Introducing My Pub Sign Essays

THE WHITE LION

Liverpool Road, Castlefield, Manchester.

Here is a classic and typical British pub sigm, a heraldic rampant white lion, coat of arms motif for King Edward 4th (1442-83). This is just one of the inn signs photographed and studied in Greater Manchester by myself. The pub is in Castlefield, Manchester, on Liverpool Road. Note that the pub sign name omits a ‘The’ before the ‘White Lion’. This was often done to save paint and because the inn-name was seen by the artists as secondary to the art itself. Really early inn-signs didn’t even include the words. They were entirely picto-graphic.

This page introduces an ambitious series of postings I have planned, several examples of which are already up.  I have a passion for collecting photos of inn signs, which are rapidly vanishing from our pubs. That many pubs are closing is a problem in itself, caused by police hassle of publicans over compliance with Draconian licensing laws, public hysteria about ‘binge’ drinking, the smoking ban in Britain’s public buildings, over-priced ale, and cheap competition from supermarkets & off-licenses. Britain faces the worst anti-drinking culture since the US endured and overthrew Prohibition in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

You don’t have to be a drinker to appreciate a pub’s history or its art, and especially its signage, which you can see even If the pub is closed.

Not every pub has a sign today, as many café bars prefer a corporate logo motif, and some pubs have copied that style. A good pub sign is no guarantee that the pub itself or its beer are any good, and there are great bars without pub signs as well as some awful ones with terrific pub signs. This is not therefore a good pub guide or a guide to the beers on offer, but an aesthetic study of the inn-signs themselves, and what they say about the pub, the city and the people.

Pub signs can be works of beauty and imagination. They are true works of art, and out in the public domain. There is an Inn-Society in Britain with an average membership of 300, which I have recently joined, though much of my work here is independent.

Many pub sign admirers specialize in particular themes, such as sports related pubs, i.e. The Cricketers, or animals, (The Old Dog & Duck). I prefer to map out a geographical area and assess the rich diversity of pub signage there. Living in Manchester makes this easier for me of course than if I lived in a rural village, especially as I depend on public transport.

Of course, seeing a picture of a pub sign and seeing the real sign are two different experiences. Most of us have seen the Mona Lisa in picture books, but seeing her in the Louvre must be so much more exciting. Similarly with inn-signs. Go out and see the real ones in your neck of the woods. Get photos of them, and add them to your work here. Why not?

Arthur Chappell