listing all Pub Names you have ever come across

[cacian]

I find pub names really interesting and their names make for a very focal point of conversation.
please post all best or whacky names you have come across and say something about it if you wished.

the first I can think of straight away is:

King Edward VII. boring but straight to the point. a royal name.

''The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The Edwardian era, which covered Edward's reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including steam turbine propulsion and the rise of socialism.''


Gade and Goose.

I am not sure why a migratory bird such as geese is alongside a gade another word for cod/fish.

[YesNo]

I rarely go to pubs (or bars) unless I'm with coworkers and we need to do this for some reason. However, I did see the movie, "The World's End", which was about a pub called The World's End. I don't know if it actually exists, but it did make me want to visit some if I ever made it to England.

[cacian]

I rarely go to pubs (or bars) unless I'm with coworkers and we need to do this for some reason. However, I did see the movie, "The World's End", which was about a pub called The World's End. I don't know if it actually exists, but it did make me want to visit some if I ever made it to England.

interesting. I will see if I can find it listed here.
here is a link
http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/w/Worlds-End.html#.UtAGZnmYY09 :)

[Lokasenna]

I visit numerous pubs, my city being particularly blessed with them. Amongst my usual watering holes are:

The Court Inn
The Half Moon
The Swan and Three Cygnets (normally called the 'Swan and Three' by everyone)
The Queen's Head
The Colpitts (probably my favourite)
The Victoria (actually Victorian, with real Morris & Co wallpaper and lots of little parlour rooms - just wonderful!)
The Duke of Wellington (or 'The Welly' as it is universally known)

Loads of great pubs in Durham - you can find anything to suit your mood.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I love pubs...:cheers2:

So many good pubs, so many happy times...

...

The last pub I was in that I really enjoyed was at Christmas in The Cheshire Cheese Inn, in Hope, Peak District.

http://www.thecheshirecheeseinn.co.uk/

[Helga]

here on the ice there aren't many good pub names. In my town we have 'The English Bar' not very original and it's the only bar in town. I also know of one called 'Dubliners' and 'The Celtic Cross'.

In the movie 'The World's End' there are many cool pub names but I don't think any of them are real, they changed the names of a few pubs to suit the movie, according to IMDB at least.

[kev67]

Are we talking silly pub names like the Fez and Firken, Pavlov's Dog, The Purple Turtle and Scruffy Murphys, or more traditional pub names? The best pub name I heard was one in Brighton called The Pub With No Name. There was another pub I liked there called The Fortunes of War which had a naval theme. Recently I came across a centuries old country pub called The Pineapple. I thought that was a stupid name, especially as the pub sign had a pine cone on it, but I was wrong, because pineapple is the old name for pine cone. So I learnt something. Talking about the Fez and Firken, that had been called The Turk's Head before it was taken over by the chain. After the chain folded, the new management did not have the nerve to restore its name, so now is is called The Turks. I was irritated about that because The Turks Head or The Saracens Head are names relating back to the crusades. No one shows such sensitivity about pubs called The Kings Head or The Queens Head because it is taken for granted that these are historical names. There is a pub not too far away with the name The Black Boy, which I hope they never change. Anyway, pubs in Reading I visit or used to visit every so often include

The Horse and Jockey
The Nags Head
The Foresters
The Butchers Arms
The Roebuck
The Sun
The Turks (Head)
The Horn
The Volunteer
The Three Tuns
The Rose and Crown
The Retreat

Sadly, so many pubs have closed down in the last few years. I can think of four within ten minutes' walk from my home that have closed, although that still leaves about thirteen.

[cacian]

I love pubs...:cheers2:

So many good pubs, so many happy times...

...

The last pub I was in that I really enjoyed was at Christmas in The Cheshire Cheese Inn, in Hope, Peak District.

http://www.thecheshirecheeseinn.co.uk/

the Cheshire Cheese from the Cheshire cat? I wonder.
I like to look into the history of the names.

[cacian]

here on the ice there aren't many good pub names. In my town we have 'The English Bar' not very original and it's the only bar in town. I also know of one called 'Dubliners' and 'The Celtic Cross'.

In the movie 'The World's End' there are many cool pub names but I don't think any of them are real, they changed the names of a few pubs to suit the movie, according to IMDB at least.

on ice as an Iceland? do you mean there is no night life where you are? only one bar sounds very small. :)

[cacian]

Are we talking silly pub names like the Fez and Firken, Pavlov's Dog, The Purple Turtle and Scruffy Murphys, or more traditional pub names? The best pub name I heard was one in Brighton called The Pub With No Name. There was another pub I liked there called The Fortunes of War which had a naval theme. Recently I came across a centuries old country pub called The Pineapple. I thought that was a stupid name, especially as the pub sign had a pine cone on it, but I was wrong, because pineapple is the old name for pine cone. So I learnt something. Talking about the Fez and Firken, that had been called The Turk's Head before it was taken over by the chain. After the chain folded, the new management did not have the nerve to restore its name, so now is is called The Turks. I was irritated about that because The Turks Head or The Saracens Head are names relating back to the crusades. No one shows such sensitivity about pubs called The Kings Head or The Queens Head because it is taken for granted that these are historical names. There is a pub not too far away with the name The Black Boy, which I hope they never change. Anyway, pubs in Reading I visit or used to visit every so often include

The Horse and Jockey
The Nags Head
The Foresters
The Butchers Arms
The Roebuck
The Sun
The Turks (Head)
The Horn
The Volunteer
The Three Tuns
The Rose and Crown
The Retreat

Sadly, so many pubs have closed down in the last few years. I can think of four within ten minutes' walk from my home that have closed, although that still leaves about thirteen.

The Black Boy that sounds rather tricky. but then again the Pub With No Name is trickier. whatever happened to the English Language?
they are rather crude some of the pubs name you come across. historically accurate but still crude like the kings' head.
There is a posh restaurant pub I visited called Les Trois Garcons.

[Emil Miller]

listing all Pub Names you have ever come across


How long have you got?

