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Rattlebones Inn & Other Pub Names

Poosie Nansie's

located in Ayrshire. it is supposedly named after a female aquaintence of Robert Burns.

poosie-nansie%27s.jpg
 
I used to frequent a pub in Brighton that was run by two gay men and mostly frequented by lesbians. Its name was the Black Horse, but it was universally known as the Pink Pony...
 
I used to frequent a pub in Brighton that was run by two gay men and mostly frequented by lesbians. Its name was the Black Horse, but it was universally known as the Pink Pony...
 
You must have had a few, in there or elsewhere

- you've just made the same post twice, 80 minutes apart! ;)

(Oddly enough, it hasn't increased your post count! :shock: )
 
Long article - three pages - about...

The stories behind Britain’s pub names

Along with any claim of hauntings, royal patronage or extreme antiquity, the story behind an unusual name is one part of a pub’s offering that shouldn’t always be relied on for its copper-bottomed scientific soundness.

Many such stories are indeed solidly sourced, but pubs attract all manner of lively imaginings, and some names are about as authentic as WKD Blue. You can waste many promising evenings pondering whether Charles II did evade capture in this pub by dressing as a green man or if that pickle jar did once contain an actual Turk’s head.

But pub names serve a higher purpose than record-keeping. They are a testament to the nature of the pub as a focus for creativity, wit and yarn-spinning, and the people and events they memorialise underline the way in which pubs are entwined with history, or at least with the inventiveness of the locals.

Whether their sources have been rigorously traced or whether they were concocted in that moment of high excitement between last orders and the firm push towards the door, pub names can be intriguing and, in a way that is part of the appeal of the British pub, beautiful.

Take The Case is Altered. Based on a historical moment or not, it’s a name to get you thinking, as is the Blazing Donkey. And what mysteries produced the Cow and Snuffers, the Young Vanish and the Labouring Boys? Was it a naturalist’s observation that resulted in the Sociable Plover, which landlord decided to appeal to punters through the Happy Medium, and who tried to outpun all of pubdom with the Muscular Arms?

And how could anyone not admire the simple earthiness of the Bunch of Carrots? The Jolly Taxpayer is a high point of pub fiction, and luckily the Chemic Tavern dispenses better drinks than its name implies. And then there’s Stalybridge in Manchester, site of the succinctly but venerably named Q and the Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn.

A pub’s name is an important part of the whole picture, but not the defining one. A good pub is a delightful thing that should be cherished and celebrated. That done, you can call it what you like.

etc...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel ... 812693.ece

This one caught my eye, as I had a bottle of Bishop's Finger just the other day!
The Bishop’s Finger
Pubs called the Bishop’s Finger were originally found only in Kent, their name commemorating the fingerposts along the Pilgrim’s Way that pointed travellers in the direction of the shrine of St Thomas à Becket in Canterbury Cathedral
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Rattlebones Inn and Other Pub Nmaes

liveinabin1 said:
I liked 'Who'd of Thought It' as a pub name. Theres one in Glastonbury. Where I come from there is a nearby town (Yeovil) which has the pub "The Picketty (sp) Witch" (the band named themselves after the pub)
I also like the name 'The Case is Altered', which I understand to come from the spanish Casa Altera (sp) meaning the other house. Which means a brothel!

I don't like it when they change the name of a pub to something modern. Pub have often had thier name for 100s of years.
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It's funny you mention,"Who'd of Thought It".If you go to www.texasescapes.com, they list a town of that name.I think you go to Texas Towns or Ghost towns, and look through the names.
There was also a town named,"Jot it Down".It supposedly got it's name because the store keeper would have people write down what they wanted ,especially if he got busy.There is also a Squeezepenny,Texas as well.
 
In Bristol we have the Llandoger Trow and The Hatchet. Both old, historic and with strange names. I think there's a story about The Hatchet having a door made of human skin??? might see if I can find out more about that...
 
Ewww... wish I hadn't looked that up now!!! At The Hatchet in the front door is widely reputed to be 300 years old and beneath all the layers of paint there is supposed to be a layer of human skin!!!
 
Myrtlee said:
In Bristol we have the Llandoger Trow...
Click to expand...
I knew a trow was a kind of barge...
The Llandoger Trow (grid reference ST588727) is a historic public house situated on King Street in Bristol, south west England.

