Inns, public houses and hotels have their origins in the middle ages when inns were maintained by the local monastic houses to provide hospitality to travellers. Most towns and villages were largely self-sufficient and the population, excepting in times of warfare, was largely static with few people leaving the place of their birth except for those whose occupation required ravel such as merchants, tinkers, drovers, etc. The single great exception to this was the "pilgrimage" to one of the many holy shrines and it was these pilgrims which the medieval inns largely catered for.
The naming of pubs and inns dates back to Roman times. The pub sign owes its origin to the fact that for most of our history very few in the population could read or write. The naming of public houses and inns had become common by the 12th century and, in 1393 King Richard II passed an act making it compulsory for public houses and inns to bear a sign which would identify them to the Beer Taster, a parish official charged with ensuring the quality of the ale sold there.
The Lamb and Flag is thought to date back as far as the 4th century; the lamb is associated with John the Baptist who referred to Jesus as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world", the flag bore the cross and the lamb holding the cross was a symbol of the Church and thus a popular sign of many of the inns maintained by the monasteries.
Before the Reformation of the 16th century, the signs of many inns had religious themes such as "The Lamb and Flag" mentioned above. When King Henry VIII (1509-1547) split from the Roman Catholic Church, the religious themes of many inns were changed to royal ones such as "The Crown".
King James VI of Scotland (1567-1625) became King James I of England (1603-1625) on the death of the last Tudor monarch, Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) without an heir to succeed her to the throne. His symbol was the "Red Lion of Scotland" which he ordered to be displayed on all buildings of public importance, including inns. "The Red Lion" has become one of the most common pub names.
The Restoration of the monarchy in May 1660 in the person of King Charles II (1660-1685) heralded the end of the Puritan severity which which had dominated every aspect of life during the Commonwealth (1649-1660) when Parliament ruled the country without a monarch. In celebration of the return of the monarchy, "The Royal Oak" became, and probably remains, one of the most common pub names in England.
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Supported by the Covenanters, Prince Charles landed in Scotland and was crowned King of the Scots in 1650. After his defeated at the battle of Worcester in 1651, he hid to evade capture by the Parliamentary forces and almost certain execution in an oak tree, the "Boscobel Oak" (named because of its proximity to Boscobel House), before making his escape to Europe.
After the Restoration, the oak which had sheltered the refugee monarch became his popular symbol and his Restoration in 1660 became celebrated every May by the wearing of an oak sprig and the decoration of buildings, particularly public buildings such as inns and pubs, with oak barnches.
In the south, the anniversary of the Restoration of Charles II was celebrated, particularly by children, as "Shick-Shack Day" after the oak apples known locally as "Shick-Shacks".
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"The Victoria" or "The Queen Victoria" is another popular pub name which honours Queen Victoria, at sixty four years, Britain's longest reigning monarch (1837-1901).
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A list of local public houses is available in the "Locally" section of all pages dealing with places on this site.
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