[LitNetIsGreat]

Although a love a pub related thread, I must say that 'listing all the pub names you have come across' is a little ambitious to say the least!!! I mean, there are thousands and thousands of pubs within a 100 mile radius... I mean, should we list them all? Or would it be better to pick a few favourite pubs?

[Calidore]

One pub of note here in Chicago is the Duke of Perth, which has very good food (including a Friday Fish & Chips all-you-can-eat) and a renowned single-malt Scotch collection.

[cacian]

How long have you got?

I have all the time in the world. I like pub names so any you have visited or that stood out in your mind would be good :)

[cacian]

Although a love a pub related thread, I must say that 'listing all the pub names you have come across' is a little ambitious to say the least!!! I mean, there are thousands and thousands of pubs within a 100 mile radius... I mean, should we list them all? Or would it be better to pick a few favourite pubs?

hi Neely I meant to talk about those you know or heard of. I am particularly interested in the names because they must have a history behind.
any pubs you visited or like is cool :)
I recall Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem England's oldest pub dating 1189AD in Nottingham. and what a pub a great piece of history :)

[cacian]

One pub of note here in Chicago is the Duke of Perth, which has very good food (including a Friday Fish & Chips all-you-can-eat) and a renowned single-malt Scotch collection.

you have pubs in Chicago? I must get out more haha :D
I am liking the single malt scotch collection it is right up my street :)

[sandy14]

I too, live in Reading & frequent a few pubs already mentioned.

For a while Arthur Rimbaud lived on the Kings Road, Reading & it is entirely possible that he many have visited the Retreat which is around the corner where Rimbaud lived (165 King Road, Reading from Aug - December 1874). Rimbaud wrote Illuminations here, and certainly the references to canals & parks work suggest that part of the geography of Reading seeped into this work (of course I'm being whimsical here, and need to do a bit more research, but that's what the internet is for) if anyone has any ideas, please share them). Certainly it is in in the registers as a pub frequented by artisans, so it is not beyond the bounds of possibility.

Other pub names I've come across recently

The Keats' Lounge in Moorgate - a pub commemorating Keats' association with this part of London. It had various bits of Keat's memorabilia on the walls. In England many pubs are almost museums where they commemorate people and events.

The Northern Star in Maidenhead (sadly now defunct) named after the first steam locomotive that operated in the town.

The Greyhound in Maidenhead - where Charles I met his family for the last time before being taken to London where he was tried & beheaded. (Original Pub gone, but local Wetherspoons has taken the name on).

The Marquis of Granby - a common pub name in England. The Marquis was a commander of the British Army in the C18th. After the wars he raised funds for veterans, many of whom used the money to open pubs and named them in his honour.

The Allied Arms, Reading- names after the allies who fought the Crimean War against Russia - The French, British and Turks. So we have a Turks Head commemorating a War against them, and The Allied Arms commemorating a war allied to Turkey, within a mile of each other.

[Emil Miller]

The silliest pub name I have ever come across was the 'Elvis Presley' which was the name given to an old established London pub by some clown who took over the 'Rising Sun' in central London many years ago. Not surprisingly, the regulars deserted the pub and it eventually restored its former name. Not being one to easily forgive blatant stupidity, I only went in there recently when the pub opposite was under renovation, although it's a good policy to avoid all London pubs on Fridays and the week-end when the louts are showing everyone else just how incapable they are of holding their liquor.

[sandy14]

I rarely go to pubs (or bars) unless I'm with coworkers and we need to do this for some reason. However, I did see the movie, "The World's End", which was about a pub called The World's End. I don't know if it actually exists, but it did make me want to visit some if I ever made it to England.

There is a pub called The World's End in Edinburgh on the Royal Mile. The name (allegedly) comes from a speech made by a general opposing the Roman invaders*. I'm not sure if The World's End refers to a geographical location (Scotland was at the end of the Roman Empire) or a bit in time. Perhaps someone else could add to this.


* This should be taken with a pinch of salt - preferably a pinch the size of the Ritz Hotel. There's another suggestion (probably more credible) that the name came from the pub being at the city wall - and therefore was The World's End for those leaving (or even entering) the city.

[The Kid]

There is a gay bar (that means homosexual pub, for you friends across the pond :)) named Renegades in the downtown neighborhood near my school. I'm not allowed in there, but after the huge celebration from the big release of stress at the end of the semester, sometimes it's pretty tempting :)

[YesNo]

There is a pub called The World's End in Edinburgh on the Royal Mile. The name (allegedly) comes from a speech made by a general opposing the Roman invaders*. I'm not sure if The World's End refers to a geographical location (Scotland was at the end of the Roman Empire) or a bit in time. Perhaps someone else could add to this.


* This should be taken with a pinch of salt - preferably a pinch the size of the Ritz Hotel. There's another suggestion (probably more credible) that the name came from the pub being at the city wall - and therefore was The World's End for those leaving (or even entering) the city.

cacian's link probably detailed the movie's pub locations, but this explains why someone might call a pub, The World's End, which I thought was a good name for a pub.

Here's a link to someone who is trying to document all the pubs in London: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ccaajpa/pubs-listed.html He claims he has been to 1655 out of 1970 pubs on the list not all of which are still standing. That adventure looks like a life-time pub crawl.

