MISCELLANEOUS SIGNS 153
GLOSSARY OF HERALDIC TERMS USED 176
INDEX TO NAMES OF SIGNS, &C. 177
[Illustration] The Trade Signs of Essex.
CHAPTER I.
_INTRODUCTION._
“The county god, ...
Whose blazing wyvern weather-cocked the spire,
Stood from his walls, and winged his entry-gates,
And swang besides on many a windy sign.”
TENNYSON: _Aylmer’s Field_.
The use of signs as a means of distinguishing different houses of
business, is a custom which has come down to us from times of great
antiquity. Nevertheless, it is not at all difficult to discover the
reasons which first led to their being employed. In days when only an
infinitesimally small proportion of the population could read, it would
obviously have been absurd for a tradesman to have inscribed above his
door his name and occupation, or the number of his house, as is now
done. Such inscriptions as “Sutton & Sons, Seedsmen,” or “Pears & Co.,
Soapmakers,” would then have been quite useless as a means of
distinguishing the particular houses that bore them; but, if each dealer
displayed conspicuously before his place of business a painted
representation of the wares he sold, the arms of the Trade-Guild to
which he belonged, or those of his landlord or patron, or some other
device by which his house might be known, there would be little
probability of mistake. If the sign thus displayed indicated the nature
of the wares sold within, it would answer a double purpose. Signs, too,
would be especially useful in distinguishing different establishments
in times when many members of the same craft resided, as they used
formerly to do, in one street or district. Although this habit has now
largely disappeared in England, in the cities of the East each trade is
still chiefly confined to its own special quarter.
In considering the subject of how signs originally came into use, it
must never be forgotten that, in bygone times, they were not confined,
as now, almost exclusively to “public-houses.” We have still, among
others, the sign of the POLE for a barber, the ROD AND FISH for a
tackle-dealer, the BLACK BOY for a tobacconist, the GOLDEN BALLS for a
pawnbroker; but formerly the proprietor of nearly every house of
business, and even of private residences, displayed his own particular
sign, just as the keepers of inns and taverns do now. For instance, an
examination of the title-page of almost any book, published a couple of
centuries or so ago, will show an imprint something like the
following:--“Printed for Timothy Childe at the WHITE HART in St. Paul’s
Churchyard; and for Thos. Varnam and John Osborn at the OXFORD ARMS in
Lombard St. MDCCXII.” Again, Sir Richard Baker’s quaint _Chronicles of
the Kings of England_ was printed in 1684, “for H. Sawbridge at the
BIBLE on Ludgate Hill, B. Tooke at the SHIP in St. Paul’s Churchyard,
and T. Sawbridge at the THREE FLOWER-DE-LUCES in Little Brittain.” As a
further example of the use of signs in former times by booksellers, in
common with other tradesmen, it may be mentioned that, according to a
writer in _Frazer’s Magazine_ (1845, vol. xxxii. p. 676)--
“The first edition of Shakespeare’s _Venus and Adonis_, and the
first edition of his _Rape of Lucrece_, were ‘sold by John Harrison
at the sign of the WHITE GREYHOUND in Saint Paul’s Churchyard;’ and
the first edition of _Shepheard’s Kalender_ by ‘Hugh Singleton,
dwelling at the GOLDEN TUN, in Creed Lane, near unto Ludgate.’ The
first edition of _The Merry Wives of Windsor_ was sold at the
FLOWER DE LEUSE AND CROWNE in St. Paul’s Churchyard; the first
edition of the _Midsummer Night’s Dream_ at the WHITE HART in Fleet
Street; the first edition of the _Merchant of Venice_ at the GREEN
DRAGON in St. Paul’s Churchyard; the first edition of _Richard
III._ at the ANGEL, and the first edition of _Richard II._ at the
FOX, both in St. Paul’s Churchyard; the first edition of _Henry V._
was sold at the CAT AND PARROTS in Cornhill; the first edition of
_Lear_ at the PIED BULL in St. Paul’s Churchyard; and the first
edition of _Othello_ ‘at the EAGLE AND CHILD in Britain’s
Bourse’--_i.e._, the New Exchange.”
Were announcements similar to these to appear on any modern book, it
would certainly give many persons the impression that the work had been
printed at a “public-house.” Again, on the cheques, and over the door of
Messrs. Hoare, bankers, of Fleet Street, may still be seen a
representation of the LEATHER BOTTLE which formed their sign in
Cheapside at least as long ago as the year 1677. In Paris, to the
present day, sellers of “_bois et charbons_” (wood and charcoal or
coals) invariably have the fronts of their establishments, facing the
street, painted in a manner intended to convey the impression that the
house is built of rough logs of wood. This device, although not
displayed upon a sign-board, forms, in every respect, a true trade-sign.
In all parts of France, signs still retain much more of their ancient
glory than they do in England. Though not common in the newer and more
fashionable streets and boulevards, they are abundant in the older
quarters of Paris, Rouen, and other large towns. They are much oftener
pictorial or graven than with us, and it is notable that they are used
almost, or quite, as frequently by shopkeepers and other tradesmen as by
the keepers of wine-shops, inns, and taverns. The sign, too, very often
represents the wares sold within.
Nowadays, however, the old custom of displaying a sign finds favour with
very few English tradesmen, except the keepers of inns and taverns; and
even they have allowed the custom to sink to such depths of degradation
that the great majority of sign-boards now bear only the name of the
house in print: consequently the reason which led originally to the use
of signs--the necessity for pictorial representation when few could
read--is no longer obvious. It may be truly said that the great spread
of education among all classes during the present century has given a
death-blow alike to the use of signs in trade and to the art of the
sign-painter. This, to be sure, is hardly a matter to call for regret on
its own account. Nevertheless, the great decline in the use of the
old-fashioned pictorial sign-board is to be regretted for many reasons.
The signs which our forefathers made use of have interwoven themselves
with our whole domestic, and even, to some extent, with our political,
history. In losing them we are losing one of the well-known landmarks of
the past. Sign-boards of the real old sort have about them an amount of
interest which is sufficient to surprise those who care to take trouble
in studying them. Dr. Brewer very truly says, in his _Dictionary of
Phrase and Fable_:--“Much of a nation’s history, and more of its manners
and feelings, may be gleaned from its public-house signs.” The
sign-boards themselves tell us (as has already been pointed out) of the
habit our forefathers had of crowding together in one street or district
all those who were of a like occupation or profession. They tell us also
of the deep ignorance of the masses of the people in days when
sign-boards were a necessity. And when it is remembered that it was only
so lately as the beginning of the present century that the knowledge of
reading and writing became sufficiently widespread to allow the
numbering of houses to come into general use as a means of
distinguishing one house from another, it will be easily seen that the
sign-boards of (say) two centuries ago played a very important, and even
an essential, part in the commercial world of those days.
But a study of the various devices that appear even on modern
sign-boards will teach us still more of the doings of our ancestors.
They tell us of the wares our forefathers made and dealt in, of the
superstitious beliefs they held, of the party strifes in which they
engaged, and of the great titled families which had so large a share in
the making of English history--in short, the devices seen, even on
modern sign-boards, afford, to those who can and care to read them, no
mean picture both of mediæval and more modern times. It was well
remarked in an early number of the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ (1738, vol.
viii. p. 526), that “The People of England are a nation of Politicians,
from the First Minister down to the cobbler, and peculiarly remarkable
for hanging out their principles upon their sign-posts.” Some of our
modern Essex signs, for instance, are relics (as will be more clearly
pointed out hereafter) of what were once staple industries in the
county, though now all but unknown in it. Thus the signs of the WOOLPACK
(p. 79), the SHEARS (p. 41), and the GOLDEN FLEECE (p. 78) are all
mementoes of the time when the woollen trade flourished in Essex. The
sign of the HOP-POLES (p. 111) reminds us of the time when hop-growing
formed a considerable industry in the county. Our various BLUE BOARS (p.
68) speak to us of the noble and once mighty Essex family of De Vere,
which formerly wielded a great power in England. These are but a few
instances. Others will occur to every one who peruses the following
pages. At the present day, too, there is scarcely a village in the
county that has not some street, square, or lane named after an
inn-sign, as, for instance, Sun Street, Eagle Lane, Swan Street, Falcon
Square, Lion Walk, Greyhound Lane, &c. In London, or Paris, the
connection is still closer. Surely, then, although signs are no longer
of great or urgent importance to us in the daily routine of our ordinary
business life, an inquiry into their past history will be a matter of
much interest, especially as comparatively little has hitherto been
written about them.
Nevertheless, although it is certain that (as has been stated) not a few
of our present signs have been derived from emblems of industries now
decayed and the armorial bearings of ancient county families, the fact
cannot be overlooked that in a great many cases these particular signs,
as now displayed by particular houses, have only very recently come into
use. That is to say, they are only _indirectly_ derived from the sources
named, having been selected because, perhaps, some neighbouring and
really ancient inn (which derived its sign _directly_) was known to have
long borne that sign. There can be no doubt (as Mr. H. W. King writes)
that--
“The very large majority of country inns are comparatively modern,
both as to signs and sites. Elsewhere, as here [Leigh], I suspect
they have been moved and removed again and again--old signs
shifted, and often changed altogether. I remember the late Mr.
Edward Woodard, of Billericay, telling me some years ago that the
inns of that town had been changed again and again: that is, what
are now private residences were formerly inns, and _vice versa_.
This he knew from the evidence of conveyances which had passed
through his hands professionally. I have no doubt that every town
would show the same facts if only one could get sufficient
evidence. At the same time, of course, some inns are very old
indeed, both as to sites and signs.”
The great decay in the use of inn-signs of the real old sort has, it is
much to be feared, now gone too far to be arrested, however much it may
be regretted. In Essex, probably not five per cent. of our sign-boards
are now pictorial. Even in the remote and sleepy little town of Thaxted
very few of the inns now possess pictorial signs. Here and there,
however, throughout the county one may still come across a few such, and
several excellent examples will be hereafter alluded to.
Probably no better idea can now be obtained in Essex of an old-fashioned
thoroughfare than in the broad High Street at Epping. From one point no
less than ten sign-boards may be seen, all swinging over the pavement in
the ancient style. Only one, however, the WHITE LION, is now pictorial.
The number of inns in Grays, too, is very large. It has been stated in
print that “for its size, it contains more than any other town in
England.” In the narrow Tindal Street at Chelmsford the sign-boards
still swing across the street in the old style, and are hung upon the
old supports. The best example is that which supports the sign of the
SPOTTED DOG. Witham has many inns, nearly all of which have their
sign-boards hanging over the pavement, but neither they nor their
supports are of much interest. Colchester has hardly such a thing as a
projecting sign-board, let alone pictorial signs. Castle Hedingham, for
its size, probably has more pictorial signs than any other Essex town,
the BELL, the CROWN, the THREE CROWNS, and the RISING SUN being all thus
represented. Except the sign-iron of the _Six Bells_ (p. 168), Dunmow
contains but little of sign-board interest. The only pictorial
sign-board in Ongar is that of the COCK. Several signs and sign-irons in
Bardfield are hereafter noticed (pp. 170 and 169). In the High Street at
Romford are many very old inns, but their signs are all script. At Leigh
there are many inns, the most ancient of which, in the opinion of Mr.
H. W. King, are the CROWN and the HAMBORO’ MERCHANTS’ ARMS, though the
GEORGE was originally the more important.
The following interesting list of inns in the Epping Division in
September, 1789, has been kindly contributed by Mr. G. Creed of
Epping:--
CHINGFORD: King’s Head, Bull. EPPING: White Lion, Bell, Cock, Swan,
Black Lion, Epping Place, Cock and Magpie, Green Man, Globe,
George, Rose and Crown, Thatched House, White Hart, Harp, White
Horse, Sun, Chequers. NAZING: Chequer, Sun, Coach and Horses,
Crown, King Harold’s Head. ROYDON: Fish and Eels, Black Swan, New
Inn, White Hart, Green Man. WALTHAM ABBEY: Owl, Green Man, Harp,
Greyhound, Ship, Cock, Chequer, Angel, Rose and Crown, Red Lion,
Bull’s Head, Three Tons (_sic_), Sun, Cock, New Inn, Green Dragon,
White Horse, Compasses, White Lion, King’s Arms. CHIGWELL: Three
Jolly Wheelers, Roebuck, King’s Head, Maypole, Bald Hind, Fox and
Hounds, Bald Stag. LOUGHTON: Reindeer, Crown, King’s Head, Plume of
Feathers. MORETON: Nag’s Head, Green Man, White Hart. NORTH WEALD:
Rainbow, King’s Head. STANFORD RIVERS: White Bear, Green Man.
THEYDON BOIS: White Hart. THEYDON GARNON: Merry Fiddlers. GREAT
HALLINGBURY: George. LATTON: Sun and Whalebone, Bush Fair House.
FYFIELD: Black Bull, Queen’s Head. LAMBOURNE: White Hart, Blue
Boar. HIGH LAVER: Chequer. LITTLE LAVER: Leather Bottle. MAGDALEN
LAVER: Green Man. CHIPPING ONGAR: White Horse, King’s Head, Anchor,
Crown, Red Lion, Bull, Cock. HIGH ONGAR: Red Lion, White Horse, Two
Brewers. HARLOW: King’s Head, Black Bull, George, Green Man, White
Horse, Horns and Horseshoes, Queen’s Head, Black Lion, Marquis of
Granby. HATFIELD BROAD OAK: Plume of Feathers, White Horse, Cock,
Duke’s Head, Bald-Faced Stag, Red Lion, Crown. SHEERING: Crown,
Cock. NETTESWELL: White Horse, Chequer. GREAT PARNDON: Cock, Three
Horse Shoes.
