During lockdown people are doing a daily alphabetical photo series on Facebook. So I’m joining in! I haven’t great photographic ability but I do, in my travels around the country, collect photos of pub signs. To me they are a history of the pub – a quintessential British phenomenon. Most of the ones I list I have been in and have some history.

Day 1 – A is for Albert.

I’m starting close by in Totnes with the Albert Inn. Most pubs with this name are celebrating the Prince but here they have chosen the scientist. Over the last few years they have had a very successful brewery. It’s a good local pub.

Day 2 – B is for Bell.

Lots of pubs by this name especially if they are near churches. The picture on the left is very local as it is the Bell at St Mary’s Brixham. The Church can be seen on the sign.

I have included this as it was the first pub I drank in when I moved with my family to Brixham over 50 years ago. In those days full of characters especially those fond of scrumpy. Not been in for a good few years now – last visits were to play darts or euchre.

Day 3 – C is for Chesterfield.

My home town but I left when I was 20 so didn’t drink in that many places before I left.

Two pubs in the town qualify- the longstanding Chesterfield Arms and the relatively Chesterfield Alehouse.

I must have walked past the Arms hundreds of times when I walked too and from school until I was 16 when the school moved buildings. It is a great family run pub – 10 real ales, quizzes, food etc. Always visit when back in my home town.

The Alehouse is a micro-pub converted from a shop – has 5 cask ales and also craft beers. Very much a locals place with limited hours but good beer.

Day 4 – D is for Devonshire – but not Devon!

Around North Derbyshire and parts of Yorkshire the Dukes of Devonshire have vast estates. A lot of pubs in those areas are the Devonshire Arms and would have (and still are) used by estate workers and families.

One such is the Devonshire Arms at Baslow – 10 miles from Chesterfield and on the edge of Chatsworth Estate. Really now more of a hotel and restaurant. We stayed many times on trips to Derbyshire.

Day 5 – E is for Exeter.

The picture is of the Exeter Inn at Ashburton -an unusually shaped sign!

Dating from 1130 certainly the oldest pub in Ashburton. Has been in the Good Beer Guide regularly but I believe it was closed for refurbishment before the crisis. 

Another Exeter Inn is in Derby – as I have mentioned in another post, the brewery tap for the Dancing Duck Brewery.

Day 6 – F is for Fat Cat.

Kelham Island near the centre of Sheffield is a haven for real ale drinkers. The Fat Cat is perhaps best known and is home to the Kelham Island Brewery whose Pale Rider was Champion Beer of Britain in 2004.

Close by is the equally good Kelham Island Tavern and there are 4 or 5 other good pubs nearby.

(There are other Fat Cats around Britain including Norwich and Ipswich)

Day 7 – G is for Gallaghers.

It would be tempting to go for George or Globe as they are very common pub names but Gallaghers in Birkenhead is a very unusual pub. The sign rather gives it away in that three quarters of the pub is a bar and the top end is a men’s hairdressers!

We were in on Saturday lunchtime on a stopover on our way to Liverpool. Great pub – lovely beer!

Day 8 – H is for ‘Hole in the Wall’

I have pictures of 5 pubs by this name. The closest would be Brixham but that has now changed its name back to the New Quay Inn. So I have chosen the one by Waterloo Station which is not a hole but a very good pub underneath Railway Arches.

Day 9 – I is for Isaac.

Not many pubs on my list beginning with I. I was going to pick the Industry in Chesterfield, but I have mentioned elsewhere that its railway engine sign is of a loco from the South East.

So the Isaac Merritt it is then.

Converted many years ago from a shopping arcade by Wetherspoons it has had a chequered career in my opinion. The real ales ranged from a wide range of good quality to a poor selection of indifferent beers – especially in the last couple of years. Sold by ‘Spoons and still bearing the same name. Its prices are similar and the beer OK.

Day 10 – J is for Jolly.

Lots of Jolly Pubs around including the Jolly Judge in Torquay and the rather good Jolly Porter near Exeter station but that was closed when I was last nearby. The picture is the Jolly Abbot in Newton Abbot. It was there a few years ago that CAMRA South Devon first chose the Queens Arms in Brixham (see Q) as the pub of the year.