Here are some pubs from the list that stood out based only on their names:

Hung, Drawn & Quartered
Walrus & Carpenter
Square Pig

[kev67]

There is a gay bar (that means homosexual pub, for you friends across the pond :)) named Renegades in the downtown neighborhood near my school. I'm not allowed in there, but after the huge celebration from the big release of stress at the end of the semester, sometimes it's pretty tempting :)

Talking about gay bars, there are three gay pubs in Reading that I know of. There used to be another called The Dove which lesbians used to go to, but it has closed down. The main gay bar was The Wynford Arms, which is the most traditional looking pub from the outside. It has a Latin motto on the pub sign that reads 'Videre not est credere'. There is another called The Rising Sun, which used to be a student bar and a biker bar. It was not always very salubrious. Then there was another lesbian pub called The Granby Tavern, previously The Marquis of Granby. When I first came to Reading I used to like that pub, because bands used to play there. Then it was taken over by a business group including former England association football manager, Terry Venables. Thanks to their dodgy dealings, the pub was closed down for a number of years until it re-opened as a lesbian pub. I think it has closed down again, and there is disturbing talk about it being turned into a shop. Across the road from that was a pub with one of the best names, The Jack of Both Sides, which was apt because there were roads either side of it. That had a slightly rough reputation and was bought by a chain that turned it into a student pub and renamed it the Upin Arms. The chain seemed to have sold it on because it is now a family friendly bistro pub with a different name. Talking of silly names, there's a bar in Reading called The Fruitbat.

[cacian]

There is a gay bar (that means homosexual pub, for you friends across the pond :)) named Renegades in the downtown neighborhood near my school. I'm not allowed in there, but after the huge celebration from the big release of stress at the end of the semester, sometimes it's pretty tempting :)

what is tempting about a gay bar?

[cacian]

Talking about gay bars, there are three gay pubs in Reading that I know of. There used to be another called The Dove which lesbians used to go to, but it has closed down. The main gay bar was The Wynford Arms, which is the most traditional looking pub from the outside. It has a Latin motto on the pub sign that reads 'Videre not est credere'. There is another called The Rising Sun, which used to be a student bar and a biker bar. It was not always very salubrious. Then there was another lesbian pub called The Granby Tavern, previously The Marquis of Granby. When I first came to Reading I used to like that pub, because bands used to play there. Then it was taken over by a business group including former England association football manager, Terry Venables. Thanks to their dodgy dealings, the pub was closed down for a number of years until it re-opened as a lesbian pub. I think it has closed down again, and there is disturbing talk about it being turned into a shop. Across the road from that was a pub with one of the best names, The Jack of Both Sides, which was apt because there were roads either side of it. That had a slightly rough reputation and was bought by a chain that turned it into a student pub and renamed it the Upin Arms. The chain seemed to have sold it on because it is now a family friendly bistro pub with a different name. Talking of silly names, there's a bar in Reading called The Fruitbat.

hi Kev what does Fruitbat mean?
also it would be nice to have a mixed bar rather straight/gay/lesbian it makes it more interesting and more integrating. I feel that labelling bars with a sexuality is perhaps not a good thing.

[Emil Miller]

hi Kev what does Fruitbat mean?
also it would be nice to have a mixed bar rather straight/gay/lesbian it makes it more interesting and more integrating. I feel that labelling bars with a sexuality is perhaps not a good thing.

Some people prefer to keep a pub for a certain clientele. There's a London pub called the Duke of Wellington that has recently been advertising itself as a 'gay bar' and someone fitting that description was turned away from the pub when the doorman said he didn't think the newcomer was gay. The prospective client's comment to a pub website was: " It was most hurtful."

[cacian]

Some people prefer to keep a pub for a certain clientele. There's a London pub called the Duke of Wellington that has recently been advertising itself as a 'gay bar' and someone fitting that description was turned away from the pub when the doorman said he didn't think the newcomer was gay. The prospective client's comment to a pub website was: " It was most hurtful."

is that the one in Soho? maybe or is that the Admiral?
in any case it is sad to label bars for this very reason. I think to judge on their appearance and sexuality is very demeaning. the more integrated the life style is and the healthier it is.

[Emil Miller]

is that the one in Soho? maybe or is that the Admiral?
in any case it is sad to label bars for this very reason. I think to judge on their appearance and sexuality is very demeaning. the more integrated the life style is and the healthier it is.

Yes it's in Wardour Street. Another such pub used to be the Salisbury in St.Martins Lane which is renowned for its Victorian decor. I once took someone there to show them the interior and, on leaving, I asked what he thought of it and he said he'd been afraid to look at anything else. I later learned that a new pub called the Brief Encounter had opened opposite had and enticed the 'gays' away, so it has now returned to its original customer base.

[kev67]

hi Kev what does Fruitbat mean?
also it would be nice to have a mixed bar rather straight/gay/lesbian it makes it more interesting and more integrating. I feel that labelling bars with a sexuality is perhaps not a good thing.

A fruitbat is a type of bat found in Australia that eats fruit. I would say it was more a bar than a pub.

I can see the point of gay bars/lesbian bars. If you are a lesbian, for example, you want to go somewhere where 1) you can find other lesbians, 2) you won't be chatted up by men, 3) you can relax. A lesbian used to rent the flat below mine. She was of the dyke persuasion, while some of her friends were lipstick lesbians. They would not feel comfortable going to a normal pub together, because they would be the object of attention. I expect they would feel relaxed in a normal pub in mixed company, for example with brothers, fathers, male colleagues and friends. In Reading, The Sun and The Wynford Arms target both gay men and women, but do not exclude heterosexual people. I am not sure about The Marquis of Granby.

[The Kid]

what is tempting about a gay bar?

I don't really understand your question. What is tempting? When you're stressed all semester and it is all finally over, any form of stress relief or celebration is tempting.


also it would be nice to have a mixed bar rather straight/gay/lesbian it makes it more interesting and more integrating. I feel that labelling bars with a sexuality is perhaps not a good thing

Perhaps we agree here. I think that a "gay" bar creates the effect that people only go there when they want to meet someone to have sex. For example, imagine if there was a bar for men who like women that wear a certain bra size. Well, I'm pretty sure the only people that would go there would be men looking for women, and women looking for those men. Creating a separate space for a certain sexual preference forces that space to become all about sexuality. I'm not really sure if this is what you mean, but I think ideally it should be possible for gay people to meet in a bar and not have sex as the motivation. Of course, as I said, I'm not allowed inside, so I'm only guessing what the atmosphere is like.

However, as far as I know homosexual people always have the option of going to other bars. Is this true?