In the last edition of the _London Directory_, 82 firms are still
described as “sign-painters,” and in the _Essex Directory_, 10; but it
is certain that most of these follow also some other trade than
sign-painting. In some cases artists of eminence have been known to
paint signs for inns, but there does not appear to have been any notable
instances of this in Essex. As a rule our pictorial sign-boards are not
works of art. That this is a common failing elsewhere, is shown by the
fact that the French say of a bad portrait or picture, “qu’il n’est bon
qu’à faire une enseigne à bière.” Signs, it must be admitted, are among
those things which the enlightenment of this go-ahead nineteenth century
is rapidly improving off the face of the earth. Yet one cannot but
agree with the writer in _Frazer’s Magazine_, already quoted, who aptly
observes that it is a thousand pities the old signs were ever taken
down. “Men might,” he says, “read something of history (to say nothing
of a hash of heraldry) in their different devices.”
This decay in the use of inn-signs, however, is no greater than the
decline in importance of the inns themselves. These have within quite
recent years fallen from a position of great eminence and prosperity to
one of comparative degradation. Up to about fifty years ago, inns were
the centres round which most events of the time revolved. They combined
within themselves, to a very large extent, the various uses to which
modern clubs, reading-rooms, institutes, railway stations, restaurants,
eating-houses, hotels, public-houses, livery-stables, and the like are
now severally put. At present the majority of our inns are little more
than tippling-houses or drinking-places for the poorer classes. The
upper stratum of society has but little connection with them, beyond
receiving their rents.
Nothing has done more to promote this lowering of the status of modern
inns in general than the disuse of coaching. Inns were the
starting-points and destinations of the old coaches, and travellers
naturally put up and took their meals at them. Now people travel by
rail, stop at railway stations, put up at the “Railway Hotel,” and get
their meals in the station “refreshment rooms.” In days, too, when
country inns formed the stopping-places of the coaches they naturally
became important centres of information. In this they answered the
purpose to which clubs, institutes, reading-rooms, and the like are now
put. The cheap newspapers of to-day have given another serious shock to
the old tavern life of last century. Then, too, the innumerable horses,
needed for the many coaches on the great high-roads of fifty or a
hundred years ago, were kept at the inns, to the great advantage of the
latter. Now the various railway companies, of course, provide their own
engines, and the old-fashioned inns have to content themselves with a
very limited posting or omnibus business.
It is, indeed, not too much to say that in the old coaching days a small
town or village on any main road often consisted largely or almost
entirely of inns, and lived upon the traffic. Supplying the necessaries
for this traffic may be said to have been “the local industry” by which
the inhabitants of such places lived. Evidences of this may be gained
from not a few old books. Thus in Ogilby’s _Traveller’s Guide_, a book
of the roads published in 1699, Bow, near Stratford, is said to be “full
of inns,” while Stratford and Kelvedon are both spoken of as “consisting
chiefly of inns.” Again, in Daniel Defoe’s _Tour through the whole
Island of Great Britain_, published in 1724 (vol. i. p. 52), it is said
that--
“Brent-Wood and Ingarstone, and even Chelmsford itself, have very
little to be said of them, but that they are large thorough-fair
Towns, full of good Inns, and chiefly maintained by the excessive
Multitude of Carriers and Passengers, which are constantly passing
this Way, with Droves of Cattle, Provisions, and Manufactures for
London.”
Few persons of the present day have any adequate idea of the extent to
which tavern life influenced thought and manners seventy, eighty, or one
hundred years ago. Each man then had his tavern, much as we now have our
clubs and reading-rooms. There he met his friends every evening,
discussed the political questions of the day, talked over business
topics, and heard the expensive and highly-valued London newspapers read
aloud. Dickens, in _Barnaby Rudge_, has well sketched the select village
company, which, for forty or fifty years, had met nightly in the bar of
the old MAYPOLE to tipple and debate. Ale was the universal beverage on
these occasions, and the fame of any given tavern was great or small
according to the skill of the landlord or his servants in producing this
beverage. It was not then, as now, the product of colossal breweries at
Burton, Romford, or elsewhere, but was entirely brewed upon the premises
of those who retailed it. Such customs as these, however, are now almost
entirely of the past.
We will now return once more to the discussion of sign-boards and their
modern degeneration. When signs were in general use by all tradesmen,
it was but natural that people should endeavour to outvie one another in
the prominence and obtrusiveness of their sign-boards. Exactly the same
thing may be seen at the present day on any hoarding which the
bill-sticker has ornamented with his flaring posters. These are of all
imaginable colours and designs, in order to advertise and draw attention
to the wares of rival tradesmen, each of whom endeavours to obtain
greater publicity and attract more attention than his neighbour. Many
were the devices made use of a century or more ago to draw attention to
the sign-boards of those times. Some of the boards were made of enormous
size; others were painted in flaring colours; others bore striking or
amusing devices, likely to be remembered by those who saw them; while
others were projected far out into the street, or hung in elaborate and
ornamental frameworks of iron. When each man endeavoured to outdo his
neighbour in these particulars, it may well be imagined that no slight
inconvenience was caused to the public. Complaints that the size and
prominence of the sign-boards in the London streets prevented the access
of sunlight and the free circulation of the air began to be heard,
according to Messrs. Larwood and Hotten, as early as the beginning of
the fifteenth century, and an order was made to do away with the
nuisance. In the course of time, however, the evil grew again, till
Charles II., in 1667, “ordered that in all the streets no sign-board
shall hang across, but that the sign shall be fixed against the
balconies, or some convenient part of the side of the house.” Again,
however, the nuisance grew, and in 1762 large powers were once more
granted for clearing away the too obtrusive sign-boards, and very many
were taken down.
In France and other continental countries the same evil has had to be
grappled with. Time after time, as reference to the works previously
mentioned will show, the police of Paris and other large towns have
issued orders concerning the pulling down and putting up of sign-boards.
All Parisian signs are, consequently, now fastened to the fronts of the
houses.
This regulation of sign-boards is not altogether unknown, even at the
present day, in England. In the _Sussex Daily News_ as lately as last
October there appeared an account of the removal of two sign-boards that
had recently been erected in two of the principal streets of Brighton.
These boards, measuring respectively 48 inches by 30, and 48 inches by
18, were swung over the pavement at the respective heights of 15 feet
and 12 feet; yet, although there are scores of more obstructive
sign-boards and sun-blinds in the borough, the somewhat over-officious
Works Committee of the Corporation ordered that they should be removed
by the surveyor, and the cost of so doing recovered from their owners,
because, in the opinion of the Committee, such boards were “public
annoyances and nuisances, by reason of their projecting over the
highways and annoying the public passage along the streets.” Presumably
it is within the power of any Local Authority to remove, or direct the
alteration of, any sign-boards which it regards as “nuisances.”
A writer, styling himself “Ambulator,” in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_
(vol. xl. p. 403) observes, so long ago as the year 1770, that signs
“were certainly the effect of a general want of literature, and
therefore can no longer be thought necessary, without national
disgrace.” He adds, though he must be guilty of exaggeration, that
“there is, at present, scarce a child among the poorest of the people
who, at seven or eight years old, cannot read a man’s name and trade
upon his door or window-shutter; and therefore we want the sign-painter
no more.” He also says that--
“Long after signs became unnecessary, it was not unusual for an
opulent shopkeeper to lay out as much upon a sign, and the curious
ironwork with which it was fixed to his house, so as to project
nearly into the middle of the street, as would furnish a less
considerable dealer with a stock-in-trade. I have been credibly
informed that there were many signs and sign-irons upon Ludgate
Hill which cost several hundred pounds, and that as much was laid
out by a mercer upon a sign of the Queen’s Head as would have gone
a long way towards decorating the original for a birth-night.”
A good idea of how our Essex streets were obstructed by the huge
dimensions of the signs of the various inns a century or more ago, may
be obtained from an old print engraved by J. Ryland in 1762. It shows a
view of the High Street of Chelmsford, taken from the point at which the
fountain opposite the end of Springfield Lane now stands, and is
entitled _A Perspective View of the County Town of Chelmsford, in Essex,
with the Judge’s Procession on the Day of Entrance, attended by the High
Sheriff and his Officers_. The judge’s carriage, drawn by six horses and
preceded by the old “javelin men,” now dispensed with, is shown in its
progress up the street, past the old BLACK BOY Inn, and going towards
the church. The procession is passing under the great beam from which
swings the sign of the BLACK BOY. This beam extends out from the house
to the top of a post set up in the middle of the street for its support.
If the height of this post may be estimated from the height of two
persons shown standing near its base (who may be fairly set down as six
feet in stature), it is not less than 28 feet high, while the beam it
supports must project at least 33 feet from the house. Close to this
structure, but nearer the other side of the street, though still not far
from its middle, stands another sign-post of even more gigantic
proportions. This post is very massive, and (if its height may be
estimated in the same manner as before) it must be at least 24 feet
high. Against the substantial shores supporting it in its upright
position, leans a fiddler; while, close at hand, two mounted trumpeters
are saluting the passing judge. But this is not all: upon the top of the
post, supported by a fine iron framework, of an excellent flowing
design, is the sign-board. This displays a _lion rampant guardant_ (as
the heralds say), which is evidently the sign of the large inn opposite
to which it stands. This brings the height of the entire structure up to
at least 45 feet, or nearly as high as the inn itself. This was probably
the sign of the ancient LION Inn mentioned hereafter (p. 59).
Mr. F. T. Veley of Chelmsford possesses a fine old oil painting from
which this engraving was evidently made, though the two differ in some
particulars. The figures and the houses are almost precisely alike in
both, but the painting has not the signs and sign-posts shown in the
engraving. In both the width of the street is much too great. The
engraving has been reduced by the photographic process, and is herein
made use of as a frontispiece,[7] whilst the design of the remarkably
fine iron framework supporting the sign of the Lion has been reproduced
upon the cover of the book. It is a remarkable fine example of the
elaborate and ornamental sign-iron within which swung many sign-boards
of a hundred years ago. Other examples, but less elegant, still remain
here and there in the county, generally much rusted with age. Among
these may be mentioned those of the SIX BELLS at Dunmow, which is dated
1778 (p. 168), the BELL at Bardfield (p. 170), and the BELL at Castle
Hedingham (p. 150), all of which will be found depicted hereafter,
though with other signs attached.
Leaving now the consideration of the _origin of the use of signs_, in
order to discuss the _origins of the various devices used as signs_, we
may well feel some surprise at first that the ancient and extremely
entertaining, though now much decayed, art of Heraldry should have given
us, at the present day, so many of our commonest signs as it obviously
has done. A somewhat hasty examination of the list of Essex signs will
show that something like 40 per cent. of the whole have probably been
derived, either directly or indirectly, from Heraldry. The same
statement would probably be found to hold good of the rest of England.
So obvious is it that a very large number of inn-signs have been in some
way derived from Heraldry, that it is surprising this connection has not
received a much fuller recognition in the past than it has done. It is
impossible, even for those most strongly inclined to disbelieve in the
heraldic origin of a majority of our signs, to deny that very many of
them, at least, have been so derived. Allusion is here made to such
signs as the GRIFFIN, the BLUE BOAR, the GREEN DRAGON, the BLUE LION,
the RED LION, the THREE CROWNS, the WHITE HART, the FLEUR-DE-LYS, the
ROSE AND CROWN, the CROSS KEYS, and many others, the difficulty of
ascribing which to any other than an heraldic origin will be at once
apparent. Indeed, the fact that a very large proportion of our signs are
of an heraldic derivation seems to require no stronger proof than will
be found in the following pages. The next thing, therefore, will be to
show how this came about.
It would probably early have suggested itself to the minds of tradesmen
and others to use their own coats of arms (when they had any), or those
of the Trade Guilds to which they belonged, or the arms, crest, or
badge[8] of their landlord or some patron, as a sign. This convenient
custom, once established, would be sure to be largely followed. There
can be no doubt whatever that in this way arose the custom of calling a
house the “So-and-So’s Arms.” At the present time, the custom itself
remains, although its origin has been largely lost sight of; and many
inns have now, in consequence, come to be known as the “Arms” of
persons, trades, places, and things which never did bear, and never
could have borne, a coat of arms. Clearly the origin of the sign of the
KING’S ARMS had never presented itself to the mind of the “simple
clodhopper” who, according to Messrs. Larwood and Hotten (p. 106), “once
walked many miles to see King George IV. on one of his journeys, and
came home mightily disgusted; for the king had arms just like any other
man, while he had always understood that his Majesty’s right arm was a
lion, and his left a unicorn!” In Essex no less than 8·5 per cent. of
all the inn-signs are “Arms” of some kind. In Devonshire “Arms” actually
form as much as 22 per cent. of the whole, according to Mr. Pengelly.
Although the custom of calling a house the “Somebody’s Arms” still
survives, it is probable that, when the knowledge and ordinary use of
Heraldry began to decline, many houses, formerly known as the
“So-and-So’s Arms,” gradually came to be called after the most prominent
charge in the coat, or after the “crest” or one of the “supporters,”[9]
which might have been a _lion gules_, a _boar azure_, a _white hart_,
or a _rose crowned_. The badge, again, has unquestionably given us not a
few signs. Badges were used by the sovereign and by the higher nobility
from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries inclusive. They must not
be confounded with _crests_, which were personal emblems, worn on the
crest or helm by leaders in the field. _Badges_, on the other hand, were
household emblems, worn by all the followers and retainers of the lord.