Day 11 – K is for King.

Apart from the Kelham Island Tavern (see F) all my pub K’s are Kings – mostly Arms, Heads etc. So I have chosen a fairly local pub being the King William IV at Totnes.

Nice stained glass windows proclaim it as a hotel – and it does do B&B. Been in there off and on over many years – always a good pint to be had there.

Day 12 – L is for Laurel Inn.

This takes me back to Easter 1966 when I went on an ecology course from School for my Biology A-level. We stayed at the Youth Hostel at the wonderfully named Boggle Hole. We had free time after the evening meal but had to be in by 10 p.m.

A i mile walk along the cliff top to Robin Hood’s Bay where those who had been previously knew the Laurel In. A Cameron’s Brewery pub. A couple of pints each night – I was a couple of months short of 18!

Day 12 – M is for Mayflower

There are probably a few Mayflowers but I have chosen the one on the Thames at Rotherhithe. Claims to be the oldest pub in London and close to where the Mayflower left for Plymouth and returned after the voyage.

A lovely old pub. James and I sat on decking over the river with the Thames lapping through the boards.

Nearby is a museum dedicated to Brunels’ Thames Tunnel

Day 14 – N is for New Quay

I am a bit low on ‘N’ pubs but I have two New Quay Inns – Teignmouth and Brixham.

The picture is of the Teignmouth version – famous for it’s real ales.

My picture of the Brixham pub sign was when it was ‘ The Hole in the Wall).

Day 15 – O is for Olde.

Lots of ‘Old’ and ‘Olde’ in my collection but I’m going for the Olde Nags Head in Castleton, Derbyshire. Some good pubs in the town but this is one of the best. On our last lunch time visit we sampled some excellent real ales and a very nice sharing platter.

It’s a good bus ride as well and there are 4 caverns to choose from!

Day 16 – P is for Plume of Feathers

And also for Princetown which also has the Prince of Wales (one of many around the country!). The Plume has long been a favourite of walkers with its good food and beer, and places to bunk and camp. They did sell – and may still – St Austell HSD (Hicks Special Draught). Quite strong and nicknamed High Speed Death!

The Prince of Wales is also one of our go to pubs on the moor and was the original home of the Dartmoor Brewery (my picture has the old name) which is now not far away. Good lunches and pool with the boys which I usually lost.

Day 17 – Q is for Queens

Of Course – specifically The Queens Arms South Devon CAMRA Pub of The Year 2014 , 2016 & 2020 in Brixham. Now been my local for 9 years or so since the near closed corner pub was rescued by Chris Simmonds and turned into the award winning place it is now. If only we were drinking there tonight – but soon we hope.

Day 18 – R is for Royal Oak

Like the Red Lion a very common pub name. I have chosen one back in my home town of Chesterfield – which has at least 2 Royal Oaks.

Claiming to be the oldest pub in town – which is probably true – it dates from the 16th Century and is in an area called the Shambles. This is an old word for an area of butchers shops. When open it is a nice little pub though it has had periods of closure in the last few years.

Day 19 – S is for Ship.

There are many ‘Ships’ around the country. Sheffield for example and you can’t get much further from the sea! My ship is the Ship Inn Kingswear where I started drinking in 1968 when I moved to Devon. For many years until Colin retired as landlord it was a deserved fixture in the Good Beer Guide. I also must mention the Steam Packet – another vessel – round the corner where I have also spent many happy hours!

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Wherever there is a railway – modern or heritage – you will find a decent pub nearby.

Before the advent of the railways, cross country transport was by canal and the canalside pub had a serious role to play in providing refreshments, supplies etc to passing boatmen. In South Devon the Double Locks on the Exeter Canal is a good example.

The terminus stations of branch lines often had a pub nearby. My own local – the Queens Arms in Brixham was right by the station and the remains of the line overlook the pub. 

It is alleged that one engine driver made use of the pub – and the equivalent at Churston – to literally wet his whistle with cider each journey. By the end of the evening he was often not in a fit state to continue and the fireman had to take charge. Whether this is true we don’t really know.

