The Trade Signs of Essex / A popular account of the origin and meanings of the public houses & other signs

To this, Mr. J. A. Sparvel-Bayly, of Billericay, wrote (1879, p. 58):—

In reply to this, Mr. W. Phillips (p. 338) stated that—

From the foregoing, it is clear that there were formerly two pairs of bones set up near together; indeed, Mr. J. Perry distinctly says there were. One pair has now entirely disappeared. The other pair still stand (although S. P. seems to have overlooked them), as described, over the entrance of an adjoining house, known to this day as “Whalebone House” or “Lodge,” and marked as such in local directories. There is also in the immediate vicinity a “Whalebone Farm,” as well as a “Whalebone Lane.” The bones (of which an illustration is here given) are of the following dimensions:—

If, as seems probable, the bones are those of the Greenland whale (Balœna mysticetus), it is extremely unlikely that the creature which owned them was ever stranded in the Thames. The following letter from Prof. W. H. Flower, F.R.S., is of much interest. He says—

Larwood and Hotten, in common with nearly all heraldic writers, innocently treat of whales and dolphins as fishes, as they were commonly supposed to be in the Middle Ages. A writer in All the Year Round, so lately as the year 1879, commits the same absurd error.

It will here be necessary to ask pardon of modern men of science for discussing, under the heading “Zoology,” certain monstrous beasts which, though unknown to us in these enlightened times, were accredited with a material existence by the ancient heralds, and others who wrote in the dark days of several centuries ago. Such imaginary creatures as dragons, griffins, unicorns, and the like, are, of course, here referred to.

The Dragon in his own proper colour (whatever that may be) does not occur in the county; but we have four examples of the Green Dragon, situated respectively at Shenfield, Black Notley, *Saffron Walden, and Waltham Abbey. Sixty years ago there were also Green Dragons at *Colchester and elsewhere. It is very easy to account for the origin of the use of the Dragon as a sign, but it is not so easy to say why he should so often be green. The Green Dragon, however, has been a common sign for over two centuries. As the badge and supporter of the arms of many of our sovereigns, he was generally red, though occasionally black or golden. The Dragon appeared on the standard of the Saxons, and was used as a badge by several early Princes of Wales. It formed one or other of the supporters of the arms of Henry VII., and of all the Tudor sovereigns except Queen Mary. It appears also in the heraldic bearings of many private families. There can, therefore, be very little doubt as to its heraldic derivation, although it was formerly used as a chemist’s sign, in which case its origin was probably non-heraldic. Perhaps, as the Rev. H. L. Elliot writes, the strange colour in which this monster usually appears on sign-boards is due to the fact that a Green Dragon, holding in his mouth a bloody hand, was a badge of William Herbert, Lord Steward, created Earl of Pembroke in the time of Edward VI. The George and Dragon is a sign which occurs eight times in Essex. This very common sign has increased greatly in popularity since the institution of the Order of the Garter, of which a representation of St. George killing a dragon forms the pendant; but the fact that several of our recent kings have borne the name of George has no doubt had a good deal to do with its adoption. The legendary act of St. George, the patron-saint of England, is alluded to in the following amusing little rhyme:—

A representation of St. George killing the Dragon appears on the token issued by J. Lark of Coggeshall in 1667.[69]

There are also in Essex three examples of the sign of the Griffin, situated respectively at Great Canfield, Halstead, and Danbury. The Griffin at Danbury, an ancient and well-known inn, is mentioned in the Chelmsford Chronicle on May 9, 1788. It is also several times prominently alluded to (ii. p. 174, iii. pp. 130 and 144, and iv. p. 66) in Mr. Joseph Strutt’s Essex and Herts Romance of Queenhoo Hall, published in 1808. Although in former ages people firmly believed in the existence of griffins, the animal has never yet been seen except in Heraldry. Consequently it is only natural to assign the origin of its use as a sign to that art; but griffins appear upon the escutcheons of so many families that it is now quite impossible to say in whose honour it made its first appearance upon the sign-board.