They were always of a simple nature, to be easily distinguishable in
battle, and were placed on armour, standards, clothing, buildings,
furniture, &c., &c. As a rule, therefore, it is the badge, rather than
the crest, or even the coat of arms, which has given us our old heraldic
signs. In some cases badges were adopted by parties, as, for instance,
during the Wars of the Roses, so called because the Yorkists took the
White Rose as their badge, while the Lancastrians took the Red.
Shakespeare often alludes to the old custom of using badges. Mrs. Bury
Palliser,[10] speaking of this subject, says, that “we still find the
cognizance of many an illustrious family preserved as the sign of an
inn. The White Hart of Richard II., the Antelope of Henry IV., the
Beacon of Henry V., the Feathers of Henry VI., the Star of the Lords of
Oxford (whose brilliancy decided the fate of the Battle of Barnet), the
Lion of the Duke of Norfolk (which shone conspicuous on Bosworth field),
and many others, too numerous to mention, may yet be seen as sign-boards
to village inns contiguous to the former castles of families whose
possessions have passed into other hands.” From the red shield (_roth
schild_), above the door of the house of an honest old Hebrew, forming
No. 148 in the _Juden Gasse_, or Jews’ Alley, at Frankfort, has been
derived the name of the richest family in the world.
From these heraldic devices have unquestionably been derived many of the
strangely-coloured animals, such as red and blue lions, blue boars,
&c., which are quite unknown to men of science, and have never yet been
seen except in Heraldry and upon sign-boards. A calculation will show
that no less than 203 Essex signs, or about 15 per cent., are described
as being of some particular colour, and that these coloured signs are
animals in nearly all cases--one good proof of their heraldic origin.
Black occurs 24 times, blue 7 times, golden 6 times, green 28 times
(including dragons and men only), red 39 times (including 34 RED LIONS,
3 RED COWS, 1 RED HOUSE, and 1 RED TAPE TAVERN), and white exactly 100
times (including 50 WHITE HARTS, 2 WHITE SWANS, 2 WHITE BEARS, WHITE
LIONS, WHITE HORSES, &c.). In London the proportion of coloured signs is
much smaller. There are 79 distinct devices, or about 4·5 per cent. of
the entire number.
Another strong proof that many of our otherwise incomprehensible signs
have been derived from Heraldry, is to be found in the frequency with
which the number _Three_ appears upon sign-boards. No less than 35
houses in Essex (having 15 distinct signs) are known as the _three_
somethings, while other numbers only occur 12 times in all. The
following is a complete list: There are 3 TWO BREWERS, a FOUR ASHES, 2
FIVE BELLS, 3 SIX BELLS, and 4 EIGHT BELLS. Many of our Essex _Threes_
will be noticed hereafter. The list includes the signs of the THREE
BLACKBIRDS, the THREE COLTS, the THREE COMPASSES, the THREE CROWNS, the
THREE CUPS, the THREE HORSESHOES, the THREE PIGEONS, the THREE TUNS, and
several others. Nor is this peculiarity confined to Essex signs only. In
London the number Three gives twenty-nine distinct devices and
sixty-five signs, including repetitions of the same device. All other
numbers put together only give twenty-two distinct devices, or
fifty-five signs. The author of a curious and interesting letter on the
signs of Bury, which appeared in the _Bury and Norwich Post_ on June 29
and July 6, 1791, noticed this prevalence of the number Three on
sign-boards in his day, and was, he says, “inclined to account for it
from a kind of predilection there is among sign-painters to the number
Three, as we see in the Three Horse Shoes, before mentioned, also in
the Three Bulls, the Three Tuns, the Three Crowns, and the Three Goats’
Heads.”
Now every one acquainted with Heraldry will know how very common it is
to find _three_ charges of some kind or other upon an escutcheon, either
alone or with an “ordinary” or some other charge between them, such as
_Argent, three cinquefoils gules_ for D’Arcy, _Gules, three eagles
displayed or_ for Band, _Gules, a fess between three bulls’ heads couped
or_ for Torrel, &c., and there can be very little doubt that this
striking abundance of the number three on our sign-boards is due,
largely at least, to the frequent use of that number in Heraldry. It
cannot be denied, however, that three was a favourite, or lucky, number
long before the first appearance of the art of Heraldry. Messrs. Larwood
and Hotten cite many instances of its use, even as far back as the time
of the Assyrians and ancient Egyptians. But, in spite of this, there can
be no reasonable doubt that many of our “_threes_” are derived directly
from Heraldry; whilst others are probably derived from it indirectly. In
the latter case the name has been bestowed recently upon his house by
the landlord, because he knew it to be a very common custom to call a
house the “_Three_ Somethings,” although of the origin of that custom he
probably knew absolutely nothing. Essex examples of the former class are
given above. Among those of the latter are probably our signs of the
THREE ASHES, the THREE ELMS, the THREE JOLLY WHEELERS, and the THREE
MARINERS.
It is, of course, more than probable that some signs, which appear to be
truly heraldic in their origin, are, in reality, not derived from
Heraldry at all, but have been taken direct from Nature. At the same
time, the evidence is overwhelming that very many of our signs have a
truly heraldic origin. Messrs. Larwood and Hotten recognize this fact to
a considerable extent, and devote their third chapter, comprising as
much as a tenth part of their whole work, to “Heraldic and Emblematic
Signs.” It appears, however, that they have in most cases erred on the
side of caution, and have been too reluctant to ascribe to Heraldry the
origin of any sign for which another derivation could possibly be
found. There is, nevertheless, much truth in the opening sentences of
their fourth chapter (p. 150), treating of “Animals and Monsters.” They
say:
“It is, in many cases, impossible to draw a line of demarcation
between signs borrowed from the animal kingdom and those taken from
Heraldry: we cannot now determine, for instance, whether by the
WHITE HORSE is meant simply an _equus caballus_, or the White Horse
of the Saxons, and that of the House of Hanover; nor whether the
WHITE GREYHOUND represented originally the supporter of the arms of
Henry VII., or simply the greyhound that courses ‘poor puss’ on our
meadows in the hunting-season. For this reason this chapter has
been placed as a sequel to the heraldic signs. As a rule,
fantastically-coloured animals are unquestionably of heraldic
origin: their number is limited to the Lion, the Boar, the Hart,
the Dog, the Cat, the Bear, and, in a few instances, the Bull. All
other animals were generally represented in what was meant for
their natural colours.”
Again, the authors very truly remark (p. 110) that--
“In pondering over this class of signs, great difficulty often
arises from the absence of all proof that the animal under
consideration was set up as a badge, and not as a representation of
the actual animal. As no amount of investigation can decide this
matter, we have been somewhat profuse in our list of badges, in
order that the reader should be able to form his own opinion upon
that subject. Thus, for instance, with the first sign that offers
itself, THE ANGEL AND TRUMPET, it is impossible to say whether the
supporters of Richard II. gave rise to it, or whether it represents
Fame.”
The late Mr. Jewitt, who had an excellent knowledge of Heraldry, in his
article already referred to, clearly recognizes the important part which
that art has played in giving origin to many of our commonest signs; but
the same cannot be said for Mr. Pengelly’s treatise on the _Signs of
Devonshire_. The connection between Heraldry and the origin of our
trade-signs is so intimate, that no one is fully competent to discuss
the latter unless well acquainted with the former; and, although the
signs of the 1,123 inns existing in Devonshire are carefully classified
and treated of at length by Mr. Pengelly, numerous passages make it
evident from the outset that he has little or no knowledge of the
herald’s art. Consequently, his remarks lose very much of their
interest. For instance, he says:--“So far as I have been able to
discover, the HARP AND LION at Plymouth is without parallel anywhere.
Its meaning, if it have any, seems very far to seek.” Had the writer
been acquainted with Heraldry, he would have known that a lion and a
harp are the principal charges in the arms of Scotland and Wales
respectively, as shown on the backs of our florins. Again, he says:
“Three is the popular numeral, and is not, at all times, easily
accounted for.... There seems to be no explanation for the THREE
CRANES at Exeter, the THREE PIGEONS at Bishop’s Tawton, the THREE
HORSESHOES, of which there are four examples, or the THREE TUNS,
met with as many as seven times, unless we suppose the number to
have some direct or indirect allusion to the doctrine of the
Trinity, or to the very popular belief that ‘Three are lucky.’”
The frequent appearance of the number three on our sign-boards has been
already explained, and the origin of its use will be made still clearer
hereafter. It is certainly true that one of Mr. Pengelly’s headings is
“Heraldry,” but under it he speaks of but little else than those inns
which have the “Arms” of some person or place as their sign. In this
connection he says:
“The Devonshire inn-keepers appear to be fond of heraldic signs;
but it may be doubted whether some of the arms they have set up are
known at the Heralds’ office. There are in the county as many as
253 sign-boards--_i.e._, 22 per cent. of the entire number--bearing
arms of some kind. There is, however, a sufficient recurrence of
the same names to reduce the number to 165 distinct signs or names
of coats. The list contains the arms of a hero who had died, and a
hierarchy that had passed away--Achilles and the Druids--before the
founding of the Heraldic System; of royal, noble, and other
distinguished personages; of proprietors of the soil; of countries,
counties, cities, towns, and villages; of trades and employments;
and of objects difficult of classification.”
With Mr. Pengelly’s treatment of non-heraldic signs there is, of course,
no fault to be found.
M. Edouard Fournier, in his most interesting _Histoire des Enseignes de
Paris_, makes some valuable remarks on the connection between Trade
Signs and Heraldry. The following is a translation. After stating that
coats of arms came into use at the time of the Crusades, he says:
“The first Crusade dates from the year 1090.... Is it not allowable
to suppose that, among the Crusaders who had taken the sign of the
cross upon their coats [of arms], there were some who, prevented
from starting upon the Crusade, displayed the cross upon their
houses, as a token of their having taken a vow, sooner or later, to
proceed to the Holy Land? This would be a rational explanation of
the general and widely followed custom of using the cross as the
sign of a house or a shop--Red Crosses, White Crosses, Golden and
Silver Crosses, &c., which form a kind of sign-board crusade. It is
impossible otherwise to explain the singular and obvious analogy
which exists between the devices on the shield of arms and those on
the oldest sign-boards. On the sign-boards, as upon the armorial
bearings, are to be seen the same devices, borrowed from every
object which has a shape or a name in the creation of God or of
man; moreover, upon the sign-boards, these figures are reproduced
with the various colours and ‘metals’ in which they appear on the
coats of arms. The only difference is in the ‘field’ or background
upon which the figures are painted. On the sign-board this is of no
importance; while it is, on the contrary, one of the distinctive
features of the coat of arms. In Louvan Geliot’s _Indice Armorial_
(_Armorial Index_) is to be found not only a glossary of all the
words used in heraldic ‘blazon,’ but also the names of nearly all
the devices displayed upon sign-boards.... In a word, sign-boards
and shields of arms, both alike, display figures of everything that
strikes the eye or the mind in our every-day life....
“The mansions built or inhabited by noble families bore, as signs,
the arms of these families, sculptured or painted, over the
entrance-door. These escutcheons of the nobility, without doubt,
excited the envy of the merchants, who wished also to have signs,
and who, therefore, placed their trade or occupation under the
protection of the shield of France, or some other shield, either of
a province or even of a monastery. There was nobody to object to
this, and such signs quickly multiplied in every direction.”
M. Fournier next gives a long list of houses which formerly displayed
armorial signs in several of the “Quartiers” of Paris. “After this
enumeration [he says] it will be possible to form an idea of the
multitude of signs of this kind which must have existed at the same
periods in the other Quarters of Paris.”
Before proceeding to discuss in detail the various signs to be met with
in the county of Essex, it will be well to point out two
cunningly-concealed pitfalls into which the ardent antiquary is likely
to fall, unless he is careful to exercise vigilance in avoiding them.
The first of these arises from the combination of two different signs
into one. Larwood and Hotten speak of such signs being “quartered,” but
“impaled” is a much better word, if used in its old heraldic sense.
Signs of this kind first began to appear about the beginning of last
century, and are still common, although less so than formerly. It is
noticeable that Taylor in his _Catalogue of Tavernes_, published in
1636 (see p. 28), does not name a single impaled sign, properly
so-called. In some cases, such as the EAGLE AND CHILD, the STAR AND
GARTER, the GEORGE AND DRAGON, &c., the connection is at once obvious;
but in the great majority no meaning or connection is apparent. In such
cases it will be found best not to search too deeply for a meaning, for
the good reason that none exists. The mind of Addison seems to have been
considerably exercised by the signs of this kind to be seen in his day
in the London streets. In an amusing letter to the _Spectator_, in 1710,
he professes himself desirous of obtaining office as “Superintendent of
Signs,” in order that he might be able to expunge those of an unnatural
kind.
“My first task, therefore [he says], should be, like that of
Hercules, to clear the city from monsters. In the second place, I
should forbid that creatures of jarring and incongruous natures
should be joined together in the same sign; such as the BELL AND
NEAT’S TONGUE, the DOG AND GRIDIRON. The FOX AND THE GOOSE may be
supposed to have met; but what have the FOX AND SEVEN STARS to do
together? And when did the LION AND DOLPHIN ever meet except upon a
sign-post? As for the CAT AND FIDDLE, there is a conceit in it; and
I, therefore, do not intend that anything that I have here said
should affect it.”
Further on, he makes it plain to us how some of these strange
combinations arose.
“I must, however, observe to you upon this subject [says he], that
it is usual for a young tradesman, at his first setting up, to add
to his own sign that of the master whom he served, as the husband,
after marriage, gives a place to his mistress’s arms in his own
coat. This I take to have given rise to many of those absurdities
which are committed over our heads; and, as I am informed, first
occasioned the THREE NUNS AND A HARE, which we see so frequently
joined together.”