I suppose the commonest name for such a pub was the Railway Inn, Hotel or Arms. One surviving locally is the Railway by Newton Abbot Station (pictured on the right below) – now renowned for its own ales brewed there. The Railway Hotel at Princetown is like the actual line – now disappeared. Another railway pub I have visited was at Downham Market on the line to Kings Lynn in Norfolk.

A lovely little bar built into the old booking office and a boon to commuters. Sadly this has also closed.

Around the country there are increasing number of good quality pubs and bars open or opening on Stations. One which has been open for over 20 years, winning many awards, is the Buffet on Stalybridge Station. On Sheffield and York stations bars have been opened as the Sheffield Tap and York Tap. The former is in beautifully restored Edwardian Refreshment and Dining Rooms  and now has its own brewery visible form one of the rooms. It serves and award -winning selection of ales – especially from Thornbridge.

The York Tap is run by the same company. Needless to say Wetherspoons have a number of outlets on stations – but most of these are modern and not oozing with character.

Away from the stations themselves, pubs still have railway themes. In Truro the City Inn is in the shadow of the huge viaduct which takes main Great Western Line over the edge of the city, The sign is very different to the usual as there is a different picture on each side.

When I photographed them (see above) they were in need of some TLC.

A similar sign in a similar situation is the Bridge at Durham – modern enough to show the wires for the electrified line.

Locomotives often appear on pub signs – not surprisingly here at the Locomotive at Newton Abbot and also at the Barrow near Barrow Hill Roundhouse in Derbyshire.

This is the last remaining operational roundhouse in the country with an operational turntable and was saved from demolition and is now a working museum. Unfortunately some signwriters/painters are not renowned for the their railway knowledge. At the Fenman in Kings Lynn they have added a strange 6 figure engine number never carried in the UK. The Industry at Chesterfield has a locomotive from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway – definitely lost!

It is good to see that some heritage railways have pubs or bars on the platform. The Severn Valley Railway is a good example with the King and Castle at Kidderminster

and the Railwayman’s Arms at Bridgnorth. The South Devon Railway doesn’t have a permanently open bar but runs beer festivals two or three times a year in a purpose built bar in Staverton goods shed.

The Dartmouth Steam Railway also does a festival at Kingswear.

So – next time you are on a train journey – look out for a decent pub close by!

One of the things I’m missing during this enforced isolation is the pub quiz.

I have been involved but quizzes in many forms over the years but before the pub quiz as we know it today evolved quiz machines began to appear. My earliest recollection is a very primitive machine which was in The Gerston Hotel opposite the railway station Paignton. As I recall it was a simple machine with moving cards and with a limited number of questions. Eventually you knew what was coming and it was difficult to lose. The pub is no longer there having been replaced by shops – but a blue plaque on the side records the first performance of Pirates of Penzance in the Royal Bijou Theatre at the rear. The theatre may no longer exist but the Bijou Theatre Company still perform at the Palace Theatre in Paignton

There was a time when people would go around using the machines to actually earn a living due to the limited number of questions. I can recall that some places actually banned certain individuals from their quiz machines. Modern machines are too sophisticated to allow that kind of winning.

Then came the pub quiz. At some stage in the 1970s I joined a team which took part in the Torbay Quiz League. The league was very strong in those days with 4 leagues of 10 teams sponsored by the Herald Express. Teams came from all of Torbay. I played for the Torbay Inn in Fisher Street, Paignton having been invited by a work colleague.

The quiz was in two parts – general knowledge and sports – each having its own League. We had a reasonably strong general knowledge team but our sports knowledge was much less. I recall that we topped our league on a couple of occasions and got to the knockout rounds against other league winners but we never managed to win a title.

After a few years I left the Torbay Inn team to join a team playing for the Globe Inn Brixham as it was nearer home. Again we had a few wins. One year I took out from playing to set the questions for the General Knowledge Leagues. It was quite an arduous task as the questions had to be with the secretary by a deadline and you had to make sure as far as possible you have the right answers. I made a couple of mistakes during my year and my fellow team reminded me of this on numerous occasions. The Globe is now called ‘The Olde Coaching House’.