[cacian]

A fruitbat is a type of bat found in Australia that eats fruit. I would say it was more a bar than a pub.

I can see the point of gay bars/lesbian bars. If you are a lesbian, for example, you want to go somewhere where 1) you can find other lesbians, 2) you won't be chatted up by men, 3) you can relax. A lesbian used to rent the flat below mine. She was of the dyke persuasion, while some of her friends were lipstick lesbians. They would not feel comfortable going to a normal pub together, because they would be the object of attention. I expect they would feel relaxed in a normal pub in mixed company, for example with brothers, fathers, male colleagues and friends. In Reading, The Sun and The Wynford Arms target both gay men and women, but do not exclude heterosexual people. I am not sure about The Marquis of Granby.

lipstick lesbian? I am not sure I know what it means. :)

[The Atheist]

There is a gay bar (that means homosexual pub, for you friends across the pond :))

You'll find that, in 2014, the term "gay" is universally-known, and nobody says "homosexual" any more, other than televangelists saying why they're causing baby Jesus to cry.

What planet have you been on for the past few decades?

Bars, eh?

I'll see how far I get.

DB Rotorua
Lake Tavern
Palace Tavern
Leopard Rotorua (Lived next door to it, had out own private gate!)
Waiotapu Tavern
Reporoa Tavern
Golden Cross
Criterion Hotel
Morrinsville Tavern
Rose & Crown
1860
Prospect of Howick
**** & Bull (ETA: I always thought it was rooster!)
Kitty O'Shea's
London Bar
Murphy's Pub
Papakura Tavern
White House Tavern
White Horse Pakuranga
The Duke of Wellington
The Foundry
Rose & Thistle
The Gluepot
Java Jive
Empire
Naval & Family

and a thousand others whose names escape me due to the intervening years, but that's a small sample of the pubs I've had a drink at over the years...

[kev67]

I cycled past a pub today called The Calleva Arms in Silchester. Calleva was the name of a walled Roman city that used to be there centuries ago.
Also remembered there's a bar in Reading called The 3 Bs. It is on the site of the old town hall and next to Reading Museum. The three B's were bricks, bulbs and biscuits, which used to be the three biggest businesses in Reading.

[sandy14]

Also remembered there's a bar in Reading called The 3 Bs. It is on the site of the old town hall and next to Reading Museum. The three B's were bricks, bulbs and biscuits, which used to be the three biggest businesses in Reading.

Sadly the three B's is no longer with it. It closed a while back. It is used by the town hall for functions - mostly weddings, but as a public bar it has gone. Which is a shame, as it was one of the few spaces large enough to comfortably accommodate bands and an audience.

[The Kid]

You'll find that, in 2014, the term "gay" is universally-known, and nobody says "homosexual" any more, other than televangelists saying why they're causing baby Jesus to cry.

What planet have you been on for the past few decades?


Friend, it was a joke. I know it wasn't that funny, but why the hostility?

[kev67]

Yes it's in Wardour Street. Another such pub used to be the Salisbury in St.Martins Lane which is renowned for its Victorian decor.

Talking about London pubs, I once noticed a pub called Tom Cribb. I remembered that because he was a character in a book titled Black Ajax. Tom Cribb was a bare knuckle prize fighter during the Regency or Georgian times.

[kev67]

Sadly the three B's is no longer with it. It closed a while back. It is used by the town hall for functions - mostly weddings, but as a public bar it has gone. Which is a shame, as it was one of the few spaces large enough to comfortably accommodate bands and an audience.

I did notice it did not seem be open as much as normal, but last time I visited the museum shop, it seemed to be open. It was an odd sort of place. At lunchtime it seemed to be full of old age pensioners. It used to serve good real ales, but the Nags Head is the place to go for that now.

[kev67]

George Orwell wrote an essay about his ideal pub, The Moon Under Water. According to Wikipedia, it has these characteristics:



The architecture and fittings must be uncompromisingly Victorian.
Games, such as darts, are only played in the public bar so that in other bars you can walk about without the worry of flying darts.
The pub is quiet enough to talk, with the house possessing neither a radio nor a piano.
The barmaids know the customers by name and take an interest in everyone.
It sells tobacco and cigarettes, aspirins and stamps, and lets you use the phone.
"[...] there is a snack counter where you can get liver-sausage sandwiches, mussels (a speciality of the house), cheese, pickles and [...] large biscuits with caraway seeds [...]."
"Upstairs, six days a week, you can get a good, solid lunch -- for example, a cut off the joint, two vegetables and boiled jam roll—for about three shillings."
"[...] a creamy sort of draught stout [...], and it goes better in a pewter pot."
"They are particular about their drinking vessels at "The Moon Under Water" and never, for example, make the mistake of serving a pint of beer in a handleless glass. Apart from glass and pewter mugs, they have some of those pleasant strawberry-pink china ones. [...] but in my opinion beer tastes better out of china."
"[...] You go through a narrow passage leading out of the saloon, and find yourself in a fairly large garden [...] Many as are the virtues of the Moon Under Water I think that the garden is its best feature, because it allows whole families to go there instead of Mum having to stay at home and mind the baby while Dad goes out alone."


The Moon Under Water was a name he made up, but I see there are several pubs with that name now.

[Michael T]

The Bread and Roses

Many of the pubs in Plymouth have disappeared over the last few decades, probably due to cable TV and chain-pubs such as 'Wetherspoon' - soulless bars that all look alike no matter which part of town or even which city you happen to be in.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of bars in the city due to the University and some are pretty good. However, recently an old disused pub was bought and refurbished by locals as a 'not for profit' community pub. It's the sort of place you would dream-up were you to imagine a perfect local pub. If I'm going for a drink this is where I head for now - passing many student bars to get there. I could attempt to describe it, but as they have a Facebook page with a promotional video (scroll down until you see it) I'll post the link. Watch the video and tell me what you think - I would be interested in your comments as I think many of you will be amazed at the cool ethos of this pub .

