Most of the new pubs built in Shropshire over the past decade have fairly logical names. The Bridge Builder in Wellington, for example, clearly pays tribute to Thomas Telford’s achievements, while The Gingerbread Man at Market Drayton recognises the town’s culinary claim to fame.
But what about local boozers which have been around since the dawn of time? The Red Lion, Royal Oak, Crown Inn or King’s Head which every town seems to have? Or the wild and wacky titles in deepest rural Shropshire like the Blue Pig, Cross Foxes or Lion O’Morfe?
Alan Rose has been on a crusade to delve into the origins of these places, and has pulled his research together into a fascinating new book. Shropshire Inn Signs is a 128-page journey through the county’s public-house history, backed up with over 100 pictures.
Alan says: “Pub signs have been an enduring part of the British landscape for some 2,500 years. They date back to a time when the vast majority of the population could neither read nor write, and tradespeople had to hang out pictorial signs to indicate their particular calling.
“The tailor would have hung a pair of shears, a baker a loaf, and of course the red-and-white-striped pole of the barber or surgeon. As education in the mid-19th century became more available to the mass of the population, illustrated signs went into decline . . . all except the pub sign.”
Alan made some fascinating discoveries as he probed into the background of more than 700 Shropshire pubs, unearthing reminders of famous people who were born in the county, titled families who once held great influence, and occupations which flourished when the county became the birthplace of the industrial revolution.
And there are plenty of unusual pub names in Shropshire to investigate. The Kangaroo at Aston-on-Clun, for example. What’s that all about?
The pub - one of only three in Britain to bear the name - dates back to the 18th century, around the time when Captain Cook discovered Australia, and Alan reveals it could be down to one of the early landlords being a retired sailor who had seen such a creature.
And the Eagle and Serpent in Kinlet? “This name derives from the coat of arms of the local landowners, the Childe family. The original village once stood close to their manor house and they had the entire village moved to its present position, except for the church, so they could enjoy a better view across their estate.”
There are many interesting theories behind the naming of The Kremlin on Clee Hill, a former quarryman’s house which has the distinction of being the highest in Shropshire at 1,400ft.
Alan reveals: “Several fanciful theories have been put forward concerning how it got its name. Hearsay has it that the pub was so named during the 1950s because Clee Hill was a close-knit mining village that had very strong communist tendencies and that the naming of the pub was a gesture of support during the Cold War.
“Another reason put forward is that the pub is said to stand on the same line of latitude as Moscow. It is also claimed that the pub once received Radio Moscow through the TV, telephone and jukebox when there wasn’t any music playing! It was apparently because the signal was being beamed off the radio mast which once stood on top of the hill.”
Another pub not too many miles away has an interesting heritage. The Penny Black at Knowbury was apparently named in honour of Sir Rowland Hill, creator of the famous penny post in 1840, who lived a few miles down the Kidderminster road.
Shropshire has two Tontine pubs, one at Ironbridge and one at Melverley, and their name comes from the method used to finance their construction - a type of finance policy invented by an Italian called Lorenzo Tonti.
Yorkshire House seems an odd name for a Shropshire pub at first glance, but there is some logic. Alan says the name for this Shrewsbury hostelry stems from the county’s connection with Richard, Duke of York, who had his headquarters at Ludlow in the 1450s and was a regular visitor to Shrewsbury, where his son lived.
The list goes on . . . we learn how pubs like the Salwey Arms at Woofferton, Sutherland Arms at Tibberton, Wingfield Arms at Montford Bridge, and aforementioned Lion O’Morfe near Bridgnorth all pay homage to Shropshire’s old landed gentry.
Alan has managed to produce a book which answers the questions many of us never get around to asking. Somebody buy that man a pint!
Shropshire Inn Signs (ISBN 0-7524-3843-3) retails at £12.99, and is available from Tempus Publishing in Gloucestershire, www.tempus-publishing.co.uk
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