The Globe at the time was run by the same landlord for about 17 years – Ken Watts – and when he retired the team moved to the Manor Inn Galmpton where again we played for a few years.

Living in Kingswear and drinking in The Ship Inn we tried to enrol a team in the league from there. However the organising committee felt it was too far away and declined our application. With that we decided to form a new league for pubs both sides of the River Dart and not surprisingly called it the River Dart Quiz League. One of my co-founders and I set the questions between us for a number of years but I don’t think the league exists anymore.

The Torbay Quiz League still exists this is but because of the rise of the pub quiz where there are prizes of beer or money the number of participants is down to around 8 teams.

One of these new breed of quiz which we went to regularly visit was another Manor Inn – the one in Brixham. This was every Sunday night over the winter but unfortunately the availability of prize money made many people were very competitive. Although it was the day before Googling with mobile phones was prevalent we knew that one or two used to go out to the toilet to ‘phone a friend’

Apart from occasional quizzes in various places over the years I’ve not done anything serious in quizzes. I have taken part in on quizzes when I away on holiday. I remember one particular occasion in York where I won four pints of beer and had to go in the next night to drink it. Not a difficult decision.

Then the Queens Arms at Brixham started their own quiz once a month. This is a friendly quiz with no entry fee and no prizes (though the landlord occasionally gives a the winning team a bottle of wine). It is still has a competitive edge but it altogether a more pleasant evening. A year or so ago I volunteered to read the questions as they are written by a professional pub quiz supplier from the north of England. This is much easier than setting them yourself. We do have the occasional prize-winning quiz for various local charities. Last year I set one to raise funds towards the defibrillator installed in a phone box outside the pub.

I know that after this virus is gone we will be back at Queens for our regular quiz.

Long live the pub quiz!

Being a fan of real ale takes me to many pubs around the country and by and large these will have a traditional pub sign hanging outside.

The origin of the pub sign goes back to Roman times when taverns would hang outside a bunch of vine leaves or similar to indicate the their trade. In 1393 King Richard II passed an Act compelling all such premises to have a sign outside. Over the years I have photographed over five hundred of these unique British objects.

It is said that the commonest pub sign in Britain is the Red Lion, but so far I have only photographed three. My collection includes seven Castles, seven Ships and five Royal Oaks.

Pub signs are a great display of the signwriters and painters skills and thankfully the art seems to continue, despite the intrusion of modern names such as Slug and Lettuce and branded food pubs.

Below I have selected 10 unusual or particularly decorative signs with a bit of history which I have been able to research.

1. The Green Man and Black’s Head Royal Hotel – Ashbourne.

Possibly at one time the longest pub name in England, the pub dates from 1750. The ‘gallows’ sign across the road is now quite rare and along with the building is Grade II listed. The pub, at which Dr Johnson stayed on a number of occasions has been closed for some years, but has now reopened as ‘The Green Man’.

2. Bishop Blaize – Richmond.

Pubs are named after Kings, Queens, Lords and Ladies and also religious figures like Bishop Blaize. He was an Armenian Saint who is the Patron Saint of Woolcombers. The sign I show is in Richmond, Yorkshire, a town very much based on the wool trade.

3. Isaac Merritt – Paignton.

The pub chain Wetherspoons – though not to everyone’s taste – do take time and effort to name their pubs after local people and places. The Isaac Merritt in Paignton is one such example. The pub sign shows Isaac Merritt Singer, an American businessman and founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The family lived at nearby Oldway Mansion. I am not sure why the pub doesn’t use his last name except that in his early years he was an actor using Isaac Merritt as a stage name.

4. Lyttleton Arms – North London.

Some pubs are named after newer characters or celebrities. The Lyttleton Arms in North London is named after Humphrey Lyttleton, jazz musician and radio compere. The pub is suitably close to Mornington Cresent a ‘game’ played on radio’s ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue’ which was chaired by Lyttleton  from series 2 until his death in 2008.

5. Marquis of Granby.

There are pubs all over the country named after the Marquis which was the title of the eldest son of the Duke of Rutland. John Manners who died in 1770 was the eldest son of the 3^rd Duke. In 1758 the King appointed him colonel of the Royal Horse Guards. As Colonel, he provided for his most capable soldiers such that when they could no longer be of service to the Regiment, he would finance them to start a pub, the sole condition being that the Pub was to be named “The Marquis of Granby” after him.