According to Messrs. Larwood and Hotten (p. 21) impaled signs, too, were
often set up “on removing from one shop to another, when it was
customary to add the sign of the old shop to that of the new.” Numerous
examples may be cited of impaled signs which occur at the present time
in Essex. Such are the BULL AND HORSESHOE (p. 65) at North Weald, the
LION AND BOAR (p. 63) at Earl’s Colne, the LION AND KEY (p. 63) at
Leyton, the BULL AND CROWN (p. 65) at Chingford, the STAR AND FLEECE (p.
79) at Kelvedon, the SUN AND WHALEBONE (p. 83) at Latton, the examples
of the COCK AND BELL (p. 99) at Writtle, Romford, and High Easter, the
RAINBOW AND DOVE (p. 101) at North Weald, the CROWN AND BLACKSMITH (p.
131) at Tendring, the examples of the PLOW AND SAIL (p. 146) at
Tollesbury, East Hanningfield, Paglesham, and Maldon, the SUN AND ANCHOR
(p. 147) at Steeple, the BELL AND ANCHOR (p. 159) at Canning Town, the
COACH AND BELL (p. 159) at Romford, the OLD WINDMILL AND BELLS (p. 159)
also at Romford, the CROWN AND CROOKED BILLET (p. 162) at Woodford
Bridge, and many others. These will all be found noticed in their proper
places. Many other apparently impaled signs might be noticed. Such are
the COACH AND HORSES (p. 57), the LION AND LAMB (p. 63), the EAGLE AND
CHILD (p. 92), the DOG AND PARTRIDGE (p. 75), the ROSE AND CROWN (p.
116), the GEORGE AND DRAGON (p. 128), &c., &c.; but these do not
properly belong to this class, there being some obvious or possible
connection between the two objects named in each case. Among signs of
this kind--apparently, though not strictly speaking, impaled--belong
all, or most, combinations of any object with either a Hand or a Hoop.
Such are the HAND AND GLOVE (p. 142), the HAND AND BALL (p. 142), the
CROSS AND HAND (p. 142), and the HAND AND STAR (p. 28); also the COCK
AND HOOP, the HOOP AND HORSESHOE, the HOOP AND GRAPES, which do not
occur in Essex. Combinations with a Hand generally arose from the fact
that it was once common to represent on the sign-board a hand holding or
supporting some other object. In many cases, no doubt, such combinations
originally represented some family crest, in which (as is commonly the
case) a hand supported a cross, a glove, a spear, or some other object
as the case might be. Combinations into which a Hoop enters may be
explained by mentioning the fact that formerly the sign was not always
painted on a board, but often carved in wood or metal and suspended
before the house within a hoop.
The second cause of difficulty arises from the fact that some signs have
become altered and corrupted in the course of time. Many curious
examples of signs of this class are given by the authors so often
quoted. Most of them seem to have arisen in this way:--A sign was put up
which commemorated some incident or personage, often perhaps of only
local celebrity. In the course of time the occurrence commemorated or
the individual represented by the sign became forgotten (or, at any
rate, disconnected from the sign); and, under the influence of vulgar
pronunciation (or, possibly, upon the advent of a fresh landlord, who
knew nothing as to the significance of the old name), the sign was
changed, and given some fresh meaning, which the words seemed to imply
or nearly resemble. Such signs as these may be styled “corruptions.” As
an example, it may be mentioned that at Hever, in Kent, near which place
the Bullen or Boleyn family had large possessions, there was, for many
years after the death of the unfortunate Ann, an ale-house with the sign
of the BULLEN BUTCHERED; but, on the place falling into fresh hands, the
sign was vulgarized into the BULL AND BUTCHER (!), and so remained until
a recent date. In exactly the same way, a farm standing on or near the
site of one of the old lodges at one of the entrances to the Park of New
Hall, Boreham--another ancient estate of the Boleyn or Bullen family--is
now known as “Bull’s Lodge Farm,” it having formerly been “Bullen’s
Lodge Farm.” Thus, too, the GEORGE CANNING has become changed into the
GEORGE AND CANNON, the ISLAND QUEEN into the ICELAND QUEEN, the FOUR
ALLS into the FOUR AWLS (and used as a shoemaker’s sign), and the
ELEPHANT AND CASTLE into the PIG AND TINDERBOX. It is by no means
improbable that, if sufficiently minute inquiry were to be made, it
would be found that some of our 22 Essex SHIPS, many of which are
situated far from the sea, and in purely agricultural districts, are
intended for _Sheep_, that word being, in Essex, invariably pronounced
“ship,” both in the singular and plural. The Stock SHIP, for instance,
occupies some of the highest ground in the county, and is a well-known
landmark for many miles around. It could hardly have reached its present
position without undergoing some such strange adventures as Noah’s Ark
is said to have experienced. The
[Illustration: FALCON AND FETTERLOCK.]
authors of the _History of Sign-boards_ state that the two words “ship”
and “sheep” were once commonly pronounced almost promiscuously, as now
in Essex. At Berkhampstead, in Hertfordshire, moreover, there is a house
which formerly had a pictorial representation of a ship in full sail as
its sign. Of late, however, the sign-board has merely borne the word
“ship;” and, quite recently, on the advent of a new landlord who had
been a cattle-dealer, the sign was changed into the SHEEP. On the other
hand, there is, at Chipping Norton, in Oxfordshire, a house styled the
SHEEP AND ANCHOR, which, doubtless, should be, and originally was, the
SHIP AND ANCHOR. The old sign of the FALCON AND FETTERLOCK, representing
the badge of John of Ghent, is now often corrupted into the HAWK AND
BUCKLE, or even into the HAWK AND BUCK. In speaking of Essex examples of
corrupted signs, it may be mentioned that the GOAT AND BOOTS (p. 81)
appears at Colchester for the GOAT IN BOOTS, and that the DE BEAUVOIR’S
ARMS (p. 43) at Downham is locally known as “the BEAVERS.” In the _Post
Office Directory_, too, the HORSE AND WELL (p. 57) at Woodford appears
as the HORSE AND WHEEL, the ROMAN URN (p. 44) at Colchester as the ROMAN
ARMS, and the SUNDERLAND ARMS (p. 31) at Wakes Colne as the SUTHERLAND
ARMS. Some of these are not corruptions which have actually taken place
on the sign-board; but they well show the tendency towards such
corruption. There can be but little doubt, too, that the sign of the
HARROW (p. 171) represents the _Portcullis crowned_ which Henry VII. and
other sovereigns used as a badge. When the knowledge of heraldry
declined the common people called the sign by the name of the Harrow,
not knowing of anything else which resembled the device displayed. It
thus became an agricultural sign, and was sometimes combined with
another sign of the same kind, namely, the PLOUGH, as at Leytonstone (p.
170). In other counties, according to Larwood and Hotten, the sign is
still commonly known as the PORTCULLIS, but we have no example in
Essex. Some forty years ago it was recorded in the _Worcester Journal_
that the landlord of the WHITE HART Inn at Dudley decided that his sign,
which had until then been merely written, should be made pictorial; but
instead of having depicted the ordinary White Hart with golden chain and
collar, he (whether through ignorance or intent) had painted in white,
on a black ground, a large Elephant’s _Heart_! Of this absurd corruption
we have now an example in Essex, as mentioned hereafter (p. 53).
[Illustration: PORTCULLIS.]
It was also once a very common thing for the sign to form a “rebus,” or
pun, upon the name of the owner. Thus TWO COCKS represented Cox; THREE
CONIES, Conny; THREE FISHES, Fish, &c., &c. The token issued in 1665 by
“Beniamin Samson in Coggeshall” bears what Boyne describes as “the
figure of Sampson, standing, with a robe over his shoulder and loins,
holding a jawbone in one hand.” Many combinations, otherwise
inexplicable, doubtless arose from this source, such as a HAND AND COCK,
signifying Hancock, and a BABE AND TUN, signifying Babington. It is not
easy to detect any instance in which a rebus or punning device now
appears on an Essex sign-board; but several cases may be pointed out on
the trade-tokens issued by Essex tradesmen in the seventeenth century.
Thus, a LAMB appears on the token of Thomas Lambe of Colchester in 1654
(p. 80), a FINCH on that of John Finch of Halstead, and a TREE on that
of W. Spiltimber of Hatfield Broad Oak. It is worth mention, too, that
Mr. A. Stagg, an English hatter, in the Rue Auber, Paris, displays two
gilded stags’ heads on the facia above his shop.
Thus we see that, in searching for the origin of any sign of obscure
derivation, we may have to trace it back through several different
forms.
Coming now to the more particular examination of the signs connected
with Essex, we find that the signs of the 1,355 inns existing in the
county furnish an ample fund of interest to any one who systematically
studies their origin and significance. For convenience in treatment an
attempt has been made to arrange these signs under various headings, and
under one or other of these headings every distinct inn-sign now
appearing in the county will be found treated of, together with a large
number of other signs which once existed in Essex, but have now
disappeared. The list of Essex inns given in the _Post Office Directory_
for the county has been found very useful, although, unfortunately, the
signs of the numerous “beer-shops” (when they have any) are not given.
This deficiency has, however, to some extent, been supplied through the
kindness of the magistrates’ clerks in the county, who have forwarded
lists of such beer-houses as have signs or names in their respective
divisions. The information thus obtained has been incorporated with the
remainder; but in speaking of a certain sign appearing so many times in
the county the number of fully-licensed houses alone is in all cases
referred to. In various parts of the county, but especially in the
south-western portion round Epping and Ongar (as also in London), these
houses are known among the labouring people by the strange name of “Tom
and Jerrys,” no explanation of the origin of which seems to be
obtainable. Beer-houses are compelled by Act of Parliament (1 Will. IV.,
c. 64, s. 6, & 4 & 5 Will. IV., c. 85, s. 18) to display over their
doors a descriptive board, to be “publicly visible and legible,” under
penalty of £10, but it does not appear that either they or
fully-licensed houses are compelled to display signs.
There does not appear to have been any complete list of the inns of the
county published more than forty years ago, but even the lists extending
back that far may advantageously be compared with that of the present
time. Although very many of our signs still remain the same now as they
were then, numerous changes are noticeable. These are, however,
generally in the direction that might be expected. Old heraldic devices
are slowly disappearing and giving place to modern vulgarisms. For
instance, so lately as the year 1868 RAILWAY INNS and RAILWAY TAVERNS
combined only numbered twenty, while at the present time we have no
less than thirty-one. It is quite clear that in the early part of this
century, before railways came into existence, these signs must have been
altogether unknown. Their places were then filled by such signs as the
COACH AND HORSES or the HORN AND HORSESHOES, and other signs now going
out of fashion.
A great deal of very useful and interesting information as to the signs
in use in Essex two centuries ago is also to be obtained from an
examination of the list of seventeenth-century tokens given by Mr.
Boyne.[11] These tokens were issued very numerously by tradesmen during
the Commonwealth and the reign of Charles I., when the national coinage
was in an extremely debased condition. In the “field,” or centre, of the
coin there was generally a device, which usually represented the sign
under which the issuer traded. Many of the objects thus represented
have, of course, disappeared from the sign-boards of the present day,
though very many others are still familiar public-house signs. Mr. Boyne
is, however, of the opinion that not more than one-fifth of the tokens
now extant were issued by tavern-keepers, the rest having been
circulated by ordinary tradesmen. Reference has already been made to the
fact that many of the common heraldic signs had their origin in the use
formerly made of the arms of the various Trade Guilds or companies as
signs; and a hasty examination of the list of Essex tokens given by
Boyne shows that between 80 and 90, or 37 per cent., bear arms or
emblems belonging to one or other of these ancient companies. Thus, the
Grocers appear about 25 times, the Bakers about 13 times, the
Tallow-chandlers 10 times, the Woolmen 8 times, the Clothworkers 4
times, the Blacksmiths and the Drapers each 3 times, the Mercers, the
Apothecaries, and the Barber Surgeons each twice, and the Brewers, the
Fishmongers, the Butchers, the Fruiterers, and the Cutlers each once.
Each of these signs will be hereafter treated of in its proper place.
A very interesting list of the inns in Essex (107 in all) in 1636 is
given in John Taylor’s--the “Water Poet’s”--_Catalogue of Tavernes in
Tenne Shires about London_, published in that year. Unfortunately,
however, in only thirteen cases does he give the sign. In all other
cases he merely gives the name of the holder. Frequent allusion will
hereafter be made to this list of inns.
In the first edition of _Pigot’s Commercial Directory_, published in
1823, is a list of the inns in the principal Essex towns at that day,
which has proved very useful. An asterisk placed before the sign of any
particular existing inn, or the name of the place at which it is
situated, indicates that the inn in question is mentioned in the above
_Directory_, and that it is therefore at least 64 years old.
It is much to be regretted that, although the inns are, as a rule, among
the oldest and most interesting houses in any small town or country
village, our Essex historians have, almost without exception, been too
fully occupied in tracing the descent of manors and estates, even to
notice them.
The list given in the _London Directory_ for 1885 enumerates no less
than 1,742 distinct signs or devices, as appearing in the metropolis
alone. Some of these are, of course, repeated as many as fifty times.
[Illustration: HAND AND STAR.
(_Date 1550, after Larwood and Hotten._)]
[Illustration] CHAPTER II.
_HERALDIC SIGNS._
... “a coat of arms, ... and wild beasts on their hind legs,
showing it, as if it was a copy they had done, with mouths from ear
to ear,--good gracious!”
DICKENS: _Little Dorrit_, book ii., chap. ix.
