Names of licenced premises
Premises licenced to sell alcohol were given names for a variety of reasons. Most inns, taverns and pubs had official names, but most beer houses did not, although they probably had popular local names.
Pub signs in Britain
English / Welsh Names
Most licenced premises in Wales originally had English names, but it is possible that they were known by Welsh names locally. There are several possible explanations for the general use of English names for Licenced Premises in Wales:
o Licenced premises had to be licenced, and the legal language was English.
o Travellers who did not speak Welsh and who needed to use licenced premises for refreshments and accommodation might have felt more confident about entering an inn with an English name.
Surveys of tithe and other early large scale maps which record field names have shown that almost the only English names which appear on them are pub or former or possible pub names.
A very few pubs appear to have had Welsh names originally e.g. Crwe y Lili (near New Quay).
There are also a number of pubs which are now known as Tafarn followed by a descriptive, place or personal name e.g. Tafarn Bach, Tafarn Maria, Tafarn y Bont, Tafarn y Gors, Tafarndy Inn. These might have been the original or local name for some of these pubs, but in some cases, they have now replaced an English name.
Other examples of pubs which now have recently been given Welsh names are Y Ffarmers (The Farmers), Y Llong (The Boat), Yr Hen Llew Du (The Old Black Lion) and Y Cwps (The Coopers).
It is interesting to note that very few inns or pubs are named after Welsh themes. There were no Red Dragon pubs in Ceredigion but there is a Druid Inn and a Harp Inn.
Duplicate names
In a few rare cases there were pubs with the same name in the same place at the same time – this can be confirmed by checking published lists such as trade directories and the 1905 list of licenced premises.
In other cases, a pub might have closed and the name reused for a new one.
It is also possible that some of the entries in various original documents and lists are incorrect, or that they have given a different address to that on other sources (this especially occurs when a pub is on the corner of two streets).
‘Old’ and ‘New’
In a few cases, a pub name was prefaced with ‘New’ or ‘Old’, presumably to distinguish it from a nearby pub of the same name.
Inns called ‘New Inn’ are often found on main roads between towns where new facilities for travellers were created. In at least one place in Ceredigion, the name of the Inn also became the name for the place where it was built.
Pub names may be categorised under the following headings:
Landowners
Animals and Birds
Religious Symbols
Places
Location
Occupations
People
Boats
Railway
Royalty
Events
Miscellaneous
LAND OWNERS
Some inns and pubs were named after the coat of arms of prominent landowners.
Pryse of Gogerddan
A Black Lion appeared on the coat arms of the Pryse family of Gogerddan who owned many thousands of acres of land in Ceredigion, mostly in the north. They owned land within the former walled area of Aberystwyth, and they thought they had rights over the governance of the town. There are several pubs in Ceredigion called the Gogerddan Arms. In the village of Llanbadarn Fawr, there are two pubs on opposite sides of the road, once called the Black Lion, the other called the Gogerddan Arms.
Webley Arms. This name is linked to the Pryse family of Gogerddan.
Powells of Nanteos
Talbot Inn (Aberystwyth and Tregaron)
Nanteos Arms
Johnes of Hafod
Hafod Arms (at Devil’s Bridge, near Hafod)
The Earls of Lisburne, originally the Vaughan family of Trawscoed (Crosswood).
Lisburne Arms
Gwynne family of Aberaeron
Owned the Monachty Estate, near Aberaeron
Monachty Arms.
ANIMALS AND BIRDS
Bear
Black Cock
Bull
Dolphin
Eagle
Falcon
Fat Ox
[Fox]
o Cross Foxes From the coat of arms of the Watkin Wynn family of north Wales, especially Wynnstay.
Greyhound
[Horse]
o Black Horse
o White Horse From the arms of the House of Hanover (George I onwards). Some people wanted to show that they supported the new Royal Dynasty.
Lion
o Lions appear on many coats of arms and ‘Red Lion’ is one of the most common pub names in Britain.
o Lion
o Black Lion
o Golden Lion
o Red Lion
o White Lion
Unicorn
Welsh Black
White Swan
RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS
Angel
Lamb
Pelican
White Hart
The White Hart was the livery badge of Richard II. A law passed during his reign insisted that inns and public houses displayed a sign (or ‘arms’)
PLACES
There are a few inns named after the place in which they are situated, but some are named after distant places. For example, in Cardigan there are the following: Emlyn (presumably after Newcastle Emlyn); Fishguard Arms; Newport Arms (possibly after Newport in Pembrokeshire as Fishguard is); Liverpool Arms.
Lloyd Jack Arms (Pubs in Aberaeron and Ystrad Aeron, named after a farm in Ystrad Aeron)
LOCATION
Bridge End Arms
Castle Arms
Central Hotel
Cross Inn
Half Way Inn
Mill Inn
Market Tavern
Pier
Tollgate
OCCUPATIONS
Butcher’s Arms
Carpenter’s Arms
Coachbuilder’s Arms
Cooper’s
Drover’s Arms
Farmer’s Arms
Plough
Fisher’s Arms
Freemason’s Tavern
Harbourmaster
Lime Kiln Arms
Miner’s Arms
Plasterer’s Arms
Poacher’s Pocket
Sadler’s
Sailor’s
Jolly Sailor
Three Mariners
Crown and Anchor
Fish and Anchor
Hope and Anchor
Ship and Castle
Shipwright’s
Skinner’s
Sportsman
Tanners
PEOPLE
Alfred Noyes
Downie’s Vaults
George Borrow
Gronwy
Wellington
BOATS
Cadwgan
Gambia
Ship
RAILWAY
Cambrian
Railway
Terminus
ROYALTY
Crown Inn
Feathers
King’s
King’s Head
Oak?
Prince Albert
Prince of Wales
Queen’s
Rose and Crown
Royal Arms
Royal Oak
Victoria
EVENTS
Waterloo
MISCELLANEOUS
Bell Vue
TYPE
Commercial
Tourists
OTHERS
Albion
Ancient Briton
Bell
Blue Bell
Blue Anchor
Bunch of Grapes
Coach and Horses
Druid Inn
Fountain
Fox Hounds
Friendship Inn
Glebe
Globe
Half Moon
Ivy Bush (an ancient sign for public houses)
Nag’s Head
Square and Compass
St George
Star
Swan
Names starting with "Three" are often based on the arms of a London Livery company or trade guild:
Three Bridges
Three Cranes
Three Horseshoes (and at least one example of the ‘Three Horse Shoe’)
(The Worshipful Company of Farriers)
Three Mariners
Three Tuns (The Brewers and the Worshipful Company of Vintners)