More good news too, as another recently closed down Pub, the Hyde Park Hotel (was going to be turned into flats!) has again been bought by locals who are going to open another community Pub. I think this trend is a backlash against all the chain pubs that have destroyed the atmosphere of so many drinking holes.

https://www.facebook.com/TheBreadandRoses

Look forward to hearing your views. :smile5:

[Emil Miller]

George Orwell wrote an essay about his ideal pub, The Moon Under Water. According to Wikipedia, it has these characteristics:


"Many as are the virtues of the Moon Under Water I think that the garden is its best feature, because it allows whole families to go there instead of Mum having to stay at home and mind the baby while Dad goes out alone."

The Moon Under Water was a name he made up, but I see there are several pubs with that name now.

Orwell was a great sentimentalist but the reality is that many men, as was admitted by an acquaintance of mine, go to the pub in order to get away from the wife.

The reason for the Moon Under Water being fairly common nowadays is that the pub's name in Orwell's essay was used by Tim Martins, the owner of Wetherspoons, as it fitted in with his scheme to have a number of his pubs using the word 'moon' in their name: such as 'J. J. Moon', 'Lord Moon of the Mall' and the 'Moon and Sixpence' after W. S. Maugham's famous novel.



The Bread and Roses

Look forward to hearing your views.

Not my scene man.

[YesNo]

George Orwell wrote an essay about his ideal pub, The Moon Under Water. According to Wikipedia, it has these characteristics:



...
Games, such as darts, are only played in the public bar so that in other bars you can walk about without the worry of flying darts.
...




I've never understood playing darts in a public place.

[kev67]

I noticed the Moon Under Water's were Wetherspoon pubs. btw, there is a Wetherspoons pub in Reading called Back of Beyond, or frequently, Bob's. They're alright, the beer's cheap.

I remembered there is a pub in Oxford called Jude the Obscure. Only in Oxford, eh?
There's another pub in Tunbridge Wells called The Ragged Trousers, which I presume refers to The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. That puzzled me because I thought that book was set in Hastings.

[Lokasenna]

I noticed the Moon Under Water's were Wetherspoon pubs. btw, there is a Wetherspoons pub in Reading called Back of Beyond, or frequently, Bob's. They're alright, the beer's cheap.

I remembered there is a pub in Oxford called Jude the Obscure. Only in Oxford, eh?
There's another pub in Tunbridge Wells called The Ragged Trousers, which I presume refers to The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. That puzzled me because I thought that book was set in Hastings.

I'm fairly certain I remember another pub in Oxford called The Madding Crowd - clearly some publicans are Hardy fans in that part of the world!

[Emil Miller]

There was a pub in Basingstoke called the 'King of sex' but only because some vandals had removed the letters Wes from the sign.

[tonywalt]

Fidel Murphys in Cayman. An Irish pub that used to be a Cuban restaurant.

[Emil Miller]

A couple of literary pubs in central London are the 'Edgar Wallace'and 'Sherlock Holmes'.

[sandy14]

The Yorkshire Grey is a pub in Fitzrovia, around the corner from Bush House in the BBC. It's where folk went (and still go) after recording shows. Dylan Thomas, George Orwell drank there, as do the Now Show crew.

All this talk of pubs in making me thirsty. Dare I suggest a Literature Network Forums Pub meet? Eagle & Child, Oxford (inklings) - anywhere in Reading, or a London Literacy pub - Charles Dickens, The Keats' Lounge (Moorgate - & probably big enough). Does anyone have any thoughts?

Still paying for Xmas and 1st March s on a Saturday. Anyone have any thoughts?

[kev67]

The Yorkshire Grey is a pub in Fitzrovia, around the corner from Bush House in the BBC. It's where folk went (and still go) after recording shows. Dylan Thomas, George Orwell drank there, as do the Now Show crew.

All this talk of pubs in making me thirsty. Dare I suggest a Literature Network Forums Pub meet? Eagle & Child, Oxford (inklings) - anywhere in Reading, or a London Literacy pub - Charles Dickens, The Keats' Lounge (Moorgate - & probably big enough). Does anyone have any thoughts?

Still paying for Xmas and 1st March s on a Saturday. Anyone have any thoughts?

Oxford, Reading or London are good for me.

Talking about Charles Dickens, I can't believe I forgot about Great Expectations in Reading. The building used to be a Mechanics Institute in the 19th century. Charles Dickens gave some readings there, in particular A Christmas Carol.

[Paulclem]

The best pub name I've come across is The Gaping Goose (at Garforth) - we always said it with the "at Garforth" bit on the end. We used to pass it going on day trips to the east coast when I was a kid, and it was the pub I last saw my uni mates in.

In Wakefield we used to occaisionally go on The Westgate Run - going into all the pubs on the way up westgate into town.

We started at the Union and went onto The Redoubt The Waterloo, The Beer Engine, The Smiths Arms, The Waggon and Horses, The Beer Engine, The Old Globe, The Swan with Two Necks, Henry Boons and The Black Horse - by which time the company was usually breaking up. It was then into a nightclub if you weren't vomiting into a gutter and crawling home.

I used to make it into the nightclub, but what happend after that escapes me. Age I suppose...

[Emil Miller]

There's a pub in central London called The Melton Mowbray after the famous pies made in that town and you can dine on them there. I never eat in pubs but I've seen plenty of people tucking into the pies when I've been there.

http://i.imgur.com/KtUm3jh.jpg?1

[kev67]

I was told there was a new bar in Reading called Up The Junction. I thought that was a good name, partly because it is alongside Cemetery Junction, so named because of the old cemetery tucked in between two of the roads that meet there. I always thought Cemetery Junction was a good name too. Reading boy, Ricky Gervais pinched it for a film. Up The Junction was a title of a song by Squeeze. I think the expression meant being stuck in a difficult situation. I thought it meant pregnant, but I think that was up-the-spout or up-the-duff.