As the quaint art of Heraldry has given to us many, if not a majority,
of our most interesting signs, it is only reasonable that signs of this
class should be treated first.
In all respects the most purely heraldic sign we have in Essex is the
FLEUR-DE-LYS, which occurs at Widdington. As a sign, this was formerly
much more common than at present. Eight of the Essex tokens are
described as having borne it. Two of these were issued in Colchester,
two in Billericay, and one each in Chelmsford, Coggeshall, Stock, and
Witham, the issuer at the latter place being John Jackson, clothier, in
1669. There was formerly a house of this name at Waltham Abbey. In the
parish register the burial of a landlord, on May 8, 1684, is recorded as
follows:--“Edward Clarke, att y^{e} flower de luis.” Mr. H. W. King,
too, finds mention in ancient deeds of a “Flower de Luce” at Maldon in
1658, and again in 1690, but whether an inn, shop, or dwelling-house,
there is, as usual, no evidence to show. As it is sometimes varied into
the THREE FLEURS DE LYS, the most reasonable conclusion is that it is
taken from the arms of France, as formerly quartered with those of
England, but a fleur-de-lys was also used as a badge by Edward III. In
former times, too, it was an emblem of the Virgin Mary. In London at the
present day the sign occurs once only, namely, in Fleur-de-Lys Street,
E. Below are depicted four of the many forms taken by this device on
early shields of arms.
[Illustration: FLEUR DE LYS (_four early forms_).]
[Illustration: ESSEX ARMS.]
[Illustration: COLCHESTER ARMS.]
No less than 116 of our present public-houses (or 8·5 per cent.) are
named after the arms of some family, place, city, country, or trade.
Those obviously named after some place within the county will be first
noticed. To commence with, however, we will mention the ROYAL ARMS at
Silvertown.[12] The same device appears on a token inscribed “Theophilus
Harvey, in Manitree, 1669.” Next we have the ESSEX ARMS.[13] There are
now four examples, though forty years ago there were five. At
Springfield, too, there is a beer-house of this name. Then we have a
*COLCHESTER ARMS,[14] which is, of course, situated at Colchester. It is
at least forty years old. The COLCHESTER ARMS also appear on the
halfpenny token of Alexander Satterthwaite, of Colchester, dated 1668.
The BOROUGH ARMS at Maldon are, of course, the arms of that town.[15]
The ABBEY ARMS at Plaistow doubtless represent the arms of the
neighbouring Abbey of Barking.[16] Sixty years ago there was a HARWICH
ARMS[17] at *Harwich. Then we have the HUTTON ARMS at Hutton, the
CHADWELL ARMS at Chadwell Heath, the BERECHURCH ARMS at Lexden, the
ROMFORD ARMS (beer-house) at Romford, the COLNE VALLEY ARMS at
Birdbrook, and the ROYAL ESSEX ARMS at Braintree, all of which coats the
heralds would probably be unable to find entered at Heralds’ College.
The last-named is an especially strange device. It is probably an
impaled sign, due to a combination of the ROYAL ARMS and the ESSEX ARMS.
Many other of our “arms” are named after places outside the county.
Probably in many cases a new landlord has named his house after the
place he came from. Such are the CAMBRIDGE ARMS, the CUCKFIELD ARMS, the
DARTMOUTH ARMS, the DENMARK ARMS, the DORSET ARMS, 2 DURHAM ARMS, the
FALMOUTH ARMS, the IPSWICH ARMS, the LIVERPOOL ARMS, the NORTHUMBERLAND
ARMS, the ODESSA ARMS, the LILLIPUT ARMS (in the Lilliput Road,
Stratford), the TOWER HAMLETS ARMS (at Forest Gate), and the KENT ARMS
at North Woolwich, a parish belonging to Kent, though situated on the
north side of the river. Twenty years ago there was also a SUSSEX ARMS
in existence. The CITY ARMS at Canning Town presumably represent the
arms of the City of London.[18] The dagger in the City arms commemorates
the slaying of Wat Tyler by Sir William Walworth, in 1381. The weapon
used is still in the possession of the Fishmongers’ Company. The
SUTHERLAND ARMS at Wakes Colne seems from the printed list to have been
corrupted from the SUNDERLAND ARMS within the last twenty years. An
example of both forms occurs in London at the present time. It is most
probable that some of these signs have not taken their names direct from
the counties or towns mentioned, but from the titles of noblemen who
have become prominent for political or other reasons. This has been
almost certainly the case with the CAMBRIDGE ARMS, the DURHAM ARMS, and
the LIVERPOOL ARMS.
[Illustration: BREWERS’ ARMS.]
The following signs are, with equal clearness, derived from trades or
employments pursued within the county. Many of them are, doubtless,
derived directly from the arms of the London Trade Companies. Of the
BLACKSMITHS’ ARMS[19] we have examples situated respectively at Little
Clacton and at North Weald. The Blacksmiths’ Arms also appear on the
halfpenny tokens of “Will Todd, Blacksmith of Epping,” 1668, and of
William Thompson of South Benfleet (no date). The BLACKSMITHS’ ARMS, at
Little Clacton, appears to have existed since 1786 at least, as it is
referred to in an advertisement in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ for March
17th in that year. Not improbably the HAMMER AND PINCERS crossed, which
appeared on the halfpenny of Will Willis of Romford, in 1667,
constituted a blacksmith’s sign. The BREWERS’ ARMS[20] occur as a sign
at Woodham Ferris and *Colchester. The THREE TUNS, of which we have
examples at Newport, *Dunmow, and Waltham Abbey, all of them being at
least forty years old, are certainly derived from the arms either of the
Brewers’ Company or the Vintners’ Company.[21] THREE TUNS are depicted
on the token issued by William Harman, of Chelmsford, in 1657. The THREE
TUNS which formerly existed at *Chelmsford was long a well-known inn.
The Rev. R. E. Bartlett finds it mentioned in the parish registers in
1619, when “a chrisome son of Robt. Ogden of Chelmsford, Vintner, at the
3 Tunnes, and of Susan his wife, was buried the XXX day of December,
being Thursday.” Taylor also mentions it in his _Catalogue of
Tavernes_, published in 1636. Sixty years ago there was a house of this
name at *Braintree, and in 1789 that at Waltham Abbey was spelled THREE
TONS. The Bakers’ Arms[22] occur on the tokens some thirteen times,
either as the BAKERS’ ARMS, a HAND AND SCALES, a PAIR OF SCALES, or a
PAIR OF SCALES AND A WHEATSHEAF. The BAKERS’ ARMS now only appears as an
inn-sign at Leyton, but there are beer-houses of this name at Buttsbury
and Waltham Abbey. Our common modern sign of the WHEATSHEAF is also
probably derived from the arms of this Company. There are seven examples
in the county, situated respectively at Wrabness, *Chelmsford,
Tolleshunt D’Arcy, Braintree, Stow Maries, High Ongar, and Ardleigh.
There are also beer-houses of this name at Loughton, Theydon Bois,
Waltham Abbey, Hatfield Peverell, Kelvedon, Rettendon, Writtle,
Hornchurch, &c. A house at Castle Hedingham, known as the WHEATSHEAF,
though now a beer-shop merely, appears once to have been a very good
private residence. The WHEATSHEAF at *Chelmsford seems to have been in
existence since 1786 at least, as it is mentioned in the _Chelmsford
Chronicle_ on January 13th in that year. Likewise the still-extant sign
of the MAID’S HEAD (to be noticed hereafter) is probably derived from
the arms of the Mercers’ Company,[23] which appear on the undated
farthings of “Thomas Bvrges, Est Street, Covlchester,” and “Clement Pask
of Castell Heninhame.” The MASONS’ ARMS[24] occur at *Moulsham. The
GARDENERS’ ARMS[25] appear at Wakes Colne and Loughton (beer-house). The
WHEELERS’ ARMS[26] (? _Wheelwrights’ Arms_) appear at
[Illustration: BUTCHERS’ ARMS.]
Good Easter. The BRICKLAYERS’ ARMS[27] occur three times, namely, at
Colchester, Stondon, and Bocking (beer-shop). The ROYAL HOTEL at
Purfleet is famed for its whitebait. Until recently it was known as the
BRICKLAYERS’ ARMS, evidently, as Mr. Palin thinks,[28] because the
Bricklayers’ Company formerly worked the huge chalk quarries close at
hand. The BUTCHERS’ ARMS[29] occur at Wimbish, Felstead, Stambourne, and
Woodham Ferris (beer-shop). Probably the BULL’S HEAD, the BOAR’S HEAD,
and the FLY AND BULLOCK, to be noticed hereafter, are all connected with
the arms of this Company, which appear on the halfpenny of “John Harvey
of Rochfoord” in 1668. The CARPENTERS’ ARMS[30] occur eight times in the
county, and also often serve as a beer-house sign. One near Chelmsford
is kept by a carpenter, as is, doubtless, often the case. There can be
no doubt that the COMPASSES, which occurs six times, and the THREE
COMPASSES, which appears twice, are derived from the arms of this
Company. A house near Waltham Abbey, now known by the latter form of the
sign, seems in 1789 to have been called the COMPASSES merely. The AXE
AND COMPASSES at Arkesden is probably a modern, but certainly an
appropriate, combination; or the axe may be intended for one of the
adzes in the arms of the Coopers’ Company, for the COOPERS’ ARMS[31]
themselves appear at Chadwell Heath, Aldham, Chelmsford, and Romford,
the last two being beer-houses. Although the arms of the Cutlers’
Company[32] are not now to be seen on our sign-boards, there can be
little doubt that the TWO SWORDS CROSSED, which appeared on the undated
farthing of “Nathaniell Smith in Thacksteed,” were derived from the arms
of that Company, Thaxted having formerly been a seat of the cutlery
trade, as the name “Cutlers’ Green,” in the immediate vicinity,
indicates. The WATERMAN’S ARMS[33] was formerly a sign at Leigh, but
whether of an inn or private house does not appear. Mr. H. W. King is
able, by means of evidence obtained from old deeds, to give a complete
account of the house which displayed this sign (and which was built
about the time of Charles I.) from 1650; but there are earlier notices
of it. Portions of it, built of oak, are still standing, but much
altered. When it first became an inn does not appear. It is first
mentioned as having been such in 1746, when it is described as “two
tenements now and lately called the Waterman’s Arms.” Probably,
therefore, it had even then ceased to be an inn, and had been divided
into two dwelling-houses. Under the floor of one of the rooms, some
years since, were found several small coins of Charles II., and a leaden
tavern token, undated, but probably of the seventeenth century. On it
was a hand or arm, pouring from a tankard into a cup or glass. Forty
years ago there was a POULTERERS’ ARMS[34] at Chelmsford. Larwood and
Hotten do not notice this sign.
[Illustration: THE CUPS HOTEL, COLCHESTER.]
Similarly, several other Companies, whose arms are not now to be found
named upon our Essex sign-boards, appear to have given us signs which we
still have. For instance, the sign of the TROWEL AND HAMMER at Marks Tey
(which is not mentioned by Larwood and Hotten) is in all probability
derived from the arms of the Plasterers’ Company,[35] while the sign of
THREE CUPS has, doubtless, been derived from the arms of the Salters’
Company.[36] Of this sign we have examples at Great Oakley, Maldon,
Springfield, and *Colchester. The THREE CUPS at Colchester (commonly
called the CUPS), though not one of the oldest licensed houses in that
ancient borough, was long a well-known coaching inn, and for upwards of
half a century has been the leading hotel in the town. There is reason
to believe that a small tavern known as the Queen’s Head stood upon the
site in the days of Elizabeth; but a more commodious building was
erected, as an inscription on the front stated, in 1792. That, however,
had become too antiquated for its requirements, and was demolished in
1885. Upon its site has now been erected an extremely handsome building
of brick and stone. Carved on one of the projecting windows are “three
cups,” with pedestals, but they do not correctly represent the “covered
sprinkling-salts” of the Salters’ Arms. These, however, are correctly
represented, being carved in wood, and supported upon a sign-post,
before the THREE CUPS at *Springfield, a house at least a century old,
as it is mentioned in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ on March 30, 1787.
In a curious poem, describing a journey from London to Aldborough and
back, published in 1804,[37] the THREE CUPS at *Harwich--now known as
the CUPS--is thus alluded to:
“But now we’re at Harwich, and thankful am I,
Our Inn’s the Three Cups, and our dinner draws nigh,
But first for a walk to survey this old Borough,
To peep at the church, and the churchyard go thorough.”
Again, the ADAM AND EVE, which occurs at West Ham, as noticed hereafter,
is a very old device as a sign. This example is forty years old at
least. Messrs. Larwood and Hotten state (p. 257) that “our first parents
were constant _dramatis personæ_ in the mediæval mysteries and
pageants;” but both they and Mr. Jewitt overlook the fact that the sign
may with equal probability have been derived from the arms of the
Fruiterers’ Company,[38] which appear on the halfpenny of Jasper Eve of
Springfield in 1669. In this case, however, the device probably was
intended as a rebus upon the name. The sign of the THREE PIGEONS is not
improbably derived from the arms of the Tallow-chandlers’ Company,[39]
since there is no other obvious source from which it can have come.