6. The Philharmonic – Liverpool.

Some pubs have a simple sign with just the name and perhaps some decoration. One such pub is The Philharmonic Dining Rooms,  Liverpool known locally as ‘The Phil’. However, the simplicity of the outside sign is more than compensated for by the outstanding design of the building – both inside and outside. The main entrance has ornate gates in an Art Nouveau style, and inside is decorated with musical themes including rooms called Brahms and Lizst. One outstanding feature is the rose marble urinals in the Gents. Paul McCartney played in the pub as a young man.

7. Queen’s Head.

The Queen’s and the Queen’s Head are popular names for pubs everywhere. The one shown is in Chester-le-Street and the Queen here in Anne. Elizabeth I and Victoria are also common as are certain wives of Henry VIII. Queen Anne reigned for just twelve years from 1702-1714. She was married to Prince George of Denmark (also seen occasionally on pubs) and had seventeen children, none of whom survived her.

8. Loggerheads – Shrewsbury.

Many pubs have a Coat of Arms as their sign, often from a local Lord or landowner. The Loggerheads in Shrewsbury is named after the three animals on the town Coat of Arms. A loggerhead, in heraldry, means a leopard‘s head, its naming derived from the carving of such faces on the ends of logs, including battering rams.

9. Cittie of Yorke – London.

The Cittie of Yorke in Holborn, London looks for all the world to be a very old pub. As a pub on the site it goes back to 1430, but the present Grade II listed building is a rebuilding from the 1920’s. The interior boasts a long hall formerly known as Henneky’s Long Bar and also there are Victorian Style cubicles. Dylan Thomas composed an ode to the Long Bar. The pub is now in fact run by a Yorkshire Brewery, Sam Smiths, and sells some of the cheapest beer in the city centre.

10. King William.

Countless pubs in this country are named after various Kings. Those named after William appear mostly to be William III and IV. The one in my picture, in Shildon County Durham would appear to be William III. He was the Protestant William of Orange in Holland and invaded this country in 1688 at the invitation of certain politicians who feared a Catholic revival. He landed at Brixham, Devon on 5^th November. He was the only king to be a joint monarch (with his wife Mary III) and ruled on after her death until 1702 when he was succeeded by Queen Anne (see above).

NEXT TIME – PUBS NAMED AFTER LOCAL BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES

It is a long time since I produced a blog – so here we have a trip to North Wales as part of my 70th birthday present. No toasted teacakes this time – nor any Welsh Cakes!

13^th to 15th September 2018

The weekend sort of starts at Shrewsbury as it is easy to get a morning train to North Wales.  Stay at  Premier Inn but it is of course necessary to visit a real ale pub or two.  First to Loggerheads – Banks Amber – then on to the usual haunts of the Three Fishes  and Salopian.  Stonehouse Sundowner 3.8% and Morcado Notting Hill 4.2%  respectively.

Next morning catch the  4 car set for Aberystwyth and Porthmadog. At Machynlleth the train divides. As we go through at Harlech weather improves – a bit of sun on Portmeirion. Walk from Porthmadog station to Ffestiniog Railway. I get tickets for today and tomorrow and sit on station thinking I have  time for a pint in Spooners. Wrong –  so board the Ffestiniog for Blaenau Ffestiniog and instead have a bottle  of Welsh Gold from Great Orme Brewery to wash down my lunch. Catch the train to Llandudno and sleep a good part of it! Then a long, partly lost, walk to guest house. Late breakfast at weekends – another guest is going to Superpower and missing breakfast which I will as well.

To 3 pubs. Firstly a regular trip to Cottage Loaf where Conwy Welsh Pride (3.6), A new place is the Tapps micropub for Lytham Brewery Amber at 3.6%. Lastly across the road to the Albert for a Blonde (Ale that is!)

