A significant amount of the artefacts in the National Brewery Collection relate to pubs, and the archive is full of pub company records. The great British pub has a long and colourful history, from early Roman tavernas to alehouses, inns and taverns.
A book in the Archive, published by Whitbread in 1948 titled Inn-Signia outlines the history of the pub sign in lively fashion: “In very early times in Great Britain the law of the land compelled every publican to display a sign. There is a record of a landlord in 1393 being in trouble for not showing the usual sign. The taking away of a publican’s licence was accompanied by the pulling down of his sign.”
In the days before universal literacy, signs helped distinguish between different trades, and the book defines some of the origins of the pub sign we know well today. Names connected to noble families and their coats of arms include The Talbot, The Bear and Ragged Staff, The Rising Sun and The Red Lion. Historic figures often appear on pub signs, including royalty and prominent figures such as The Duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson. Neighbouring landmarks regularly feature, such as the Bridge, the Castle or the Oak. The utensils of the brewers’ craft show up in The Three Tuns and The Tankard.
As the book says: “All that now remains is for the innkeeper to live up to the standard of his sign.”