Although Larwood and Hotten seem to regard it as being now a rare sign,
there are two cases of it in Essex--one at Stratford, and the other at
Halstead. As already stated, the occupation of the tallow-chandler is
represented ten times on the Essex tokens of the seventeenth century,
either by the arms of the Company, by a man making candles, or by a
stick of candles. The latter device appears on the undated farthing of
William Newman of Halstead, and may have some connection with the THREE
PIGEONS which now exists there, and has certainly done so for at least
forty years back. The DOVE AND OLIVE-BRANCH, which is shown on the
undated farthing of “George Evanes in Ingatestone,” is also probably a
device taken from the arms of this Company. Other arms and emblems
belonging to the great trade companies, and appearing commonly on the
tokens of the seventeenth century, have now quite disappeared--at least
so far as Essex is concerned. For instance, the BARBER-SURGEONS’
ARMS[40] are to be seen on the halfpence of “Thomas Bvll of Mamvdine,
1669,” and of “Henry Carter, Chirvrgeon, in Manitree, 1669.” The
GROCERS’ ARMS[41] occur, as already stated, no less than about
twenty-five times, either as the Grocers’ Arms, a sugar-loaf, three
sugar-loaves, one or more cloves, or a sugar-loaf and cloves combined.
The GROCERS’ ARMS and an ESCALOP occur respectively on the two sides of
the undated token of “George Nicholson in Tolshon Dacey in S.X.” The
sign of the THREE SUGAR-LOAVES still occurs at Sible Hedingham, and has
been in existence there for a century at least, as the house is
mentioned in an advertisement in the _Chelmsford_ _Chronicle_ on March
9, 1787. It can hardly be called an heraldic sign, as the three
sugar-loaves seem only to have been set up by grocers as an emblem of
their business. At the present time the house has no sign-board, but the
three sugar-loaves are suspended over the door as here shown. There is
also a beer-house of the same name in Felstead parish.
[Illustration: THREE SUGAR-LOAVES AT SIBLE HEDINGHAM.]
The WOOLPACK, which occurs eight times on the Essex tokens of the
seventeenth century, and six times in the county at present, will be
noticed hereafter. It is, doubtless, derived from the arms of the
Woolmen’s Company.[42] The APOTHECARIES’ ARMS[43] appear on the tokens
of “Isaac Colman, grocr, in Colchester, 1667,” and of Thomas Bradshawe
of Harwich, in the same year. The DRAPERS’ ARMS[44]
[Illustration: DRAPERS’ ARMS.]
occur three times on the Essex tokens. The sign of the THREE CROWNS,
which occurs four times in the county, as hereafter mentioned, is very
probably derived either from the arms of the Drapers’ Company, or from
those of the Skinners’ Company.[45] The signs of the HORSESHOE and the
THREE HORSESHOES (the former of which occurs three times in the county
and the latter ten times) probably both owe their origin partly to the
fact that horseshoes appear on the arms of the Farriers’ Company,[46]
and partly to the old custom of fastening a horseshoe upon the
stable-door or elsewhere in the belief that it would scare away witches.
The THREE HORSESHOES now existing at Billericay seems to be at least one
hundred years old, as it is referred to in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ on
March 10, 1786. As a beer-house sign the HORSESHOE occurs at Great
Parndon, and the THREE HORSESHOES at Braintree, Waltham Abbey, High
Ongar, and elsewhere. It appears from the parish registers of Grays that
there was a HORSESHOES there in 1724, and there was a THREE HORSESHOES
at Great Parndon in 1789. The CLOTHWORKERS’ ARMS[47] appear twice on the
Colchester tokens, once on the farthing of “William Cant, in Hedingham
Sibley, 1667,” and once elsewhere. The SHUTTLE on the tokens of “Moses
Love, slaymaker, of Coggshall,” and “Nathaniell Cattlin of Safron
Walden, 1668,” the WOMAN SPINNING on that of “John Little in Movlshem,
1666,” and the pair of SHEARS on that of “James Bonvm in Stisted, 1670,”
are all probably connected with the woollen trade which formerly
flourished in Essex. In 1662 there was a house known as the SHEARS in
Chelmsford. It is mentioned in the _Account of the Murder of Thomas
Kidderminster_ as being in “Colchester-lane,” which was probably what is
now known as Springfield Lane. Littlebury was once another seat of the
woollen trade. Until comparatively recently the 3rd of February used to
be celebrated there, as related in a poem still occasionally to be met
with, that being the day dedicated to Bishop Blaize, patron of workers
in wool. Two huge pairs of shears, one of which is here represented, may
still be seen carved on the old oaken north door of the church.
[Illustration: SHEARS.
(_From Littlebury Church Door._)]
In addition to the foregoing signs connected with trades and
occupations, we have the following, though none of the employments named
ever bore coats of arms. Most of them are modern vulgarisms, and need no
further attention. There are CRICKETERS’ ARMS at Manningtree, Danbury,
and Rickling; MALTSTERS’ ARMS at Willingale Doe, Lambourne (beer-house),
and Colchester; FREEMASONS’ ARMS at Brightlingsea and Braintree
(beer-house); a DROVERS’ ARMS at Rayleigh; an ENGINEERS’ ARMS at
Stratford; THATCHERS’ ARMS at Mount Bures and Rettendon (beer-shop),
Tolleshunt D’Arcy, and Great Warley; a VOLUNTEERS’ ARMS at Maldon; a
YACHTSMAN’S ARMS at Brightlingsea; a SLATERS’ ARMS at Chadwell Heath; a
MOULDERS’ ARMS (beer-shop) at Great Wakering; a WOODCUTTERS’ ARMS
(beer-shop) at Eastwood; a FOUNDRY ARMS (beer-shop) at Hornchurch (of
course named after Messrs. Wedlake’s foundry there); LABOURERS’ ARMS at
Great Baddow and Woodham Ferris (beer-shops); and an ODD FELLOWS’ ARMS
at Springfield (beer-house). Mr. H. W. King finds mention in ancient
deeds of a house at Leigh, in 1682, with the sign of the HAMBRO’
MERCHANTS’ ARMS, but whether an inn, shop, or private residence does
not appear, nor is there any subsequent mention of it. The owner, George
King, is described as a mercer on some of his tokens, still extant, and
also on his tombstone, now destroyed. Most probably, therefore, it was a
shop-sign. It stood on the site of the present KING’S HEAD. At High
Ongar a beer-shop displays the sign of the FORESTERS’ ARMS. Sixty years
ago there was a NELSON’S ARMS at *Colchester. At the same time, the
WEAVERS’ ARMS[48] formed a very suitable sign at *Colchester, and there
were a *JOINERS’ ARMS, a *TAILORS’ ARMS, and a *SAWYERS’ ARMS at the
same place. Of the latter, there is still an example (beer-house) at
Magdalen Laver. In times past, probably, many other trades have had
their “Arms,” though only sign-board ones.
Many other “arms” are borrowed from the names of illustrious persons,
though there is some uncertainty about several in the subjoined list.
The following will be at once seen to be named after well-known Essex
landowners: such are, the DUCANE ARMS at Braxted, the LENNARD ARMS at
Aveley, the NEVILLE ARMS at Audley End, the RAYLEIGH ARMS at Terling,
the TOWER ARMS at South Weald, the WAKE ARMS at Waltham Abbey (which is
over forty years old), the WILKES ARMS at Wenden Lofts, and the WESTERN
ARMS at Rivenhall, which figured as the LORD WESTERN ARMS forty years
ago, when there was also a PETRE’S ARMS at Ingatestone. Other arms of
this class, but not necessarily connected with the county, are the
CAMDEN ARMS at Forest Gate, the COWLEY ARMS at Leytonstone, the HEADLEY
ARMS at Great Warley, the HENLEY ARMS at North Woolwich, the LAURIE ARMS
at Romford, the MANBY ARMS and the WADDINGTON ARMS at Stratford, the
MILTON ARMS at Southend, the SPENCERS’ ARMS at Hornchurch, and the DE
BEAUVOIRS’ ARMS at Downham, together with the PETO ARMS, the SIDNEY
ARMS, the SUTTON ARMS, and two NAPIER’S ARMS. Sixty years ago there was
a *THEOBALD’S ARMS at Grays. The DE BEAUVOIRS’ ARMS is at least forty
years old. It seems to be locally known as “the BEAVERS.” Its sign is a
pictorial one with the arms duly displayed. Larwood and Hotten describe
the GENERAL’S ARMS at Little Baddow as a “new-fangled, unmeaning sign,”
through knowing nothing of its local significance. It appears that the
house belongs to Lord Rayleigh, and the arms of the Strutt
family--crest, motto, and all--are correctly depicted upon the
sign-board. It takes its name from Major-General William Goodday Strutt,
brother of the first Baron. After seeing much active service, in which
he lost a leg and received many wounds, he was appointed Governor of
Quebec, and died February 5, 1848.
The ROYAL ARMS are displayed in the undesirable neighbourhood of
Silvertown. Although our present Queen has now reigned fifty years, the
QUEEN’S ARMS only appear three times on Essex sign-boards, against no
less than seventeen KING’S ARMS. Probably the fact that the number of
kings has been very much greater than the number of queens will fully
account for this. There is, however, a VICTORIA ARMS at Brentwood. It
seems probable that during the last forty years many houses formerly
known as the KING’S HEAD have come to be called the KING’S ARMS, after
the recent craze for “arms;” for the former sign was much commoner, and
the latter much rarer, forty years since than now. It may be pointed
out, for instance, that in Mr. Creed’s list of signs round Epping in
1789, the King’s _Head_ appears six times, and the King’s _Arms_ only
once; also that the Queen’s _Head_ appears twice, while the Queen’s
_Arms_ does not appear at all. This shows the great prevalence of
“Heads” over “Arms” on the sign-boards of last century, and also that
the present prevalence of _Kings_ over _Queens_ in the same situation
was observable even then. Probably the two Queen’s Heads given, which
were at Harlow and Fyfield respectively, represented the portrait of
Queen Anne. A token was issued by William Drane at the KING’S ARMS
(depicted in the field), in Waltham Abbey in 1668, and the same sign is
mentioned in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ for 1786 as occurring at
Halstead. The sign still exists at both those places; but it is, of
course, difficult to say whether or not the houses are the same as those
that displayed the sign in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
respectively. The sign of the KING’S ARMS at Waltham Abbey in 1668 can
hardly have been more than eight years old at the time, as no one would
have ventured to display such a sign during the time of the
Commonwealth. Doubtless it was set up at the time of the Restoration in
1660 in honour of the new king, Charles II., for whose father, perhaps,
this William Drane had fought.
Among the more miscellaneous “Arms” may be mentioned the CHATSWORTH ARMS
at Forest Gate, the ALMA ARMS (beer-house) at Navestock, the CHOBHAM
ARMS at Stratford, together with a LIBERTY ARMS, a LIBRA ARMS, three
ORDNANCE ARMS, a RAILWAY ARMS, and a ROMAN ARMS in the Roman Road,
Colchester. The last-named sign has been corrupted within the last
twenty years from the ROMAN URN. Most of these extremely absurd signs
have come into existence during the last few years. They serve to show
how completely the original use of arms as signs has become
disassociated from their present use. Another indication of the modern
growth of “Arms” is to be found in the fact that they are very common as
beer-house signs--beer-houses having only been instituted since the
beginning of this century. Even forty years ago “Arms” were decidedly
less common as signs than they are now. The list has of late been
swelled by such stupid and unmeaning additions as the ALMA ARMS, LIBRA
ARMS, and LILLIPUT ARMS, very few, if any, of which existed fifty years
since.
To the above may be added the following, which appear in London, and are
most of them modern and meaningless absurdities:--The WATERLOO ARMS, the
GRAND JUNCTION ARMS, the PAVIORS’ ARMS, the PALACE ARMS, the ROMAN ARMS
(in the Roman Road, Bow, E.), the MECHANICS’ ARMS, and the VOLUNTEERS’
ARMS. The SOL’S ARMS, in the Hampstead Road, commemorated by Dickens in
_Bleak House_, still exists under the same name. “Arms” in London are
very frequently situated in streets of the same name, and these streets
are usually named after persons, who, it may be presumed, own property
in them. Altogether there are in London no less than 352 distinct signs
consisting of “Arms” of some kind or other, not counting the number of
times each particular sign is repeated. Thus, in London, “Arms” form
rather more than twenty per cent. of all distinct signs.
[Illustration]
[Illustration] CHAPTER III.
_MAMMALIAN SIGNS._
The next great class of signs to be noticed consists of what may be
termed “Mammalian Signs.” In Essex no less than 464 houses, or 34·2 per
cent. of the whole, display devices derived from the animal kingdom.
There are, however, only 102 distinct signs. These may be classified as
follows:--
No. of
No. of signs. distinct signs.
Mammals 384 81
Birds 75 18
Fish 1 1
Insects 4 2
--- ---
464 102
--- ---
This calculation is, moreover, made independent of “man and his parts,”
as the heralds say. Signs of human origin have been placed in a separate
class, and will be treated of hereafter by themselves.
Although many of the signs belonging to this class are, undoubtedly,
nothing more than very modern vulgarisms, there can be no doubt whatever
that a great number have a truly heraldic origin, as will be seen from
what follows.
To commence the list, we find at Buckhurst Hill a BALD-FACED STAG, and
in the adjoining parish of Chigwell a BALD HIND. These two signs have,
doubtless, the same origin, but one which it is not now easy to
discover. In Essex a horse is always said to be “bald” when he has a
white face.
[Illustration: BALD-FACED STAG.
(_Buckhurst Hill._)]
Possibly the signs commemorate the killing of two deer with white faces
in the adjoining forest, which was the last locality in the east or
south-east of England in which the aboriginal wild red deer survived,
the last having been killed so lately as the year 1817 or thereabouts.
Both the BALD HIND and the BALD-FACED STAG are among the oldest of the
forest inns. The latter is, presumably, the same house marked as the
BALD STAG on Cary’s map, published in 1768. It has the same name in Mr.
