London Pub Signs – The Marquess of Anglesey

While it’s said there’s been a public house on this site since 1682, the name of the current premises on the corner of Bow and Russell Streets in Covent Garden came much later.

Originally two premises which have now merged together, the pub takes its name from Henry Paget, an 18th and 19th military man who was most famous for his role as cavalry commander at the Battle of Waterloo.

Paget, whose leg had to be amputated after the battle after he was struck by a cannon ball in the closing stages, was created Marquess of Anglesey just two weeks later in thanks for his service. He subsequently served in government roles after the battle, including as Lord High Steward of England and, (for the second time) as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

His private life was as colourful as his career – he had eight children by his first wife, Lady Caroline Villiers, before eloping with the Duke of Wellington’s sister in law, Lady Charlotte Cadogan, with whom he had a further 10 children.

For more on the pub, take a look at its website at www.themarquess.co.uk.

For a great book on London’s pubs, take a look at London’s Best Pubs: A Guide to London’s Most Interesting & Unusual Pubs.

London Pub Signs – The John Snow

Located on the corner of Broadwick and Lexington Streets in Soho, this pub is named for the man who, through his meticulous research, was able to show that London’s cholera epidemic of 1854 was the result of a contaminated water supply.

A physician then working in London, John Snow didn’t believe in the current theory that diseases such as cholera were caused by bad air and instead, through a study looking at where those affected by the disease in 1854 lived and obtained their water, was able to pinpoint a water pump in what was then Broad Street (the ‘wick’ wasn’t added to the street’s name until the 1930s) as the original source.

The pump, which initially apparently stood just outside the pub, is now located down the street. A pink granite curbstone outside the side door of the John Snow pub and plaque on the pub wall mark where the pump formerly stood.

The building housing the pub dates from the 1870s and the pub was apparently initially called the Newcastle-upon-Tyne but this was formally changed to John Snow in May, 1955, to mark the centenary of Snow’s research into the 1854 epidemic.

For a terrific book about John Snow’s work, see Steven Johnson’s The Ghost Map: A Street, an Epidemic and the Hidden Power of Urban Networks.

London Pub Signs – The Old Dr Butler’s Head

Once one of a number of pubs named after King James I’s odd court physician, Dr William Butler, the pub is now the last in the city to bear his image on  a sign.

Bearing the sign of Dr Butler’s head apparently meant it was among an exclusive number of pubs which offered the good doctor’s ‘medicinal ale’. According to ‘Historic Food‘, this was apparently made by hanging a thin canvas bag containing senna, polypody of oak, agrimony, maidenhair and scurvy grass in a barrel of strong ale, making what some have said would result in a strong laxative.

One couldn’t be blamed for being somewhat sceptical without even knowing the ingredients – other ‘cures’ the good doctor came up with included dropping patients suffering nervous disorders through a trapdoor on London Bridge into the Thames and firing pistols near someone to ‘scare away’ their epilepsy.

The pub, located at 2 Mason’s Avenue off Coleman Street in Moorgate, is said to have been originally built in 1610 and had to be rebuilt after the Great Fire of London. It’s since been renovated several times.

For more on the pub, see www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pub/moorgate/old-doctor-butlers-head.aspx.

London Pub Signs – The Mayflower

Located on the Thames waterfront in Rotherhithe, The Mayflower’s history is intertwined with that of the more famous ship of the same name.

For it was from a quay near the pub (then named The Shippe) that in July, 1620, Captain Christopher Jones embarked upon the vessel, The Mayflower, and set sail for Southampton to load supplies before boarding the Pilgrim Fathers and making the journey to what is now the United States of America, landing in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on 21st December of that year.

Captain Jones was to return to Rotherhithe the following year and died shortly after. He and the ship’s co-owners are buried in an unmarked grave in the nearby churchyard of St Mary’s where a modern monument to Jones has been erected.

The pub, meanwhile, was rebuilt the following century – in 1780 – and renamed the Spread Eagle and Crown. It took on the name of Mayflower following a restoration in 1957, thanks to its associations with the historic voyage of The Mayflower.

Now part of the Greene King family of pubs, inside the building features oak beams and wooden panelling and boasts fine views of the Thames from an outside deck.

What’s in a name? Swiss Cottage…

Tucked away near St John’s Wood, to the north-west of the city, is the curiously named enclave of Swiss Cottage.

The origins of the name are fairly self-explanatory – the area is said to have been named for the tavern which, styled as a Swiss chalet, stands at its heart, by the junction of Finchley New Road and Avenue Road.

The first tavern on the site – called The Swiss Tavern and later named Ye Olde Swiss Cottage – is said to date from 1803-04 and stood on land formerly occupied by a toll house. The current building dates from the 1960s, however.

A nearby railway station took the name of Swiss Cottage when the trains first arrived in 1868 – it was later replaced by the Swiss Cottage underground station which now stands opposite.

London Pub Signs – The London Apprentice

Sitting on the bank of the Thames at Old Isleworth in the city’s west stands The London Apprentice public house.

The pub’s licence dates back to at least 1731 and it has been associated with the likes of such luminaries as King Henry VIII (it’s suggested he met Catherine Howard here – she was later imprisoned in nearby Syon House), King Charles I and King Charles II (the latter apparently cavorted with his mistress, actress Nell Gwynne, here), as well as the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey and Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell.

Others whose names come up in reference to the pub include the ever-present author Charles Dickens (this is said to have been one his favorite pubs) and notorious highwayman Dick Turpin.

While there remain some doubts over its origins, the name of the pub – which stands opposite the small isle known as the Isleworth Ait – is said to stem from the fact that it was here that London apprentices, having faithfully served their masters, came to while away the hours in their downtime. They are said to have entertained themselves by playing about in decorated barges on the river.

There is said to be a tunnel, now blocked, which links the pub with the nearby All Saint’s Church – the story goes that this was used by smugglers to get their contraband into the pub’s cellars.

For more information or to pay a visit, see www.thelondonapprentice.co.uk.

London Pub Signs – The Queen’s Larder

In the first of an occasional series looking at the story behind some of London’s pub signs, we take a look at The Queen’s Larder in Queen Square, Bloomsbury.

The origins of the pub go back to the early 18th century – around 1710 – when there was known to be an alehouse on the site now occupied by the tavern. The story goes that as King George III (aka the ‘Mad King George’ depicted in the film of the same name) began to be affected by mental illness he was brought to a house in Queen Square where he stayed and was treated by a Dr Willis.

While he was undergoing this treatment – which was apparently initially successful, his wife Queen Charlotte rented an underground cellar below the alehouse and there stored some of the king’s favorite delicacies.

When a tavern was later built on the site, it was named The Queen’s Larder in honor of the role it had played in providing a storehouse for his treats.

The square itself contains a statue which was believed to be of Queen Anne – after whom the square was renamed (it had previously been known as Devonshire Square) – but it is now thought that the statue may in fact be of Queen Charlotte.