Lewes : pubs and their signs

It’s been a while since I blogged any pub signs and, as I photograph them wherever I go, I figured it was time I dipped in to my ‘waiting to be blogged’ album. So, without further ado, let me take you on a tour of some of the many public houses to be found in the charming historic East Sussex town of Lewes, a town which once had as many as 9 breweries and 63 pubs.

Harvey’s Brewery

Actually, this isn’t a public house as such but rather one of the sources of the amber liquid sold in those public houses and the source of that peculiar smell you notice as soon as you arrive in Lewes – the smell of brewing! Though extensively remodelled around 1881, much of this Grade II listed building was originally built in the early 19th century. Harvey’s website provides some excellent information on the brewery’s history, including a selection of wonderful old photographs.

The Brewers Arms

This is another pub with a nice piece about its history on its website. As you can see, the present building is not terribly old – it dates from the early 20th century, but the pub believes there has been an inn on this site since the end of the 17th century, though it has only been named the Brwers Arms since 1769. Its previous incarnations include the Red Lion from 1727 10 1744 and the Ship from 1744 to 1769.

The Gardener’s Arms

I love this sign! It’s not the sign at the front of the pub but is instead attached to the outside wall in the lane at one side of the building. It took me a while to realise that the grubby mark on the gardener’s apron is not actually part of the sign but an addition by a passing bird – I think it adds a note of authenticity!

The Gardener’s Arms is located in Cliffe High Street and housed in a Grade II listed building that dates from the early to mid-19th century. This would originally have been a shop though, according to the local Kelly’s Directories, the location has housed ‘beer retailers’ and ‘beerhouse keepers’, both men and women, since at least 1870.

White Hart Hotel

The white hart (or deer) is a very popular pub name in England, as an article on the History Press website explains:   

In 1393, during the reign of King Richard II, an Act was passed which made it compulsory for pubs and inns to have a sign in order to identify them as official watering holes. Many adopted The White Hart as their sign as it was the personal badge of the King – today it is the fourth most popular pub name in the UK.

As you can tell from the photos, Lewes’s White Hart is not that old, though behind that mid-19th century frontage lurk the remains of a building from the 16th century, if not earlier. Once the town house of the Pelham family, the building became a hotel in the early 1700s, according to the hotel website.     

The pub’s sign is fairly plain but I do really like the statue of the deer that adorns the hotel’s roof, though lichen has changed its colouring from white to some lovely shades of orange.

Rights of Man

Here’s another pub sign that I really like, all the more so because this pub was only established as the Rights of Man in 2012 – it’s great to see new owners maintaining the old signage traditions. Before the change to its present name, this inn had been called Lincolns and before that The Rainbow Tavern but that’s as much as I’ve been able to find out about its heritage.   

The Lansdown Arms

Built in 1827, the Lansdown’s owners proudly announce on its grey brick exterior that it’s ‘an atmospheric drinking den’ – not a claim that would attract me inside but I guess it works for some people. The pub is part of a terrace of buildings that extends along Lansdown Place, with two shops adjoining the pub and then houses next to those. From the layout of the windows on both the pub and the shops, it looks like it was a purpose-built public house but I’m not certain of that.

The coat of arms on the pub’s sign is that of the Marquess of Lansdowne, a peer of Ireland, and doesn’t appear to have any connection to Lewes. I assume, though the spelling is different, that it was chosen because of the name of the adjacent street.

The Red, White and Blue (now a house)

This last building is no longer a pub, nor does it have a pub sign, but it once was and it still retains some wonderful tile decoration along its frontage. The local Kelly’s trade directories show it was a beer retailer / beer house / inn from at least 1867, if not earlier, until it closed its doors for the final time around 1960. I understand those wonderful tiles were once painted over so well done to the house owners who restored them to their former glory.

Inns and their signs: Dorset, 1

A few months have passed since my excellent Christmas holiday in the Dorset – Hampshire – Somerset area, yet I haven’t written up these pub signs I photographed. Time to remedy that!

The Tippling Philosopher, Milborne Port

Now admittedly this 16th-century pub doesn’t have a very inspiring sign, especially considering its wonderful name, but it’s because of that name and the fact that the pub’s website actually has some good detail about its history that I’m including this one. Oh, and my friend Sarah and I also enjoyed a very nice lunch here.

To summarise the website: A tippler was an ale maker, and a local tippler was plying his trade on this very site from at least the mid 17th century. It is likely that the actual ‘Tippling Philosopher’ was one Robert Boyle, an eminent physicist, chemist and philosopher (who developed Boyle’s Law  and whose father Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, owned much of the land around Milborne Port. It seems Robert may have spent his evenings in this very alehouse, pontificating on his theories of life, the universe and everything. (The website has even more fascinating snippets of history if you’ve a mind to know more.) 