[Emil Miller]

I was told there was a new bar in Reading called Up The Junction. I thought that was a good name, partly because it is alongside Cemetery Junction, so named because of the old cemetery tucked in between two of the roads that meet there. I always thought Cemetery Junction was a good name too. Reading boy, Ricky Gervais pinched it for a film. Up The Junction was a title of a song by Squeeze. I think the expression meant being stuck in a difficult situation. I thought it meant pregnant, but I think that was up-the-spout or up-the-duff.

The phrase 'Up the Junction' actually originates from Clapham railway junction which is in a densely populated area of London.
I believe there was a television play or possibly a film made about the kind of people who live there.

[kev67]

The phrase 'Up the Junction' actually originates from Clapham railway junction which is in a densely populated area of London.
I believe there was a television play or possibly a film made about the kind of people who live there.

There was a 1968 film with Dennis Waterman, and a 1965 television play directed by Ken Loach, both based on a 1963 book by Nell Dunn.

[cacian]

There's a pub in central London called The Melton Mowbray after the famous pies made in that town and you can dine on them there. I never eat in pubs but I've seen plenty of people tucking into the pies when I've been there.

http://i.imgur.com/KtUm3jh.jpg?1

''The Melton Mowbray'' such a title. I wonder the meaning.

[cacian]

I was told there was a new bar in Reading called Up The Junction. I thought that was a good name, partly because it is alongside Cemetery Junction, so named because of the old cemetery tucked in between two of the roads that meet there. I always thought Cemetery Junction was a good name too. Reading boy, Ricky Gervais pinched it for a film. Up The Junction was a title of a song by Squeeze. I think the expression meant being stuck in a difficult situation. I thought it meant pregnant, but I think that was up-the-spout or up-the-duff.

''up something'' usually also means to be rude.

[kev67]

''up something'' usually also means to be rude.

Are you thinking of the classic Frankie Howard films Up Pompeii and Up the Front?

[LitNetIsGreat]

Off to York for a chess tournament next weekend, any decent pubs for after? I have been recommended the Dick Turpin.

[Emil Miller]

Off to York for a chess tournament next weekend, any decent pubs for after? I have been recommended the Dick Turpin.

Neely. it's important to remember not to visit them before the tournament, when peak performance is required. After the battle, it's necessary to repair to a watering hole to establish a modicam of normality.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Oh yes absolutely true. I won't drink before the tournament but after I will a little. (The doc says I am OK to drink again.) It is just a one day event but looking forward to it and also the pubs in York afterwards. I have always like York. The Dick Turpin pub sounds nice, being all in candle light and having decent real ales etc.

[Whifflingpin]

I'm surprised that, this being a literary forum, no-one has yet mentioned the pub-sign song:

THE gentry to the King's Head go, The nobles to the Crown,
The knight you'll at the Garter find, And at the Plough the clown :
But we'll beat every bush, boys, In hunting of good wine ;
And value not a rush, boys, The landlord or his sign.

The bishop to the Mitre goes, The soldier to The Gun,
The parson topes beneath The Rose, The gardener in The Sun :
Cho. But we'll beat every bush, &c

The sailor to The World's End roams, The sportsman seeks The Fox,
The lawyer to the Devil comes, The spendthrift to The Dogs :
Cho. But we'll beat every bush, &c.


Alternative (older?) verses:
II.
The bishop to the mitre goes, The sailor to the star.
The parson topes beneath the rose, At the trumpet, men of war :
But we'll, &c.
III.
The bankrupt to the world's-end roams, No fair the feather scorns;
The lawyer to the devil runs, The tradesmen to the horns
But we'll; &c.


And, to save Cacian's having to ask, "to beat the bush" is an old phrase for "to go to the pub." The common sign for an inn used to be a bush hung over the door (apparently the local variant of a bunch of vine leaves.)

[kev67]

The phrase 'Up the Junction' actually originates from Clapham railway junction which is in a densely populated area of London.
I believe there was a television play or possibly a film made about the kind of people who live there.

I am about half way through the book. It seems pretty similar to Saturday Night and Sunday Morning in outlook, except it is from the girls' perspective. They are all sex obsessed and feckless. It's not bad. It's different. It's not exactly edifying, though.

[kev67]

I recently went to a pub near Euston Station (in London) called The Doric Arch. I thought that was an odd name for a pub. Recently I heard a radio programme about 18th century smugglers in Rye. The smugglers used to meet in a pub called The Mermaid. What a great name for a smugglers' pub!

At present I am keeping an eye out for local pubs with foreign language mottoes. There were several within half a mile of each other with Latin mottoes:

The Wynford Arms (a gay pub): vedere non est credere
The Lyndhurst: ultra pergere
The Eldon Arms (recently closed): sit sine labe decus

I am told there is a pub in another part of town called The Prince of Wales, which has his motto on the sign: ich dien. There do not seem to be many others.

[mal4mac]

The Pickwick Papers is full of wonderful pubs with wonderful names. I''m just about to enter the Magpie and Stump.

[mal4mac]

I rarely go to pubs (or bars) unless I'm with coworkers and we need to do this for some reason. However, I did see the movie, "The World's End", which was about a pub called The World's End. I don't know if it actually exists, but it did make me want to visit some if I ever made it to England.

There's one called The Pillars of Hercules, on the border of Soho in London, so it may be a little bit along from there... It's just round the corner from Foyles wonderful new bookshop, so you have an excuse...

[mal4mac]

I recall Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem England's oldest pub dating 1189AD in Nottingham. and what a pub a great piece of history :)

The guy opened The Saracen's Head in Glasgow, on his return :)

[mal4mac]

Friend, it was a joke. I know it wasn't that funny, but why the hostility?

I wasn't bothered by your bending of the vernacular, but I did wonder if your use of the term "across the pond" for the UK was acceptable in San Francisco. Wouldn't you end up in Japan?

Any good Japanese pub names?

[Jackson Richardson]

I recently went to a pub near Euston Station (in London) called The Doric Arch. I thought that was an odd name for a pub..