The Unicorn appears as a public-house sign at West Ham and at Romford. At the latter place the house is situated in Hare Street, and is at least a century old, as it is mentioned in the Chelmsford Chronicle for March 2, 1787. A unicorn rampant is depicted on the farthing tokens of William Alldred of Colchester, and a unicorn passant on those of “Will. Anger of Mvch Clafton [? Clacton] in Esex, 1654.” The original use of the Unicorn as an inn-sign may be attributed to the fact that it was formerly a common chemist’s sign, and is one of the supporters of the arms of the Apothecaries’ Company, or to the fact that it now forms the sinister supporter of the Royal Arms. Much interesting information as to the ancient belief in its existence, and the power of its horn as an antidote to all poison, is given in the History of Sign-boards.

CHAPTER IV.

ORNITHOLOGICAL SIGNS.

The Eagle appears in one form or another on nineteen Essex sign-boards. On seven occasions a simple Eagle is intended. Twenty years ago, however, there were but three. Ten times the sign of the Spread Eagle occurs, and the same device is depicted on the tokens issued by John Millbank of Colchester in 1665, and by Samuel Wall of Witham in 1668. The Spread Eagle at Harwich, which is a house still extant, is referred to in the issue of the Chelmsford Chronicle for March 31, 1786. At Little Bardfield a carved and gilded Spread Eagle is set up on the top of a post before the inn. The sign is truly heraldic, inasmuch as the bird does not seem to require to use its legs, but stands upon its tail. In the Chelmsford Chronicle for March 2, 1787, there appears an advertisement stating that a “Main of Cocks” was to be fought on the 7th of that month at the *Spread Eagle in Prittlewell, between the Gentlemen of that place and the Gentlemen of Great Wakering. Eagles occur so frequently in Heraldry that there can be no doubt whence the sign of the Eagle is derived; and the fact that the bird is, more often than not, described as “spread,” goes far to confirm its heraldic derivation. An eagle was displayed upon the ensign of the Roman emperors, and has since formed one of the chief

cognizances of the sovereigns of Germany, Russia, Prussia, Austria, France, &c. Edward III. bore a crowned eagle as his crest, and Henry IV. adopted a spread eagle as one of his badges. The bird is also of very frequent occurrence in the armorial bearings of private families. The Eagle at Snaresbrook is a well-known old hostelry, and is a very favourite Bank Holiday resort of “ ‘Arry and ‘Arriet” from the East End of London. The Eagle and Child, which is to be seen at Shenfield and Forest Gate, is not uncommon elsewhere, and will be at once recognized as the crest of the Stanleys, Earls of Derby, which represents an eagle carrying off a child, as told in the well-known legend,[70] and as here depicted. In a curious collection of miscellanea relating to signs formed by a Mr. G. Creed, and now preserved in the British Museum, it is stated that in the parlour of the last-named inn there is (or was in 1850) framed “a MS. bit of Doggrell,” commencing as follows:—

The Essex Flats too Knowing for the Yorkshire Sharps.

The rest of the poem, which is long, does not merit reproduction. This house is marked on Jean Roque’s Map of Ten Miles round London, published in 1741. The Falcon occurs three times, namely, at Southend, Littlebury, and Wivenhoe. Twenty years ago one of these figured in the list as the New Falcon, and sixty years since there was another in the High Street at *Braintree. A farthing token showing a bird holding a sceptre, and issued by “John Parker at the Falken in Wevenhoe,” is described by Boyne. Taylor (see p. 28) also mentions this Parker in 1636. As the sign of the Falcon still exists at Wivenhoe it is probably the same house kept more than two centuries ago by John Parker, especially as the same house is mentioned again in an advertisement in the Chelmsford Chronicle for January 13, 1786. At the end of last century there was an inn with the sign of the Falcon close against the Cross at Waltham. Two illustrations of it, published respectively in 1787 and 1791, are preserved in Mr. Creed’s collection. They show the sign-board (a pictorial one, inscribed with the name of the landlord—Sibley) suspended from a beam which extends across the road. Above this beam is hung a bunch of grapes within an iron frame, as here shown. The sign has now been altered to that of the Great Eastern.