Creed’s list (p. 7). The Rev. Wm. Cole tells us, in his voluminous MSS.,
that on the morning of October 27, 1774, he “started from the COCK at
Epping without eating, and breakfasted at an Inne, called the BALD-FACED
STAG.” The existing inn is a large square, white-washed building, with a
high-pitched roof. It contains a portrait of Queen Anne, and the
coffee-room is panelled. From it, according to the author of _Nooks and
Corners in Essex_ (p. 21), the famous “Epping Hunt,” so cleverly
satirized by Tom Hood, used to start every Easter Monday, when it was no
uncommon thing for five hundred mounts to ride off from the ridge on
which the house stands. The Easter Monday hunt is said to have
originated as far back as the year 1226, in the reign of Henry III. The
custom was kept up until so recent a date as 1853, after which it
gradually fell off, owing to the rough East End element which marked the
annual meeting, and made it little more than a public nuisance. The
stag--a tame one--was, on these occasions, taken round in turn to all
the neighbouring public-houses before being set at liberty, and the
amount of liquor consumed, and riot occasioned, was, in consequence,
considerable. Something approaching a celebration of the old custom has,
however, been attempted as lately as the last two or three years. There
was also a BALD-FACED STAG at Hatfield Broad Oak in 1789.
[Illustration: ROEBUCK.
(_Buckhurst Hill._)]
At Buckhurst Hill there is also a _Roebuck_, as well as a REINDEER. The
former is marked on Cary’s map, published in 1768, and is probably the
same house several times spoken of (p. 6) as the BUCK in _The Trials of
John Swan and Elizabeth Jeffries_, published in 1752. It is still one of
the best and most widely-known inns on the Forest. In its large Assembly
Room public gatherings often take place. The old REINDEER, which is
shown on Cary’s map, published in 1768, is now a private house,
inhabited by Captain Mackenzie, the Forest Superintendent, and known as
“Warren House.” The present REINDEER is situated about a mile distant
from the old one. An ARCHER SHOOTING AT A STAG is also depicted on the
undated halfpenny token of “John Unwin at Layton Stone.”
It is in every way probable that the fallow deer, formerly living in the
surrounding forests of Epping and Hainault, and still existing in
considerable numbers in the former, gave rise in some way to these
numerous cervine signs in and around the parish of Buckhurst Hill. It
is, however, a moot point whence the parish derived its name. Some
connect the name with Lord Buckhurst, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth;
others regard it as composed of two Anglo-Saxon words, _Boc_, a beech,
and _hurst_, a wood or forest, which is not unlikely to be the true
derivation; others, however, state that this part of the forest was
severed from the remainder by Royal Charter, and so termed Book-hurst,
meaning book-forest; while yet others consider the name to mean
Buckhurst, the wood or forest in which bucks lived. The latter
derivation seems in every way the most likely one. Nevertheless, the
place was formerly often called “Buckit’s Hill,” as, for instance, in
_The Trial of John Swan and Elizabeth Jeffries_ (p. 8), published in
1752, but this was probably a corruption. The farthing of “William
Locken in Tollsbvry in Esex, 1668,” bore a STAG, and that of “John
Attewell in Black Notle in Esex, 1670,” bore THREE STAGS’ HEADS couped,
probably taken from the coat of arms of some private family. The STAG’S
HEAD at Colchester is also, probably, a form of some family crest. Forty
years ago there was a DOE INN at Halstead. There is now a STAG at
Hatfield Heath, and another at Little Easton. Concerning the latter,
there can be very little doubt that it represents the crest of the
Maynard family (_a stag statant or_). It would be interesting to learn
whether this house has come to be known as the STAG after having first
been called the MAYNARD ARMS. The STAG also serves as a beer-house sign
at High Ongar. It is not very easy to say what first led to the REINDEER
being used as a sign; but that it was in use as early as the
[Illustration: CROWN HOUSE.
(_Newport, Essex._)]
seventeenth century is clear from what Pepys says in his _Diary_. He
tells us that on the night of October 7, 1667, he “lay very well” at the
“Rayne-deere at Bishop Stafford” (meaning Bishops Stortford), where the
sign is still in existence. The same sign also occurs at Takeley, Black
Notley, and (as already mentioned) Buckhurst Hill, having been probably
set up at the latter place in order to keep company with the other kinds
of deer that are found there. The REINDEER at Takeley has been in
existence since 1786 at least, as it is mentioned in the _Chelmsford
Chronicle_ on January 20th in that year. At Greenstead, near Colchester,
there is to be seen the sign of the BUCK’S HORNS, which is very likely
intended to represent the deer’s “_attires_” in somebody’s coat of arms.
The sign is not mentioned by Larwood and Hotten. The HORNS at Barking
Side may have had the same origin, or the house may have taken its sign
from the noted tavern of the same name which formerly existed in Fleet
Street. The residence at Newport, now commonly known as the Crown House
(from the crown sculptured over the door), or Nell Gwynne’s House, used
formerly to be an inn. Its present names have been given to it within
living memory. Mr. C. K. Probert states[49] that in the time of his
father, eighty or ninety years ago, there was a tradition still
lingering in the town that the inn was formerly known as the HORNS, and
that Charles II., The Duke of York, and Nell Gwynne used to stop there
on their way from London to Newmarket races. This circumstance is
alluded to in an old folio history of the Rye House Plot, and Mr.
Probert has seen a play, printed about seventy years ago, in which the
scene was laid at the HORNS at Newport, the characters being Charles
II., Nell Gwynne, the Duke of York, &c. Mr. Probert writes:
“Tradition says they used to come with packhorses by the Great
North Road, _viâ_ Rickling and the lane near Wicken Bonhunt, still
called ‘London Lane;’ then along the ancient road at the foot of
Bury Field in Newport; then along the back of the Burywater House,
and so emerging opposite the Crown House.”
The HORN Hotel in the High Street at Braintree is a well-known old
coaching inn, and has long been one of the best in the town. If the late
Mr. Joseph Strutt is to be believed, this house, at the beginning of the
present century, was known as the BUGLE HORN. In his Essex and Herts
romance, entitled _Queenhoo Hall_, published in 1808, the hero relates
(ii. p. 180) that “we took some dinner at the Bugle Horn at Braintree,
and proceeded in the afternoon to Dunmow, where we arrived before
sunset.” In any case, this sign, like that of the HORN AND HORSESHOES at
Harlow Common, is probably connected with the old coaching days. The
sound of the horn and of the horses’ shoes would be the first intimation
of the approach of a stage-coach. The latter sign, however, may have
some heraldic significance, as Larwood and Hotten mention a London token
of 1666 on which a horseshoe is represented within a pair of antlers or
_deer’s attires_. In 1789, too, it seems to have been the HORNS AND
HORSESHOES. The BUGLE HORN might easily be connected either with
coaching, hunting, or heraldry, were it not situated in Barrack Street,
*Colchester. This, of course, makes it in every way probable that it is
a military sign. Here, also, must be noticed the popular sign of the
WHITE HART. This device appears to be unusually common in the county of
Essex. Nearly every town or village of any consequence possesses an
example. At present we have no less than fifty, and twenty years ago the
number was exactly the same. London itself cannot boast of having more,
as it has also just fifty examples of the sign. The WHITE HART in the
High Street at Brentwood is in all respects the most notable house now
displaying this sign in Essex. In its best days it was a coaching inn of
great importance, and is still by far the best hotel in the town. Mr. H.
W. King has ascertained that it was in existence under its present name
in the time of Queen Elizabeth; but, looking at the house itself, he
believes it to be of still earlier date, perhaps of the fifteenth
century, or even earlier. It is certainly one of the very best examples
of an old-fashioned inn, with a central courtyard and galleries running
round it, now remaining in England. It is mentioned in the _Chelmsford
Chronicle_ for September 14, 1764, as a stopping-place for the coaches
“which set out on Monday the 27th instant at 7 o’clock in the morning
from the Black Bull in Bishopsgate, London, and at the same time from
the Great White Horse Inn[50] in Ipswich, and continue every day (Sunday
excepted) to be at the above places the same evening at 5 o’clock. Each
passenger to pay 3 pence per mile and to be allowed 18 pounds luggage,”
&c.
During the reign of Elizabeth the WHITE HART was also the principal inn
in the town of Saffron Walden, but it is not now known in what street
the house was situated. Possibly the inn now known as the HOOPS, in King
Street, was the WHITE HART of those days, as it is a very ancient
structure. Boyne describes a farthing bearing the GROCERS’ ARMS, and
issued by “Anne Mathews, in Safforn Walden, 1656.” Mr. H. Ecroyd Smith
has ascertained, from the registers in the church, that a few years
later she married John Potter of the WHITE HART, and also that they
thereupon jointly issued fresh tokens, retaining her name, arms, and
date on the obverse, but having a new reverse, bearing the words “John
Potter,” and in the centre a _hart lodged_ with the monogram “I.^{A.}
P.” over it, perhaps to indicate that they continued to carry on their
two trades simultaneously. On the 25th of February, 1659, Pepys says in
his _Diary_: “Mr. Blayton and I took horse, and straight to Saffron
Walden, where, at the White Hart, we set up our horses, and took the
master of the house [in all probability the aforesaid John Potter] to
show us Audly End House.” References to this inn occur early on in the
records of the Corporation of Walden. Thus, in 1627, 14s. was expended
“for wine when the Earl of Sussex was at the White Hart;” in 1631, 9s.
was “spent at the White Hart when we ourselves did ring for the king;”
in 1643, 2s. 10d. was “payd at the White Hart when Radcliffe was taken
for a Jesuit;” and in 1661, the sum of 3s. 4d. was “spent at the White
Hart when the ryot was, some of the company being there.” The WHITE HART
on a sign-board at Boreham is correctly and heraldically represented,
but has evidently, in the mind of the artist, been associated with the
deer in Boreham Park, as a view of Boreham House has been introduced in
the background. The WHITE HART at Great Yeldham is a very ancient
village hostel. Its windows, and its exterior generally, are quaint and
antique. In front of the inn, on each side of the door, are old oaken
settles, whereon the village sages debate the topics of the day. From
the sign-board on the Green opposite, the white hart has long since
departed. The WHITE HART in Tindal Street, *Chelmsford, has a new and
large graven sign, heraldically represented, and prominently projected
over the street. The WHITE HART at *Witham, too, has a large and rather
grotesque sign, though it is correctly represented. It is rudely cut out
of what appears to be a thin sheet of iron, and is suspended over the
pavement. The WHITE HART at *Coggeshall--doubtless the existing
hotel--is mentioned in _Bufton’s Diary_ in 1678.[51] It is also recorded
in _Bufton’s Diary_[52] that “In April, 1682, there was y^{e} floore of
a Chamber fell downey at y^{e} WHITE HART at Bocking [probably the still
existing Hotel of that name], where y^{e} Justices sat and about 200
people in y^{e} roome, and one man broke his leg.” In an early number of
the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ is an illustration of an old inscribed beam
from the WHITE HART between Springfield and Boreham. Mr. J. A. Repton in
a note says that the building was thought to have been a hermitage. He
adds: “There is a long inscription at the bottom of one of the gables,
but it is at present concealed with plaster;” “that the beam measured 52
inches by seven; and that it bore the inscription, ‘Jesus! Mercy! Lady
help! Jesus!’” Taylor, in his _Catalogue of Tavernes_, mentions a WHITE
HART at *Romford in 1636, probably the hotel of that name still existing
there. An inn with this sign at Colchester is mentioned in one of the
old Corporation records, dated 1603, as being an “auncyent inne” at that
time. In old deeds Mr. H. W. King finds mention of a WHITE HART--either
inn, shop, or tenement--at Horndon-on-the-Hill in both 1704 and 1719.
There does not seem to be any apparent reason why the white hart should
have become so common a device as a sign as it has done. According to
Larwood and Hotten, its use dates from a very remote period; but there
can be very little doubt that its present abundance is due to the fact
that _a White Hart lodged, collared and chained or_, was the favourite
badge of King Richard II., and appears, with variations, no less than
eighty-three times upon his monument at Westminster. At a tournament
held in Smithfield in 1390, in honour of various foreign counts who had
been elected members of the garter--
“All the kynges house were of one sute; theyr cotys, theyr armys,
theyr sheldes, and theyr trappours were bowdrid all with whyte
hertys, with crownes of gold about their neck, and cheyns of gold
hanging thereon, which hertys was the kinges leverye that he gaf to
lordes, ladyes, knyghtes and squyers, to know his household people
from others.”
The White Hart was also used as a badge by Edward IV. It is just
possible that the fact of the crest of the Maynard family being a stag,
as already mentioned, has something to do with the abundance of the
WHITE HART as a sign in Essex, or at least in the northern parts of the
county. It is possible, too, that the abundance of this sign in Essex
may be due in part to the fact that a very ancient and famous WHITE HART
formerly stood in Bishopsgate Street Without, in such a position that it
would probably form a stopping-place for most travellers to and from
London along the Great East Road. Timbs, in his _Clubs and Club-life in
London_ (p. 397), says that it was originally built in 1480, but the old
house was pulled down and rebuilt in modern style in 1829. Allusion has
already been made (p. 25) to an absurd corruption of this sign at West
Bergholt, where the landlord of the WHITE HART, not content with a
script sign, has added a pictorial one of his own designing,
representing a large WHITE HEART on a black ground! Whether this has
been done through ignorance or intent, it is a good example of the way
signs become corrupted and altered in the course of time. Illustrations
of both forms are given above.
[Illustration: THE WHITE HART (Heart).
(_At West Bergholt._)]
[Illustration: THE WHITE HART.]