Until the 1960s, the entrance to Euston Station was a giant arch of the Doric order.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2010/3/15/1268660678965/Euston-arch-London-001.jpg

It was demolished in 1961, to considerable disapproval. The pub is mentioned on the Wikipedia site

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euston_Arch

[Emil Miller]

Recently I heard a radio programme about 18th century smugglers in Rye. The smugglers used to meet in a pub called The Mermaid. What a great name for a smugglers' pub!




Rye is a very pretty little town in Sussex and something of a tourist attraction. The writer Henry James lived there for almost 20 years and the filmed version of H.G. Wells's novel The History of Mr Polly starring John Mills was filmed there on account of the high street being practically unchanged since Edwardian times. I have visited The Mermaid pub and it really is worth the trip as I discovered when I was photographed there some years ago.



http://i.imgur.com/FOjheNe.jpg?2

[Lykren]

Beautiful photo!

[Lokasenna]

That does indeed look lovely.

[readspider]

One of my favourites is a long closed down pub in Rockhampton, Central Queensland called 'The Square and the Compass'.

[MANICHAEAN]

Some of the bars I have come across since coming to Yokohama have included:
1. Laser Rush: Japanese owner with Scottish wife. Best range of single malts in town.
2. The Full Monty. Not a male stripper in sight.
3. The Tavern: English grub, London Pride beer & compulsory karioke. If you are English expect to give a rendition of the Beatles numbers. Being half Irish, I limit myself to "Danny Boy"
4. The X Bar: Like something out of "Kill Bill."

[108 fountains]

There was a fascination of sorts in Thailand with the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinski scandal. The fascination apparently stemmed from the incredulous response by the Thais that Americans actually considered the whole affair to be a “scandal.” Anyway, in 1998-1999, a couple of expats who had opened several bars not far from Nana Plaza on Sukhumvit Road decided to call the area where their bars were located “Clinton Plaza” and renamed a couple of the bars “Monica’s Bar” and “Bill’s Coffee House.” A dispute about ownership among developers led to the bars being closed after a couple of years, but another bar with a name borne of the same fascination, “Hillary Bar,” located just a block from nana Plaza, became so popular that there are now four Hillary Bars (Hillary 1, Hillary 2, Hillary 3, and Hillary 4) in Bangkok and at least one Hillary Bar in Pattaya. There is also a very popular Lewinski’s International Sports Bar and Grill in Pattaya that actually has pretty good Western food and a decent (no bar girl) atmosphere.

I bet the owners of the Hillary Bar chain will be jubilant if Hillary Clinton should be elected U.S. President. In fact, I bet spending election night at one of the Hillary Bars would be a lot of fun.

[Emil Miller]

There is a pub in Kingston on Thames called The Druid's Head; here's a review I did of it for a pub guide:

I travel some way to get to this pub simply because there is a dearth of civilised watering holes in London. By civilised I mean no pop music and, even though there is the usual caterwauling female coming from loudspeakers in the main bar, there is a small bar without speakers in which the main bar's noise is insufficient to be an insult to the intelligence. Avoid at all costs on a Friday night when, presumably to attract the teenage element, the speakers are going full blast with the kind of noise that one might encounter in darkest Africa.
Wetherspoons have a speakerless pub in Kingston but as with all their establishments, it's full of old plonkers loudly rhubarbing away as the Fosters takes hold.

[Emil Miller]

Somebody mentioned to me a pub with an unusual name: It's called The Gazebo and is situated in a charming location right on the riverside at Kingston so I decided to pay a visit and later that day I did a write up for the pub guide:

'The Gazebo was recommended to me by a Kingston resident as being a quiet place where it's possible to have a drink without jungle noises from loudspeakers or loud-mouthed yobs. So I went there at 4.00pm two days ago and found it to be exactly what I hoped it would be. I walked up to the bar and saw that every single beer on draught was Samuel Smith's, possibly the most tasteless beer in England. The riverside setting is really charming but the beer kills it stone dead. A couple of passers-by looked in but, noticing the name on the pumps, walked on.
I loath Wetherspoons pubs on account of the number of old plonkers who spend all their days there cackling and hooting inanely like the inmates of an asylum, but after a pint of Samuel Smith's I had to pop into the KIng's Tun for a pint of Leffe which immediately restored my tastebuds to normal.'

Interestingly, I discovered this Daily Telegraph article that corroborates what I wrote, but beer at 2.8% ? they must be joking.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10345637/In-praise-of-Samuel-Smith-pubs.html

[LitNetIsGreat]

Yes a great photo Emil. I would love to walk up that hill with a thirst and then discover such a pub at the top. What a joy!

[Emil Miller]

I happened to be in Richmond the other day and although I had been to the Angel and Crown ( a very old pub tucked away down a narrow alley) before, I felt in need of a good strong English ale and was prepared to overlook my original impression of a few years earlier as the pub serves Fullers ESB.
The beer was the same but, if anything, the customers were worse than I recalled. As is my wont on these occasions, I wrote a review for the pub guide:


'I discovered this pub by chance a couple of years ago and was pleased to note that it was a Fullers house, as I'm partial to ESB , and I must say the beer is well kept. Unfortunately that's where my admiration ends, because the clientele are some of the most foul-mouthed old tossers I have ever encountered. It seems that the pub is the repository of the kind of English grotesquerie that one imagines died out in the 18th century. It's possible to sit outside in the narrow lane off of the high road but the plonkers, who make your average Wetherspoons plonker look like the Marquess of Salisbury, are not content to remain inside and are likely to be encountered in the small seating area outside.
Do not go there unless desperate for a pint of ESB.'

[Marbles]

'Cum Again'

[kev67]

The best pub near me is The Nags Head. It's won the Reading CAMRA best pub for the past five years, more or less. Even on a Monday evening it is likely to be packed. It is so busy, I sometimes went a bit further on to The Butler for a quiet drink. The Butler seemed well on its way to closure, but now the Nag's Head management team have taken it over and now that is getting busy.