The Old Falcon Inn, which formerly existed at Castle Hedingham, though now reduced to a mere beer-shop, was once evidently a very good house. Its beams and rafters are very massive, and bear the crest and badge of the Earls of Oxford, like not a few other old houses in the vicinity. The sign is probably identical with that of the Hawk, which occurs at Battles Bridge. Its origin may have been the ancient sport of hawking; but, more probably, it has an heraldic derivation. A falcon volant forms part of the arms of the Stationers’ Company, and it was probably adopted by booksellers on this account. Both Edward III. and Richard II. used a falcon as one of their badges, and the Falcon holding a Sceptre, which, as just mentioned, existed at Wivenhoe in the seventeenth century, was presumably derived from one of the badges of Queen Elizabeth, a falcon crowned, holding a sceptre. It is, however, by no means improbable that the particular instance of the sign of the Falcon in Falcon Square, Castle Hedingham (which happens to be triangular!), may be a relic of the ancient family of the Hawkwoods, who resided in the adjoining parish of Sible Hedingham. Sir John Hawkwood, the famous soldier who became so prominent in the Italian wars of the fourteenth century, was buried in Florence, but upon the beautiful crocketted canopy of the monument erected to him in the south aisle of Sible Hedingham Church, his badge (?), a Hawk or Falcon, is carved several times, with other devices.

The Swan, including several variations in colour, &c., is a very common Essex sign, and appears in thirty-eight different places; while, forty or fifty years ago, it seems to have been even commoner. Thirty-two times he occurs as a simple Swan; at Harwich he appears as a New Swan; at Rayne and Roydon (where he is at least one hundred years old) as a Black Swan; at Chelmsford as an Old Swan; and at Epping and West Ham as a White Swan. The Swan now existing at Brentwood is, apparently, at least a century old, as it is mentioned in the Chelmsford Chronicle on March 24, 1786. The fondness of the bird for liquid (though of a purer kind than that usually supplied at public-houses) is said to have been the reason for its very common adoption as a public-house sign; but the custom is equally likely to have had an heraldic origin. Kings Henry IV. and V. both used a swan among other badges, and the same device formed part of the coat of arms of the De Bohun and other families. The annexed wood-cut of the swan proper, ducally gorged and chained or, which formed the badge of the De Bohuns, is taken from the central spandrel of the canopy of the brass in Westminster Abbey to Alianore De Bohun, Duchess of Gloucester, who died in 1399. It is also very probable that the white swan which formed the badge of the great De Mandevilles, once Earls of Essex, has had something to do with the abundance of this sign in the county. In Tavern Anecdotes (p. 241) it is stated that in 1825 the landlord of the *Swan at Stratford recommended the charms of his house in the following poetic strain:—

In Mr. Chas. Golding’s List of Essex Tokens,[71] pieces inscribed “Abel Bond at y^e White [Swan] in Stratford, His Halfe Penny,” and “John Chandler [a Swan] in Stratford, J. C.” are mentioned. The still-existing Swan at Baythorn End, Birdbrook, appears to be over two centuries old. In the parish register is the following entry: “Martha Blewitt, y^e wife of nine husbands successively, buried eight of y^m, but last of all y^e woman dy’d allsoe, was bury’d May 7th, 1681.” A slab in the Church shows that Martha Blewitt was landlady of the above inn.

In Cromwell’s Excursions through Essex (i. p. 17) it is stated that “The Swan, a very large and famous inn, anciently stood in the road near the farm called Shakestones.” The view of Romford given in Wright’s History of Essex (1831, ii. p. 435) shows the graven sign of the White Swan Inn, projecting from the front of the building exactly as it does now. It appears from an old Manor Roll[72] that in 1572 there was a “tenement called the Swan”—not necessarily an inn—in Coggeshall. The sign still exists there—namely, in East Street—though possibly not at the same house. It is, however, again mentioned in 1678 in Bufton’s Diary.[73] Mr. King finds mention in ancient deeds of a Swan—either inn, shop, or tenement—at Prittlewell in 1652. In the Records of the House of Gurney (p. 539) there is mention of “a messuage or tenement heretofore called or known by the name or sign of the Swan, situate in the parish of St. Mary, Maldon,” in the seventeenth century. Perhaps the *Swan Inn still existing in the High Street is the same house. In 1678 there was a Black Swan at or near Audley End. Poor Robin (see p. 66) mentions it in his Perambulation from Saffron Walden to London. After his acquaintances had drunk heavily with him at the Rose and Crown, Saffron Walden, whence he started, he says—

