OLD ENGLISH INNS
SOME QUAINT NAMES
POPULARITY OF “BULLS.”
Taverns, or inns, have played a great part in the history of England. There, in olden days, were gathered together the men who made history in politics, art and letters. The traveller through towns and villages must have noticed with some interest the various “signs” of the hotels, inns or taverr.s, says a writer in “The Farmer’s Home.” It is said that “the heavens were searched and the ocean plumbed” to find names for signs, and if this is so it is doubly strange that the cow, so important to every age of man, should seldom appear on a signboard. Sometimes the sign of “The Dun Cow” or “The Red Cow” may be seen, but not frequently. The most curious sign in which a cow appears is the “Cow and Snuffers,” an odd conjunction indeed. It is said to be the result of a. wager made in 1770, when the contestants, undertook to think out the most inappropriate sign for an inn. This board, depicting an ..ungainly cow with a huge pair of snuffers at her feet, is still to be seen in the town of Llandaff.
"The Craven Heifer,” a fairly familiar sign in Yorkshire, is understandable enough. As the breed of Hereford cattle is to Herefordshire, so was the Craven breed to the farmers of Gargrave, in Craven. “The Red Cow” and “The Dun Heifer” are said to be variants of "The Craven Heifer.” Bulls, on the contrary, were very popular, partly owing to the fact that ,thg trade ..of,.innkeeper was combined with that of beer-seller, and it was an •indication that good fare could be provided. "The Bull and Bell” indicates a house where the old barbarous pursuit of bull-baiting took place. “The Bull’s Head” is frequently met with, and can be traced back to ifudor days, “The Bull’s Head” was the badge of that trueutent monarch,' Henry VIH, &ftd W&s said to be painted up by enterprising innkeepers in the hopfc of beguiling that muchtravelled lady, Queen Elizabeth, to bestow her patronage upon their hostelries. Another curious conjunction, the “Bull and Mouth,” was corrupted from Boulogne’s mouth, or harbour, where King Henry’s forces met with success, evidently another effort to win favour, as far north as Leeds. “The Bull in This sign may be found in London and the Oak,” at Market Bosworth, shows an immense bull tethered to a small oak tree. “The Bull and Sun” simply indicated that the landlord wished to connect his previous reputation as a good host at, say, “The Sun,” to the newly acquired inn known as “The Bull.”
These notes may appropriately end with a mention of “The Bull and Last,” which would seem to require a little explanation. The sign could be seen at Highgate at a most pictur-
esque inn. This was the last stop-ping-place for coaches on the old North Road, and was therefore the last place where a stirrup cup fortified the traveller against the jolting he would get over the cobblestones of London Town.
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Bibliographic details
Waikato Independent, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3270, 23 February 1937, Page 7
Word Count
509OLD ENGLISH INNS Waikato Independent, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3270, 23 February 1937, Page 7
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