Pubs With Odd Names

There are thousands of Pubs in London and many have very odd names. Here is a look at some of the oddest names.  Many are laden with ancient myth and symbolism.

One unusually named pub is called The Only running Footman.  Running footmen refers to the servants in white livery who once ran ahead of horse-carriages to light the way with flaming torches.  These would light the way with a flaming torch after dark or in fog. Many could run 20 miles ahead of the carriages, which was useful in dark or foggy weather.  This very old pub was once a meeting place for Mayfair footmen to get drunk together.  The pub is located very near some very old stables.

The Hand and Shears at the Tube Stop Barbican was a hangout for the tailor and cloth sellers that frequented an industry fair that ran at Smithfield from 1133 to 1855. This alehouse also had a courtroom upstairs that was used to try members who offended the guild.  Offenders were locked up in the stocks that were just outside.

The Boot & Flogger at Redcross Way at the Borough Tube Stop was named after a device for putting a cork in a bottle.  The bottle is put in a leather bag (the boot) that holds the bottle and then a wooden flogger bangs the cork into the bottle. This is one of the few pubs in London that only serves wine and port an absolutely no beer.

The Old Bull and Bush is a play on the words “Boulogne Bouche.”  The original name marked the victory of King Henry VIII at Boulogne mouth Harbour in 1542 that led to France’s King Francis I recognizing Henry as the head of the Church of England.  This pub is at the Golders Green Tube on Northend Road and was established in 1721.

The Lamb and Falge on Rose Street at the Tube Stop Convent Garden refers to a common religious symbol from the Gospel of St. John.  The lamb holds the red cross flag that represented the Resurrection of Christ and the Crusaders long before it became the emblem of the flag of England.

Other weird pub names include The Dog and Duck, The Bleeding Heart Tavern, Hen and Chickens, the Black Griffin, Eagle and Child, Olde Man and Scythe and the Man on the Moon. It is also interesting to note that six of the tube stations on the London Underground are named after Pubs including Swiss Cottage, Manor House, Angel, Royal Oak and Elephant & Castle.