Of the well-known Old Four Swans at Waltham Cross Mr. E. Walford, in Greater London (vol. i. p. 393), writes as follows:—

David Hughson, in his work on London (vol. ii. p. 339), says of this house, that in 1805 it was a good specimen of the old style of house, “consisting of three sides, sometimes of four, with an entrance by a square aperture in the front, into the quadrangle.... It is the manor-house of the manor of Theobalds, and was formerly the residence of a natural son of Henry VIII., whom he created Earl of Richmond.” In the parish register of Waltham Holy Cross, or Waltham Abbey, there is the following entry: “Julii, 1612, Margarett, the daughter of Edward Scarlett of Cestrehunt, was buried 26 daye, dwelling at the signe of Ye Old Swanne in Waltham Cross.” In days gone by this inn was a well-known posting-house, and more recently it numbered Charles Lamb among its patrons. The Swan with Two Necks was formerly the sign of a private house in Head Street, Colchester, once occupied by Miles Gray, the celebrated bell-founder. In his day he was quite the head of his craft. Bells founded either by him or his son and successor Miles, who died in 1686, are still found in many belfries throughout Essex. In his will, dated May 17, 1649,[74] he bequeaths unto his wife Dorothy all the “rents, issues, p’fits, cominge, growinge, and arisinge out of the east end of the capitall messuage or tenement, lately burned downe, scituate and beinge below Head Gate, in Colchester aforesayd, commonly called or knowne by the name of the Swann w^th two Neckes,” &c. It is commonly supposed that the word “necks” has been corrupted from “nicks,” swans having formerly been marked by nicks or notches on the bill. The Rev. Stephen Weston, in the Archæologia for 1812, states that the king’s swans were formerly marked by two nicks, as shown in the two illustrations given below, which represent the royal swan-marks of Henry VIII. and Edward IV. respectively. These, he says, were not afterwards understood, and the double-headed two-necked swan was invented. Larwood and Hotten, however, doubt this derivation, chiefly because the nicks would have been so small when represented on the sign-board as to be of no practical use as a distinctive sign.