The horse and his belongings are referred to no less than seventy-three
times on Essex sign-boards, although a simple horse does not once occur.
The use of the horse as a sign is probably derived both from the animal
himself and from the part he anciently played in Heraldry. Horses of
fantastic colour, such as the GOLDEN HORSE at Forest Gate, are, in all
probability, of heraldic origin. No less than thirty-six times in this
county do we meet with the sign of the WHITE HORSE, and there is an OLD
WHITE HORSE at North Ockendon. Boyne describes tokens issued by “John
Tvrner at the White Horse in Chelmsford, 1667,” and by “John Langston at
the Whit Horse in Mvchboddow.” WHITE HORSES are still in existence at
both of these places. There can be no doubt that the one at Great Baddow
is the one from which the token was issued in the seventeenth century;
but in the case of Chelmsford there is some doubt. The matter is not
without interest, for there is in the British Museum a scarce and
curious quarto tract, of twenty-one pages, published in the year 1688,
with the following title: “_A True Relation of a Horrid Murder,
committed upon the person of Thomas Kidderminster of Tupsley in the
County of Hereford, Gent., at the White Horse Inn in Chelmsford, in the
County of Essex, in the Month of April, 1654, together with a True
Account of the Strange and Providential Discovery of the Same nine years
after, &c., &c._” In this tract one Mr. Turner (without doubt the man
who issued the token in 1667) is many times mentioned as landlord at the
time the murder was discovered. Forty years ago the WHITE HORSE at
Dovercourt styled itself the GREAT WHITE HORSE. The WHITE HORSE in the
High Street, Maldon, is several times referred to in advertisements in
the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ during the year 1786. Likely origins for this
sign have already been given (p. 18). The FLYING DUTCHMAN, which is a
beer-house sign at Braintree, probably commemorates the racehorse of
that name. There are BLACK HORSES at White Roothing, Widdington, Sible
Hedingham, Pilgrim’s Hatch, and Chelmsford (beer-house). Sixty years ago
there was another at *Coggeshall. There are also YORKSHIRE GREYS at
Coggeshall (at least forty years old), Stratford (two), and Brentwood.
Probably these are named after some famous racer. One or other of those
at *Stratford is several times referred to in the _Trials of John Swan
and Elizabeth Jeffries_ (1752). It was then kept by a certain Ann
Wright. Sixty years since, too, there was another at *Colchester.
Adjoining the racecourse at Galleywood there is a RUNNING MARE. The
NAG’S HEAD is a sign which seems to be becoming increasingly common, as
we have five now existing in the county, not counting a beer-house so
called at Chelmsford, though, twenty years ago, there were only three.
The sign of the THREE COLTS, which occurs at Stanstead Montfitchet and
Buckhurst Hill, has very likely an heraldic origin. It is not a modern
device, as there was an inn of this name in Bride Lane, London, in 1652,
and our houses may have taken their name from this one. A HORSE
_passant_ is depicted on the farthing token of “Ioseph Gleson,” 1664,
and a HORSE GALLOPING on that of “Samvell Salter,” 1656, both of Dedham.
In Essex the horse enters into many combinations with other sign-board
objects. In most cases the meaning of the combination is so evident that
no explanation of it is required. For instance, at Colchester we find a
CHAISE AND PAIR, at Stratford a CART AND HORSES, at Mistley a WAGGON AND
HORSES, and another at *Colchester. There are also beer-houses so called
at Braintree and Hadleigh. The COACH AND HORSES occurs no less than
thirteen times, the OLD COACH AND HORSES once, the HORSE AND GROOM seven
times, and the HORSE AND WHEEL once. This latter is, however, a misprint
on the part of the compilers of the _Post Office Directory_. Twenty
years ago it appeared in the list as the HORSE AND WELL, and as the
house is situated at Woodford Wells, this is undoubtedly its correct
form. The sign is not mentioned by Larwood and Hotten. That part of
Woodford known as Woodford Wells, takes its name from a mineral spring
which once existed there. It was formerly in great repute, but is now
quite dry and neglected. An _Itinerary of Twenty-five Miles round
London_, published towards the end of last century, and quoted by Mr.
Walford in _Greater London_ (vol. i. p. 464), indicates that the name of
the house was then the HORSE AND GROOM. The adjoining mineral spring,
says the author, “was formerly in good repute, and much company resorted
to drink the waters at a house of public entertainment called ‘WOODFORD
WELLS;’ but the waters have long lost their reputation.” Hood, in his
witty poem on the Epping Hunt, refers to the house as follows:
“Now many a sign at Woodford Town,
Its Inn-vitation tells;
But Huggins, full of ills, of course,
Betook him to the WELLS.”
The HORSE AND GROOM at Great Warley seems to be at least a century old,
as it is mentioned in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ on March 10, 1786. At
Margaret Roothing there is a HORSESHOE, which is a comparatively rare
sign by itself. The BULL AND HORSESHOE at North Weald is, doubtless,
merely an impaled sign. Our three HORSESHOES and ten THREE HORSESHOES
have already been referred to (p. 40). At Finchingfield there is a
beer-house with the sign of the KICKING DICKEY, and the CROSS KEYS at
Roxwell is commonly known in the parish by the same name. The origin of
the sign, which Larwood and Hotten do not mention, is hard to explain.
The Lion, with frequent variations of colour and position, is of common
occurrence in the county. This great variety in colouring clearly shows
that we are indebted to the art of Heraldry for most of our sign-board
lions. Messrs. Larwood and Hotten say (p. 118): “The _lion rampant_ most
frequently occurs, although in late years naturalism has crept in, and
the _Felis leo_ is often represented standing or crouching, quite
regardless of his heraldic origin.”
When it is remembered that _three lions passant, guardant, or_ occur on
the Royal Arms of England, and a _lion rampant gules_ on the arms of
Scotland; that a _crowned lion statant, guardant or_ is used as the
Royal Crest of England, a _crowned lion sejant affrontée gules_ as the
Royal Crest of Scotland, and a _lion rampant guardant, or_ as the dexter
supporter of the Royal Arms of England; and that lions of various
colours and in different attitudes have served as charges, badges,
crests, and supporters to many of our earlier sovereigns, and now appear
in the armorial bearings of innumerable private families, it will not be
found in any way surprising that the lion figures so commonly as he does
upon our sign-boards. So frequently, indeed, are lions made use of in
Heraldry that it is almost impossible to assign the variously-coloured
examples now to be seen on our sign-boards to their original wearers.
_Lions rampant_ appear on the trade-tokens of John Rayment of Brentwood,
in 1669, and of Richard Boyse and Richard Rich, both of Colchester, in
1668 and 1656 respectively. At present the animal occurs eight times in
Essex as a simple LION, and once as a BRITISH LION. The LION at
Chelmsford, although it has now disappeared, was once evidently a very
important inn. The Rev. R. E. Bartlett finds several mentions of it in
the parish registers, the earliest before the middle of the sixteenth
century. They are as follows: “1543. William Knight, a stranger, who by
misfortune and his own lewdness was drowned at the Lion, and was buried
the 22nd of May.” Again, in 1545, “Wyllyam Pemberton, servaunte to the
Irle of Essex, was slayne at the Lion by one of his Fellows and bury’d
the 19th Day of Januarii.” From the first of these it appears that the
inn was near the river. Taylor, in his _Catalogue of Tavernes_, also
mentions the LION as one of the chief inns in Chelmsford in 1636.
Whether this was the same inn afterwards known as the WHITE LION, and
mentioned in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ on April 14, 1786, as then
existing at Chelmsford, is hard to say. Possibly the latter house was
identical with that shown with the sign of a rampant lion in the
frontispiece. Its back premises would probably abut upon the river bank.
The site is now occupied by an inn with the sign of the QUEEN’S ARMS.
The GOLDEN LION, if it does not represent the true “lion of England,”
may represent the _lion passant, guardant, or_ which appears on the arms
of the Haberdashers’ Company.[53] The sign now occurs at Prittlewell,
*Chelmsford, *Romford, and Rayleigh. There are also beer-shops so-called
at Braintree, Hatfield Peverell, Rochford, and elsewhere. The GOLDEN
LION at Rayleigh is mentioned in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ for February
24, 1786. Sixty years ago another house of this name existed. A GOLDEN
LION at Harwich in 1764 is also mentioned in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_
for that year. The sign of the BLUE LION occurs at Galleywood and at
Great Baddow. Larwood and Hotten think that it “may possibly have been
first put up at the marriage of James I. with Anne of Denmark.” There
can, however, be very little doubt that in Essex this sign represents
the arms of the Mildmay family,[54] which was once of very great
influence in the county. At the time of James I. there were nine several
families of this name possessed of very large estates in the county, the
heads of eight of them being knights. Our nine WHITE LIONS perhaps
represent the badge of Edward IV., though the Dukes of Norfolk, the
Earls of Surrey, and other prominent personages have also borne _lions
argent_. Forty years since an OLD WHITE LION existed at Epping, being
probably the *WHITE LION which lived there in 1789 (p. 7). As he has now
disappeared, it is only natural to suppose that he has died of old age.
The sign-board of the existing house at Epping is fully pictorial. The
WHITE LION at Waltham Abbey is mentioned in the parish registers in
July, 1746, when W. Chesson (presumably the landlord) was buried. BLACK
LIONS are to be seen at Plaistow, Stisted, Althorne, Layer Marney, High
Roothing, and *Epping. At the last-mentioned place two houses of this
name existed forty years ago, one of which has existed since 1789, at
least. According to advertisements in the issues of the _Chelmsford
Chronicle_ for February 10 and April 14, 1786, a BLACK LION then existed
at Braintree; but, unless identical with the LION AND LAMB or WHITE
LION, still in existence there, it has now disappeared. Larwood and
Hotten say (p. 120), “The BLACK LION is somewhat uncommon; it may have
been derived from the coat of arms of Queen Philippa of Hainault, wife
of Edward III.,” or it may represent the _lion sable_ in the arms of
Owen Glendower. The RED LION is, however, by far our commonest leonine
sign in Essex. It occurs as many as thirty-four times. The authors so
frequently quoted, say (p. 119) that it doubtless originated in the
badge of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who bore the lion of Leon and
Castille on his arms as a token of his claim to the throne of those
countries. In after years it may often have been used to represent the
lion of Scotland. The RED LION, opposite the church at Stambourne, has a
truly heraldic sign--_a lion, rampant, gules, armed, langued, &c.,
argent, on a wreath argent and sable_. On one of its gables this inn has
two designs--one representing an old man with long white hair, wearing a
large green coat and boots of the same colour, and apparently blowing a
long horn or trumpet; the other a monogram “I.^{W.}E.” and the date
1709. This may indicate that it was formerly known as the GREEN MAN. The
RED LION at *Colchester is a very well-known house. Like the WHITE HART
at Brentwood, it is one of the few examples now remaining in the county
of the old-fashioned inn of several centuries ago. Its capacious
courtyard has evidently once been galleried, and it is altogether one of
the most ancient inns now existing in Colchester, or even in the county,
as well as being certainly one of the most quaint and antique in its
appearance. Its uppermost story considerably overhangs the others, and
the whole of the front shows much old carving which is certainly not
later than the fifteenth, and probably the fourteenth, century, to which
has been added some good modern work. Probably if the plaster were
removed much more old carving would be brought to light. Among other
faces, are those of two lions, which look down upon the entrance. The
doorway is also carved. Miss L. S. Costello, in an article on Colchester
in _Bentley’s Miscellany_ for 1840 (vol. xviii. p. 62), says, that among
the few interesting houses in the High Street, she “was struck with a
wooden doorway at the entrance of the [RED] LION INN. It has evidently
been elaborately carved on the different storeys all over, but very
little of its ornament remains. The spandrels of the arch have a
representation, on one side, of a dragon, huge and grim, and on the
other of a knight on foot, with an immensely long spear, tilting at the
monster.” An entry, dated Jan. 9, 1603-4, in one of the old Corporation
assembly books, states that “the Lion, the Angel, and the White Hart
were appointed the only three wine taverns in y^{e} towne, being
auncyent Innes and Taverns.” Mr. Chas. Golding of Colchester has,
however, traced its existence back many years earlier, having found
mention of it under its present name in the Corporation records of the
year 1530 or thereabouts. The still-extant RED LIONS at Great Wakering
and Ilford are referred to in advertisements in the _Chelmsford
Chronicle_ on Jan. 20 and 27, 1786, respectively. The latter was a
posting-house of great importance in the days when coaching was at its
height; but, like its neighbour, the ANGEL (another house once of
considerable fame), it has now sunk into comparative insignificance,
though still quite one of the leading inns of the district. It is a
large, massive square brick building, before which on the top of the
sign-post reposes a graven representation of a Red Lion _couchant_. The
RED LION at Waltham Abbey is referred to in the parish registers in
1644, when 1s. 8d. was “given to the woman that lay in at the Reed
Lyon.” Capt. Andrew Hamilton has given[55] an interesting account of an
old house at Kelvedon, formerly known as the RED LION Inn. It is now
converted into four good-sized tenements, and is known as Knight
Templars Terrace, from a tradition that the inn once belonged to that
fraternity. In its day it was probably the most considerable inn in
Kelvedon, and the largest on the main road between Chelmsford and
Colchester. It was certainly built before the year 1420, and is now an
excellent example of a half-timbered house of that date. Until lately,
however, the original work has been hidden by no less than two false
fronts of lath and plaster of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
respectively. Capt. Hamilton describes in detail both the internal and
external construction of this singularly interesting house, but his
remarks are too lengthy to quote here. Opposite to it stood the ANGEL.