Dating from 1664, it is in King Street, between Welsh Back and Queen Charlotte Street, near the old city centre docks. A trow was a flat-bottomed barge, and Llandogo is a village some 20 miles north of Bristol, over the Bristol Channel and upstream on the River Wye in South Wales, where trows were once built.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llandoger_Trow
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..and now I know about Llandogo!

But there's more:
There are claims that the top floor is haunted by the ghost of a young child who wore leg braces while alive. Apparently his loud footsteps can be heard in the attic. :shock:
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The Strugglers Inn

Pub in Lincoln, just by the castle walls is called The Strugglers Inn on account of it being the last place the condemed man was brought to for a final pint outside before going on to meet the hangman at the Castle....

Reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a dog that belonged to a ne'erdo well who used to often-times drink in the pub before being convicted of murder.

Mr P
 
Otto_Maddox said:
in the hongik university area of seoul there is a pub called the Pub very close to a bar called The Bar, which are both pretty near Ho Bar, which is not actually full of hookers at all (that's to be found in itaewon - a total toilet).
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I have pictures of the Ho Bar on my phone. There are a few of them.

A few drinks, a waving of plastic, and "You know where your mother drinks?" *Show picture*
 
I've been reading this thread for the last couple of days on and off, and had to come back to it because I've just seen that Aviva advert with Paul Whitehouse being a Plymouth Argyle fan and noticed that it features a "Who'd A Thought It" pub in the background.

There's a Needless Inn between Batley and Morley, which according to legend was named as a landlord's huffy reaction to being told he had to change the name of his pub from The Red Lion because there was another on in the next village and they were too close together.
 
From World Wide Words:

SWAN-UPPING As a side-note to last week's piece, readers pointed
out that there are several pubs in England that have the name Swan
With Two Nicks, for example in Worcester, at Little Bollington in
Cheshire, and at Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire. Two nicks put on a
swan's bill at the time of swan-upping signified that it was owned
by the Worshipful Company of Vintners, hence the connection with
pubs.

The link has often puzzled people. Down the centuries several
pubs changed their names to Swan With Two Necks, in the toponymic
equivalent of popular etymology. The oldest that I know of was in
London, mentioned by Samuel Pepys in his diary for 4 April 1664.
Robert Waterhouse tells me that there's a pub called the Swan with
Two Knecks in Chorley, Lancashire, a double distancing from the
original, though what the heck a "kneck" is, I've no idea.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/nl/zcsp.htm
 
There eems to be a shortage of pubs in the highlands, despite the natives repute for drink.

I liked the Tigh na Truach on the Island of Seil, south of Oban.

The name means house of the trousers.

When the traditional dress was prohibited, highlanders used to change into the bifuricated wear in the house of the trousers before the went onto the mainland.

Do be sure to have a meal, the food is good, plentiful and economic.
 
The Case is Altered

There are several "The Case is Altered" pubs James Powney's blog identifies as being from army regiments being stationed at La Casa Alta in the Peninsular War.
 
Nottingham has The old trip to Jerusalem, well worth a visit being partially built into caves underneath notts castle. it was so named as it was a port of call for templars on their way to the crusades.
 
One that foxes visitors

The Tywarnhayle Inn in Perranporth.

Tywarnhayle means the House on the Strand but there seems to be no link netween the pub and the village of that name near St Austell.
 
Re: One that foxes visitors

Rourke_Wality said:
The Tywarnhayle Inn in Perranporth.

Tywarnhayle means the House on the Strand but there seems to be no link netween the pub and the village of that name near St Austell.
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Doesn't have to be, since the Tywarnhayle Inn is itself on the strand (of Perranporth) - or it probably was, before the car-park, etc, was built!

A lot of Cornish names repeat around the county, just because they were a simple description of location. Thus, similar locations, similar names.
 
Jac21 said:
Nottingham has The old trip to Jerusalem, well worth a visit being partially built into caves underneath notts castle. it was so named as it was a port of call for templars on their way to the crusades.
Click to expand...

As a regular at this pub, I can highly recommend it - even for it's Fortean elements. One does, however, have to put up with families of tourists who are new to the concept of it being a pub and not a theme restaurant.
 
What a great topic!