The Cock is a very ancient and very common sign. Larwood and Hotten say that it was already in use in the time of the Romans. We have no less than eighteen examples of the simple Cock, and an Old Cock occurs at Sheering. The ancient and well-known Cock Hotel at Epping finds frequent mention in the numbers of the Chelmsford Chronicle for the year 1786. Taylor (see p. 28) also mentions it by name as long ago as 1636. It is a very old house, though now re-fronted with brick. The Rev. Wm. Cole, in his voluminous MSS. in the British Museum, says that on the 26th of October, 1774, he “arrived at Epping in the dusk of the evening, and lodged and dined late at the Cock Inn.” The Cock Inn still existing at Stock is several times mentioned in the parish registers, namely, in 1634, 1639, and 1693. On the latter occasion, “a stranger who died at the Cock, being a poor man, was buried by the constables, November 20.” The Cocke Inn at Great Coggeshall (not now existing) was once a house of good standing. In 1614 James I. granted it to Henry Eades, and in 1616 to Peregrine Gastrell and Ralph Lounds.[75] Not improbably in this case the sign was derived from the arms of the Abbey of Coggeshall.[76] The Cock, near the Church at Waltham Abbey, is a very ancient inn. It finds frequent mention in the old parish registers. The marriage of John Broadly, of the Cock Inn, is recorded as early as February, 1599. In 1662 there was a Cock at Chelmsford, which does not appear to be in existence now. It is mentioned as being “on the hither side of the bridge” (i.e., the side nearest to Romford) in the Account of the Murder of Thomas Kidderminster, already referred to. This was probably the same inn mentioned by Foxe in his Book of Martyrs when he says that “one Richard Potto the elder, an inn-holder, dwelling at the sign of the Cocke, did much trouble” George Eagles, who was martyred in 1557. For the prevalence of this sign we have probably to thank the barbarous old custom of cock-fighting, as is obvious in the case of the sign of the Fighting Cocks, which occurs at Little Sampford and Wendens Ambo, and the Game Cock at Chadwell Heath. But the cock is also by no means an uncommon heraldic bearing, and several combinations into which the bird enters have probably had an heraldic origin. For instance, the sign of the Cock and Crown, which existed at Colchester forty years back, may have represented one of the badges of Henry VIII., which was a white cock crowned, with the cypher H.R. The same king also often used a white cock crowned, as one of his supporters. At the same time it may simply have been an impaled sign of very modern date. In any case it is very rare. The Cock and Bell, which appears at High Easter, Writtle, and *Romford, is an apparently meaningless sign, and is probably an impalement. The last-named example seems, however, to have been in existence for at least a century, as it is mentioned in an advertisement in the Chelmsford Chronicle for September 14, 1764. In Wright’s History of Essex the inn itself is depicted. Taylor, too, probably refers to this house in his Catalogue of Tavernes when he mentions a Cock at Romford in 1636. The example at Writtle has an old pictorial sign-board representing a resplendent, though faded, cock, with a bell over his head. The Cock and Magpie, which has existed since 1789 at least on Epping Green, is probably called after a celebrated London tavern of the same name. The sign is identical in its origin with that of the Cock and Pie. By the latter name is known some wine and spirit vaults of repute which for over a century have been established on *North Hill, Colchester. Several more or less likely meanings for the sign have been suggested, but the authors of the History of Sign-boards consider it to be a corrupted sign. They believe that it originally represented the Peacock Pie, formerly a very favourite dish. When the dish went out of fashion the sign became abbreviated into the Cock and Pie; and as that appeared meaningless, it was in time corrupted into the Cock and Magpie, in both of which forms we still have it. Forty years ago the sign of the Magpie existed at Great Warley, and there is now a Peacock at Canning Town. A rebus upon the name of the issuer, Richard Cock of Colchester, occurs on a farthing token dated 1658. The Raven as a sign is found at Berden. It was a badge of the old Scotch kings, and may have been set up as a Jacobite symbol. The Blackbirds, which occurs at Bulmer, and the Three Blackbirds, which occurs at Leyton, are, doubtless, two signs which were identical in their origin, and are probably connected with the Raven, the Three Ravens, the Three Crows, and the Three Choughs, all of which are fairly common in other counties, and are supposed by Larwood and Hotten to typify Charles, James, and Rupert. It is, however, just as likely that they represent the modern version of some family coat of arms. Many such coats bear three birds, which might, with almost equal correctness, be referred to any of the species just mentioned. Various doves and pigeons have already been spoken of (p. 38), but there still remains to be mentioned the curious sign of the Rainbow and Dove, which is to be found at North Weald. In the list of signs in 1789 (p. 7) it appears as the Rainbow merely. The sign is apparently quite meaningless, unless it typifies the rainbow and dove which figure in the account of “the Flood” (Genesis, chaps. viii. and ix.). The Nightingale at Wanstead is another inn-sign which does not seem to be mentioned by Larwood and Hotten. It is at least forty years old, and, doubtless, takes its name from, or gives its name to, Nightingale Square, in which it stands. The sign of the Owl, which has existed at High Beech since 1789 at least, is spoken of in the History of Sign-boards as occurring only once elsewhere, namely, at Calverley, near Leeds. A bird (presumably a Finch) occurs on the halfpenny token of John Finch of Halstead, who was probably a maltster, as the other side of his token bore the representation of a Malt-scoop. The Bird in Hand occurs five times in Essex, namely, at Braintree, Halstead (twice), Coggeshall, and *Stratford. There are also beer-houses so called at Goldhanger and Chelmsford. Mr. G. F. Beaumont of Coggeshall states that the *Bird in Hand at that place was formerly known as the Thorough Inn, because there was a right of way or thoroughfare through it from Earl Street to Church Street. He also mentions, as a curious coincidence, that a short time since the name of the tenant was Joseph Bird, and that of the owner Richard Bird Holmes. The same gentleman contributes to the Coggeshall Almanac for the present year an interesting “Programme of a Procession, exhibited by the Weavers of Coggeshall, on Wednesday, the 15th of June, 1791,” and which was to “set out precisely at eight o’clock from the Bird in Hand.” The idea of the sign is suggested by the proverb—

