Retreat
The Hermits Cave Review: The Solitary Holy Man and His Retreat | A beloved Camberwell institution named for the hermit – the solitary holy recluse whose cave-dwelling retreat is one of history’s oldest spiritual traditions
Nightingale Review: The Bird Whose Song Enchanted the Poets
Nightingale Review: The Bird Whose Song Enchanted the Poets | The nightingale’s song is the most celebrated in all of nature – the inspiration of poets from the Greeks to Keats
Hop Poles Review: Hops Were Banned as a Wicked Weed
Hop Poles Review: Hops Were Banned as a Wicked Weed | England resisted the hop for a century. Parliament petitioned against it. It is now the basis of the entire national drink.
Hope and Anchor Review: The Ancient Symbol of Steadfast Hope
Hope and Anchor Review: The Ancient Symbol of Steadfast Hope | The anchor has symbolised hope since the earliest Christians – a sign of steadfastness, safety, and the soul held firm
The Quiet Night Inn Review: The Pun Is the Business Plan
The Quiet Night Inn Review: The Pun Is the Business Plan | A pub that has promised, in its own name, to be uneventful – which is either brave or a warning
Hillgate Review: A Small Pub in the Pastel Streets
Hillgate Review: A Small Pub in the Pastel Streets | The Hillgate sits among the famously colourful little houses of Hillgate Village – a hidden pocket of Notting Hill charm
Ashburnham Arms Review: The Cherished Local of Old Greenwich
Ashburnham Arms Review: The Cherished Local of Old Greenwich | A beloved traditional backstreet local, named for the Ashburnham connection – a proper, warm, community-hearted Greenwich pub
Earls Court Tavern Review: The Court of a Vanished Earl
Earls Court Tavern Review: The Court of a Vanished Earl | Earl’s Court is named after the manorial court of the medieval earls of Oxford – and later became the home of a legendary exhibition hall
White Horse Review: The Horse of Hanover, and a Hill in Oxfordshire
White Horse Review: The Horse of Hanover, and a Hill in Oxfordshire | The white horse is the badge of the House of Hanover. It is also carved into a hillside and is three thousand years old.
Goat Tavern Review: The Goat Was Probably Real
Goat Tavern Review: The Goat Was Probably Real | Kensington High Street’s old pub is named after an animal that very likely stood outside it, which after two hundred articles is a relief
The Mitre Review: A Bishop’s Hat Over a Bar
The Mitre Review: A Bishop’s Hat Over a Bar | The commonest ecclesiastical pub name in England, and a reminder that the Church used to own most of the pubs
Pig and Whistle Review: A Merry Old Name of Uncertain Origin
Pig and Whistle Review: A Merry Old Name of Uncertain Origin | A 4.3 pub from 340 reviews named the Pig and Whistle, one of the merriest and most debated of old English pub names
Cock and Bottle Review: The Cock Is a Tap
Cock and Bottle Review: The Cock Is a Tap | It is not a bird. It is the spigot on a barrel, and the name means draught beer and bottled beer, which is the least romantic pub name in England
The Goat Review: The Ancient, Characterful, Slightly Devilish Beast
The Goat Review: The Ancient, Characterful, Slightly Devilish Beast | The goat is one of humanity’s oldest companions – hardy, clever, characterful, and tangled up with everything from Greek gods to the Devil
The Hope Review: The Cheapest Optimism in Bloomsbury
The Hope Review: The Cheapest Optimism in Bloomsbury | A one-word name promising the single most valuable and least deliverable thing a pub can offer
Chelsea Ram Review: A Proper Local That Actually Earns the Name
Chelsea Ram Review: A Proper Local That Actually Earns the Name | A genuine neighbourhood pub with a 4.5 from 700 people, and a ram on the sign that may point back to Chelsea’s rural past
Prince of Wales Cleaver Square Review: The Heir’s Title and the Feathers
Prince of Wales Cleaver Square Review: The Heir’s Title and the Feathers | A second Prince of Wales in this survey – a chance to explore the heir’s famous three-feathers badge and its curious German motto
Hand in Hand Review: The Gesture of Togetherness and Trust
Hand in Hand Review: The Gesture of Togetherness and Trust | Hand in hand is the image of togetherness, love and partnership – two hands joined, one of the warmest of all human gestures
King’s Arms Review: The Most Loyal Name in the Land
King’s Arms Review: The Most Loyal Name in the Land | The King’s Arms is one of the oldest and most common of all pub names – a straightforward declaration of loyalty to the Crown
The Albion Review: The Oldest Name This Island Has
The Albion Review: The Oldest Name This Island Has | Albion is older than Britain, older than England, and it means white – for the cliffs you see first from the sea
Chelsea Pensioner Review: The Scarlet-Coated Veterans of the Royal Hospital
Chelsea Pensioner Review: The Scarlet-Coated Veterans of the Royal Hospital | Named for the old soldiers of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, in their famous scarlet coats – one of the great sights of London
Eagle Ale House Review: The Proper Old-Fashioned Boozer
Eagle Ale House Review: The Proper Old-Fashioned Boozer | An ‘ale house’ is the oldest and humblest name for a pub – and this one proudly declares itself a proper, traditional, real-ale local
The Hemingford Arms Review: The Ivy-Clad Victorian Corner Pub
The Hemingford Arms Review: The Ivy-Clad Victorian Corner Pub | A 4.7 traditional Victorian pub named The Hemingford Arms, famous for its cascade of ivy and its old-fashioned charm
Blackbird Review: The Bird With the Most Beautiful Song
Blackbird Review: The Bird With the Most Beautiful Song | The blackbird has one of the loveliest songs in nature – and a place deep in English poetry, music and folklore
Queens Tavern Review: A 3.9, and Why That Is Not the Insult It Looks
Queens Tavern Review: A 3.9, and Why That Is Not the Insult It Looks | One hundred and fifty-one people, a below-average score, and a pub that has done nothing wrong
Five Bells Review: The Music of the English Bell-Tower
Five Bells Review: The Music of the English Bell-Tower | The bells evoke the beloved English art of change-ringing – the mathematical music of the church tower that rings across the land
Coach and Horses Review: The Great Name of the Age of the Road
Coach and Horses Review: The Great Name of the Age of the Road | The coach and horses is one of the classic pub names – a monument to the whole vanished world of horse-drawn travel and the coaching inn
Britannia Review: The Goddess Who Became a Nation
Britannia Review: The Goddess Who Became a Nation | Britannia is the female personification of Britain – a Roman invention who ended up on every penny for centuries
Brook Green Review: Named After a Green With a Brook
Brook Green Review: Named After a Green With a Brook | Brook Green is one of London’s surviving village greens – and the pub, like the place, is named for the simplest of things