The Grosvenor Arms, Shaftesbury

Though there has been an inn (previously named The Red Lion) at this location since the medieval era, the current building is elegant Georgian, rebuilt and renamed The Grosvenor Arms when purchased by the Grosvenor family in 1820. 

The pub sign shows the family’s coat of arms, whose motto Virtus non stemma means Virtue, not pedigree. 

The hounds supporting the shield are Talbot dogs, which were introduced to Britain as hunting dogs by the Normans.

The George, Sherborne

The sign claims that The George is the oldest pub in Sherborne and that may well be true, as the British Listed Buildings website states that the building may date from the early 16th century, when it formed part of Becket’s Chapel or Hospital. The building has since been much altered, though it retains enough of its original features to maintain its Grade II listing. The sign shows a very well drawn version of the traditional story of St George slaying the dragon

The Half Moon, Sherborne

Unfortunately I’ve found no information about The Half Moon. The building looks old, though not as old as many in Sherborne town centre, and I assume the inn is named after its location in Half Moon Street. The pub’s sign also appears modern but I like its stylistic simplicity.

The Plume of Feathers, Sherborne

Dating from around 1590, The Plume of Feathers enjoys a prime location immediately opposite stunning Sherborne Abbey. 

It is a building of two parts: the left side of three storeys retains its 16th- or early 17th-century stone mullioned windows, while the right side, of two storeys, dates from some time in the 19th century. 

The plume of feathers symbol, and its accompanying motto Ich dien (I serve), can be seen adorning many British pubs, and is in common use in many other contexts: it can be seen on the reverse of the old 2 pence coins, it’s the logo of the Welsh Rugby team, and, of course, it’s the official badge of The Prince of Wales. You can read more about the origins of the badge here.

The White Hart, Sherborne

Like the plume of feathers above, the white hart is another very common inn name – the fifth most popular, in fact, and another that’s associated with royalty. The white hart was the personal badge of Richard II, and the creature itself (a leucistic adult male red deer) has a long and interesting place in Celtic and later Christian myth and history. Sherborne’s White Hart is set amongst a row of Grade-II listed buildings in the very heart of that historic town, and looks a very nice place to enjoy a glass or two.

Salisbury: pubs and their signs, 1

The lovely historic city of Salisbury seems as awash with public houses as it is with rivers – it sits at the confluence of no less than five – no wonder it was so foggy when I visited on a grey December day in 2016! Its public houses must number far more than five but I hadn’t time to explore more than a few streets in any direction from my hotel and the cathedral, and there were more than five in that small area alone. Here are just four that took my fancy.

The Cloisters

As I had just enjoyed a peaceful stroll around the large cloisters (the largest of any cathedral in Britain) at Salisbury’s magnificent cathedral, it was this pub’s lovely sign that initially caught my eye. The pub itself is in a Grade II-listed building, which the pub’s website says dates from around 1350AD but the British Listed buildings website, probably more accurately, dates to the 15th or 16th century, though it has had more recent modifications, with an early 1800s shop window on one side of the ground floor and a more modern shop front on the other. Given its cosy dimensions and advertised open fires, it sounds the perfect place for a winter warm up.

Queen’s Arms

This, too, is a Grade II-listed building, though the British Listed Buildings website reports it is a more recent 17th or 18th century construction, with 19th century alterations and a modern glazed shop window and door. The pub’s own website, however, says that, prior to becoming an inn, the building was ‘bequeathed to the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral in 1440’ and also that it was first licensed as an inn in 1558, the year Queen Elizabeth I took the throne, so it claims to ‘have the longest held continuous licence in the city of Salisbury’. Whatever the truth of the matter, I was particularly struck by the very literal interpretation of the ‘Queen’s Arms’ name on their sign and the thoroughly modern take on the queen, with a tat of a coat of arms on her arm.

The Wig and Quill

I was not able to discover anything about the history of The Wig and Quill, though it does appear to have a good reputation for a ‘Fantastic Sunday roast, warm fires, great seating and a good beer selection’. The bar features beamed ceilings and has open fires for winter warmth, plus there’s a sheltered courtyard garden in which to enjoy a cold drink in the warmer summer months.

I assume the name is a reference to the legal profession – perhaps solicitors and judges are frequent visitors, or it may be that the building previously housed offices of legal professionals, or perhaps there is a courthouse nearby.

The New Inn

Not one but two signs adorn the frontage of the New Inn – unfortunately, I didn’t get a good shot of the better, pictorial sign – but don’t you just love the badger symbol of Hall & Woodhouse, the brewery with which this pub is affiliated. 

And if this is the new inn, I wonder what the old one looked like, as this was a superb example of an old black-and-white building, all wonky angles and not a straight line in sight.

According to British Listed Buildings, this really is a historic building, with construction dating from around the 15th or 16th century, though it has seen a few changes since those early days. You can get a better look at the outside and some of the interiors on the pub’s website here. 

And what’s not to love about a pub that includes a photo of their cat in their photo gallery. Top marks, New Inn!