A pub is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in the late 17th century, to differentiate private houses from those open to the public as alehouses, taverns and inns. Today, there is no strict definition, but CAMRA states a pub has four characteristics:
- is open to the public without membership or residency
- serves draught beer or cider without requiring food be consumed
- has at least one indoor area not laid out for meals
- allows drinks to be bought at a bar
The White Hart was the personal badge of Richard II, who probably derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent", heiress of Edmund of Woodstock. It may also have been a pun on his name, as in "Rich-hart". In the Wilton Diptych, which is the earliest authentic contemporary portrait of an English king, Richard II wears a gold and enamelled white hart jewel, and even the angels surrounding the Virgin Mary all wear white hart badges. In English Folklore, the white hart is associated with Herne the Hunter.
Pub names are used to identify and differentiate traditional drinking establishments. Many pubs are centuries old, and were named at a time when most of their customers were illiterate, but could recognise pub signs. The use of signage was not confined to drinking establishments. British pubs may be named after and depict anything from everyday objects, to sovereigns, aristocrats and landowners. Other names come from historic events, livery companies, occupations, sports, and craftsmen's guilds. One of the most common pub names is the Red Lion. This list contains both modern and historical examples.
Morland was an English brewery founded in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, and was brewing beer industrially by 1711. It was the second oldest brewer in England up until it was bought by Greene King in 2000. Morland's beers include Hen's Tooth, Old Speckled Hen, Tanner's Jack and Morland's Original.
Milton-under-Wychwood is an English village and civil parish about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Burford, Oxfordshire, just off the A361 road between Burford and Chipping Norton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,648.
South Leigh is a village and civil parish on Limb Brook, a small tributary of the River Thames, about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) east of Witney in Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 336.
Carpenters Arms is a common British pub name.
A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves food of a similar quality to a restaurant. The term was coined in the 1990s in the United Kingdom, though similar pubs already existed.
The Pride of Spitalfields is a public house at 3 Heneage Street in Spitalfields in the East End of London, just off Brick Lane. It was associated with a Jack the Ripper suspect.
The Yorkshire Grey was a common name for public houses in England, some still survive but most have now closed or changed their name. They were named for the Yorkshire Grey Horse, a breed commonly used to pull brewery drays.
The Harp is a public house at 47 Chandos Place, Covent Garden, London, WC2N 4HS.
The Montcalm Hotels are a group of luxury hotels in Central London, England.
The Coachmakers Arms is a former pub at 135 King Street, Hammersmith, London.
The Mercers' Arms was a pub at 17 Mercer Street, in London's Covent Garden, at the corner with Shelton Street. It closed as a pub in about 1973, and is now a private dining club.
The Denbigh Arms is a former pub at 3 Denbigh Place, Pimlico, London, England, SW1.
The Rose and Crown is a former pub at 8 Stroudley Walk, Bow, London E3.
The Markham Arms is a former pub at 138 King's Road, London SW3. It closed as a pub in the early 1990s, and is now a branch of the Santander bank.
The Princess Victoria is a public house and former gin palace on the Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush, London W12. First opened in 1829, it closed in June 2017 when its parent company, Affinity Bars and Restaurants, became insolvent, but re-opened in November 2017 under new operators Three Cheers Pub Company.
The Montague Arms was a music venue located at 289 Queens Road, in the Telegraph Hill ward of Lewisham, on the borders of Peckham and New Cross in south-east London from 1967 until 2018. The pub venue was known for its eccentric decor; which included old fishing-boat lights, a 19th Century carriage containing a stuffed zebra, and an old diving suit.