Here's a few from my old neck of the woods, Penwith Cornwall:
Radjal Inn (Pendeen)
The bucket of blood (Hayle) - as mentioned before...
The Gurnards' Head (Zennor)
The Wink (Lamorna) - named for the old practice of the landlord "giving the wink" to the smugglers if the police turned up.
The Sloop Inn (St.Ives)
The Mexican (Long Rock) - named after the miners who travelled to Mexico to learn mining techniques in the late 1800's *IIRC*
The Peruvian (Penzance) - A similar naming story to the one above!

I'm sure there are a few more with odd names. I'll have a think! :lol:
 
You're right, rynner2, it is the Mexico! Can't believe I got that wrong, seeing as it's one of my fave pubs in PZ! :oops: :roll:
 
Btw, if anyone comes across an odd pub name, you can check whether it's been mentioned here before by using the Search Topic box at the bottom of the page. And even if it has, that needn't stop you posting, if you have more information, or relevent stories that haven't been posted yet.

The way things are going with beer prices and the credit crunch generally, many of the pubs logged here might soon be things of the past... :cry: :_pished:
 
There used to be a pub in Andover (where I was born) called the "Whynot" Inn.
 
Let's not forget the wonderful Camden pub, The World's End! :twisted:
 
With it's basement club, the Underworld!

Of course, there was The Intrepid Fox, a punk pub, named after a
statesman. Near Oxford Circus, there was The Handsel, named after the handshake made after a business deal and just around the corner, behind Liberty's, is The Crooked Billet.
In Plumstead, SE London, there was The Who'd A Thought It!, with a picture of a space rocket on the sign.
Back in Nottingham, near The Trip, is The Salutation Inn, noted rock music venue.
 
Considering I started this thread, back in '02, it's odd that I haven't mentioned the King's Head in Falmouth. It's in Church Street, Falmouth - in fact, it's right next to the Church. But I wonder how many visitors have walked past and not seen the connection between the two - because the Church is dedicated to King Charles the Martyr, one of very few such in the country...

I'll let the Church website explain the history:
The History of the Church

"Outside it looks like a fairly ordinary medieval church but there’s a surprise waiting for you. It is a relatively young church with an interior suggestive of Wren."
- from the church booklet.

Our parish church and the port of Falmouth came into existence in the seventeenth century, after the English Civil War, and at the time when the monarchy was restored and Charles II became King.

What was the Civil War?
During the period 1642-46 there were battles in England between the Royalists, who supported King Charles I, and the Roundheads, who were supporting Parliament. Oliver Cromwell was one of the commanders in the Roundhead army. The Royalists lost the Civil War and in 1649 King Charles I was executed – the only English king to have died in this way.

How did Falmouth get involved?
The King’s son took refuge briefly in Falmouth Haven, as it was then known, before leaving the country. After a turbulent period during which England was governed by Parliament, and Cromwell rose to become its leader, the son was asked to return to restore stability. He was crowned King Charles II in 1658.

Who were the Killigrews?
A wealthy Cornish family who had supported the Royalists during the war. They offered to give land at Falmouth Haven upon which a church could be built, dedicated to Charles I, if his son would provide money for the project and grant a charter for a town there. Charles II agreed. Sir Peter Killigrew laid the foundation stone of the new church on 29th August 1662.

http://www.kcmchurchfalmouth.org.uk/his ... the-church
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And of course, Charles I was beheaded, hence the pub name.

Falmouth was given its Royal Charter in 1601, so 2011 was the 350th anniversary of the founding of the town. (It's quite a young town, in fact - Penryn, just up the creek, dates back to 1216. As a local saying has it: "Penryn was a busy town when Falmouth was a furzey down"!)
 
The Three Mariners in Lancaster is supposed to be Britain's second oldest pub. It is right on St George's Quay and would have served many a seaman. It is built partly into the hill that the Castle is built on. As a result a stream runs through the cellar and into the River Lune. It is one of the few pubs in the U.K. with a beer cellar upstairs. Kegs are lifted into it by a pulley system. It is also supposed to be haunted, with a picture of some maritime men allegedly also being haunted.
 
Spudrick68 said:
The Three Mariners in Lancaster is supposed to be Britain's second oldest pub.
...
It is also supposed to be haunted, with a picture of some maritime men allegedly also being haunted.
Click to expand...
We definitely need to know more about that!

(One part of the British coast I've never visited.)
 
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