Saturday and after a Wetherspoons breakfast catch the X5 bus to Bangor and stay on same bus to Caernarfon in time for the 10.50 to Beddgelert. Old Ffestiniog Heritage behind Merddin Emrys. See old WHR set at Dinas with Taliesin and Lyn. Pass Garratt 87 at Rhyd. . A quick look round the models and a cup of tea then to Caernarfon behind 87 completes an excellent day. And my £20 ticket was never looked at or asked for once!!

Lyn at Dinas

Merddyn Emrys at Caernarfon

Dome on Taliesin

  At Beddgelert walk into village to buy lunch and return to station and travel back as far as Dinas then catch the Welsh Highland Railway normal set back to Waunfaur,  Return to Dinas for a ride behind Lilla in old carriages – rough ride – and then a ‘footplate’ ride on Hugh Napier which used to be on display at Penrhyn Castle

Beddgelert Station

David Lloyd George

Lilla

Hugh Napier

Visit the same 3 pubs and beers include a nice pint of Cwrw ial (Community Brewery) Pocket Rocket (4%). A good welcome at Albert as recognised as a CAMRA member and get discount including extra which I missed  yesterday! Beer there was North Country Anniversary – 4% 

Sunday is the day I leave north Wales to meet Mrs M-T in Chester.

I had planned to re-visit the Great Orme  but abandon due to rain. A cheap day ticket on the buses means I travel to Chester by Bus. The Sapphire to Rhyl (where it is still raining), change for bus to Holywell. The town calls itself the Lourdes of Wales – due to the shrine of St Winifred. Her shrine is part of the basis of the first Cadfael novel by Ellis Peters. Then a bus to Chester – which is in fact the same bus with a different number! Meet Mrs MT at railway station.

After booking in at Premier Inn and resting we eat at Wetherspoons, but real ale drinking is elsewhere. There are 3  Good Beer Guide pubs within 200 yards of hotel. The first was the canalside Old Harkers Arms. Very nice conversion, no music, and decent range of beers. Weetwood brewery Cheshire Cat (4.0%), and Eastgate (4.2)%. I was not super impressed with the beers. Then to Cellar where I am confused by the sign saying ‘Cornerhouse’ which is the other down the road. Apparently they are linked. The beers are very good. An American one – name forgotten – and Marble Pint (3.9%). Lastly to Cornerhouse for Salopian Oracle (4.0%) and Sirocco (3.9%). 

We stayed in Chester for two more days. On the beer front the highlights were Telfords Warehouse – by the Canal, Olde Cottage – a regular CAMRA pub of the year and the Bear and  Billet. Telfords is a lovely conversion of an old warehouse and the stand out beer was Chapter Parabola (4.7%). At the Olde Cottage (very friendly landlord) I drank Elgoods Golden Newt (4.1%) the house beer being Otter from Devon!.  The Bear and Billet is a lovely old Chester building and the beer – from the Isle of Man – Okells IPA (4.5%)

The holiday actually continued to my old home town of Chesterfield -maybe more of that another time.

As the blog title suggests toasted teacakes do have a part in my life – albeit a small one.

So what makes a good toasted teacake? Needless to say the quality is important – fairly thick and fruity with perhaps a hint of cinnamon. Second comes the toasting – and by that I mean not just what appears to a quick flash under a candle, but properly brown top AND bottom.

And then the butter. Not margarine, low fat spreads but butter. And preferably loose, not produced from little foil packs which never give enough to cover one half, never mind both. The problem is that this is the way most cafés choose to serve them though some do come ready buttered.

So where I have I eaten a good or even passable offering? Recently a nice one served up in the small café just inside the market hall at Newton Abbot – sorry – can’t remember the name and similarly at the Cabin Café at Whitby Harbour. Neither spectacular but quite tasty and not over priced.

The best one on our recent holiday was in Tideswell, Derbyshire at the Vanilla Kitchen. Not only was it a very good teacake, but very good service from a a young lad who I suspect was working during half term.

Vanilla Kitchen, Tideswell

So where can you get the best toasted teacake? Well at home of course. A pack of Warburtons from the Cash & Carry, reasonably priced, properly toasted and covered with more butter than you ever get in a café.

Proper Kingswear Teacakes

Never mind the diet and cholesterol – spoil yourself!