The most intellectual pub in Reading used to be The Retreat. It's not every pub you go into where you might hear the landlady refer to John Maynard Keynes, or walk in to see the landlord soldering an electronic circuit. I was in there once and was puzzled to see a sort of executive toy on the wondow sill. iirc it was a metal disc in a glass dome. I couldn't work out why it was turning. The landlord explained the physics behind it. I can't remember what the explanation was but it had something to do with the top side being shiny and metallic and the underside being black. The landlady had a teenage daughter. Sometimes you'd be sitting in the bar listening to her argue with her mother or wheedle a tenner out of her step-father. You felt like you were in someone's front room and that you shouldn't be there. Sadly the landlord and landlady both retired from running that pub.

[Emil Miller]

The most intellectual pub in Reading used to be The Retreat. It's not every pub you go into where you might hear the landlady refer to John Maynard Keynes, or walk in to see the landlord soldering an electronic circuit. I was in there once and was puzzled to see a sort of executive toy on the wondow sill. iirc it was a metal disc in a glass dome. I couldn't work out why it was turning. The landlord explained the physics behind it. I can't remember what the explanation was but it had something to do with the top side being shiny and metallic and the underside being black. The landlady had a teenage daughter.

That's interesting because one doesn't normally expect to find intellectual conversation in a pub, where invariably it's the beer doing the talking. Only yesterday, I was in a pub where one drinker in loud conversation announced that "Adolf Hitler was a painter and decorator."
This misconception lives on in the minds' of ignorant plonkers whose beer belly is in direct disproportion to their brain.

[Emil Miller]

I don't know if any members have been to Oxted in the English county of Surrey. It is a nice countrified location within easy reach of London but in recent times, it has ,like a number of similar towns in the South East of England, begun to go down.
After a long cross-country walk, a pint or two of beer is usually a welcome experience but nowadays one has to choose the pub carefully.
Here's another review for the Pub Guide

The Oxted Inn

I have occasionally used this pub in the past and it does depend at what time of day one chooses to visit. It's a large establishment with seating outside and during morning weekdays it's quite pleasant for a Wetherspoons, largely because it's possible to move away from any old plonkers who may be in attendance.
During the evening, however, it becomes the favoured location for fat females with tattoos and baby buggies accompanied by their equally fat and tattooed male counterparts wearing the ubiquitous baseball cap.
Oxted used to be a nice little country town inhabited by well-turned-out people but the barbarians broke through the economic barrier some time ago and Wetherspoons was their inevitable destination.

[Emil Miller]

I remember a time when it was unnecessary to have 'bouncers' guarding pubs but, as this extract from the Pub Guide shows, they have now become de rigueur:

'Standing in the corner, minding his own business, my partner was having a good time moving to the music with two blown-up condoms, when the bouncer outside the main door decided it was not acceptable and asked us to leave.'

[Dreamwoven]

The Jenny Lind (http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/41/4186/Jenny_Lind/Hampton_Hill) in Hampton Hill, Surrey. Jenny Lind (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Lind) was a nineteenth century opera singer. Doesn't sound Swedish but it is.

[Emil Miller]

The Jenny Lind (http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/41/4186/Jenny_Lind/Hampton_Hill) in Hampton Hill, Surrey. Jenny Lind (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Lind) was a nineteenth century opera singer. Doesn't sound Swedish but it is.

She was known in England as the Swedish Nightingale. If you had read the comments on the pub, you would have seen that it has closed and been replaced by a Kentucky Fried Chicken shop.
Isn't progress a wonderful thing ?

[Dreamwoven]

I knew it had closed and was now a Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sad but true,though that doesn't disqualify it from the thread.

[Emil Miller]

I knew it had closed and was now a Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sad but true,though that doesn't disqualify it from the thread.

No not at all, it's about all pubs that members have known or have some knowledge of.

[kev67]

Apparently there is a new pub in Reading about to open. The chain (Hungry Horse) held a competition to name it and the winning entry was The Trooper Potts. Frederic Owen Potts won a Victoria Cross during WW1, the only man from Reading to do so.

[Dreamwoven]

The George Orwell in Islington (http://www.designmynight.com/london/bars/angel/the-george-orwell-free-house), though I believe it is now closed.

[Emil Miller]

The Lamb is one of the oldest pubs in England, situated in Eastbourne on the south coast and a short journey from where I am intending to move next year .
Until a few years ago, it had been managed by some idiots from London who virtually wrecked the place but it has now been restored to its former glory.

https://goo.gl/photos/yP42tYiqEvQ6847q9

[LitNetIsGreat]

Hi Emil, that looks like a great pub indeed.

[Emil Miller]

Hi Emil, that looks like a great pub indeed.

Hi Neely, yes it's very cosy and, although somewhat off the beaten track, all the better for it as it's away from the town's Wetherspoons brigade. Just a short distance away is a large Waitrose supermarket that would serve to keep me supplied when visiting the pub.
Much depends whether the deal i'm currently engaged in to buy a decent property down there comes to pass but, avoiding certain snags, I look forward to escaping what is now being openly referred to as Londonistan and where I can watch the coming conflagration with a certain amount of equanimity.
I imagine your prolonged absence from the forum is due to your successful foray into the world of competition chess and the amount of time required to study the game. However, I hope you manage to contribute further to LitNet which is in need of stimulation from those who were once the backbone of the forum.

[kev67]

George Orwell wrote an article about the perfect pub, which he called The Moon Underwater. There is now a Wetherspoons pub called that in Milton Keynes, close to the indoor skiing centre.

Yesterday when I was walking through London from Liverpool Street Station to Kings Cross Station, because I refused to pay £4.95 for the underground, I actually passed a pub called The Slaughtered Lamb. This is the name of the pub in the film, An American Werewolf in London, in which the two tourists step in and the pub instantly goes quiet.

I also passed a pub called Betsey Trotwood. That's an unusual name for a pub. Wikipedia says she's a character from David Copperfield.