Read Ebook: The Trade Signs of Essex A popular account of the origin and meanings of the public houses & other signs by Christy Miller

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INTRODUCTION 1

HERALDIC SIGNS 29

MAMMALIAN SIGNS 46

ORNITHOLOGICAL SIGNS 91

PISCATORY, INSECT, AND REPTILIAN SIGNS 103

BOTANICAL SIGNS 107

HUMAN SIGNS 120

NAUTICAL SIGNS 134

ASTRONOMICAL SIGNS 148

MISCELLANEOUS SIGNS 153

GLOSSARY OF HERALDIC TERMS USED 176

INDEX TO NAMES OF SIGNS, &C. 177

The Trade Signs of Essex.

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.

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.

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 , 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.

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.

"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."

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.

"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."

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 , red 39 times , and white exactly 100 times . 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.

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 , treating of "Animals and Monsters." They say:

Again, the authors very truly remark that--

"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:

With Mr. Pengelly's treatment of non-heraldic signs there is, of course, no fault to be found.

"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 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.

"My first task, therefore , 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 , 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 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 at North Weald, the LION AND BOAR at Earl's Colne, the LION AND KEY at Leyton, the BULL AND CROWN at Chingford, the STAR AND FLEECE at Kelvedon, the SUN AND WHALEBONE at Latton, the examples of the COCK AND BELL at Writtle, Romford, and High Easter, the RAINBOW AND DOVE at North Weald, the CROWN AND BLACKSMITH at Tendring, the examples of the PLOW AND SAIL at Tollesbury, East Hanningfield, Paglesham, and Maldon, the SUN AND ANCHOR at Steeple, the BELL AND ANCHOR at Canning Town, the COACH AND BELL at Romford, the OLD WINDMILL AND BELLS also at Romford, the CROWN AND CROOKED BILLET 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 , the LION AND LAMB , the EAGLE AND CHILD , the DOG AND PARTRIDGE , the ROSE AND CROWN , the GEORGE AND DRAGON , &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 , the HAND AND BALL , the CROSS AND HAND , and the HAND AND STAR ; 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 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.

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 , 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 , the TOWER HAMLETS ARMS , 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. 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.

"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."

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. The APOTHECARIES' ARMS appear on the tokens of "Isaac Colman, grocr, in Colchester, 1667," and of Thomas Bradshawe of Harwich, in the same year. The DRAPERS' ARMS

Among the more miscellaneous "Arms" may be mentioned the CHATSWORTH ARMS at Forest Gate, the ALMA ARMS 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.

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.

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.

"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."

"Now many a sign at Woodford Town, Its Inn-vitation tells; But Huggins, full of ills, of course, Betook him to the WELLS."

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