The device is to be seen on some of the trade tokens of the seventeenth century. The sign of the Feathers at Hatfield Broad Oak is clearly identical with that of the Plume of Feathers at Loughton; indeed, the former appears in Mr. Creed’s list (p. 7) as having been the Plume of Feathers in 1789. The house at Loughton is also mentioned in the same list, so that both are at least a hundred years old. Both, of course, now at least represent the badge of our Princes of Wales. Ostrich feathers have been among the devices of our kings and princes from very early times; and the pretty tale of how the Black Prince took them from the King of Bohemia, whom he killed in the battle of Creci, is a pure delusion. As the Rev. H. L. Elliot points out, “Single feathers, differenced in various ways, were used as badges by the kings and the Beauforts before the Wars of the Roses. Henry VI. used two feathers in saltire, the sinister argent, surmounted of the dexter or, as here depicted, as one of his badges.”

Twenty years since a house at Stanstead bore the sign of the Bell and Feathers, which is a combination not mentioned by Larwood and Hotten. It was probably merely an impaled sign, as it was formerly the Bell simply, and has now returned to its old name, under which it will be hereafter referred to. The sign of the Phœnix now only occurs at Rainham, though there was another example at Billericay forty years since. The sign was formerly often set up by chemists, but other tradesmen also used it. The fact that a phœnix forms the crest of the Blacksmiths’ Company (p. 32) has, perhaps, had something to do with bringing the bird into favour as a sign. This completes our list of ornithological signs.

CHAPTER V.

PISCATORY, INSECT, AND REPTILIAN SIGNS.

The Fish and Eels, which is a very strange device appearing at Roydon, is our only existing sign connected with fish, although Two Fishes appeared on the tokens of the two William Wildmans (father and son) of Saffron Walden, issued in 1656 and 1667 respectively. The former spells the name Saffron Wallding. The sign, perhaps, originated in the arms of the Fishmongers’ Company.[77] Larwood and Hotten do not notice the Fish and Eels, although this house has displayed the sign since 1789 at least. It may be a meaningless impalement.

Only two signs occurring in the county are in any way connected with insects. These are the Fly and Bullock, already described (p. 67), and the Beehive, which occurs five times, namely, at Great Baddow, Witham, Horkesley, Ilford, and Lambourne. The sign is generally represented (as at Witham and Baddow) by an old straw hive, or skep, with a great many bees, volant, counter-volant (as heraldic writers say), around it, probably to indicate that a busy trade is carried on within. It is recorded[78] in the Barking parish register, that in 1653, “Francis, the sonne of an Ethiopian, born at the Beehive,” was baptised. Under this heading must be noticed a sign which, although it does not occur in Essex, is, nevertheless, connected with the county. This sign is the Essex Serpent, which still exists in King Street, Covent Garden; and, when Larwood and Hotten wrote, there was also another example in Charles Street, Westminster. Those gentlemen think that it was, perhaps, originally set up “in allusion to a fabulous monster recorded in a catalogue of wonders and awful prognostications contained in a broadside of 1704,[79] from which we learn that ‘Before Henry the second dyed, ... a Dragon of marvellous bigness was discovered at St. Osyph in Essex.’ Had we any evidence that it is an old sign, we might almost be inclined to consider it as dating from the civil war, and hung up with reference to Essex, the Parliamentary General; for, though we have searched the chroniclers fondest of relating wonders and monstrous apparitions, we have not succeeded in finding any authority for the St. Osyph Dragon, other than the above-mentioned broadside.” Another reference to the same unwelcome visitor is, however, to be found in Dr. Howell’s Ancient and Present State of England (1712), wherein it is recorded (p. 75) that “At St. Osyphs in Essex was seen a dragon of marvellous bigness, which by moving burned houses.” The dragon is also mentioned in Sir Richard Baker’s Chronicles of the Kings of England, published in 1684. It is, nevertheless, fairly certain that the sign has no reference to the St. Osyth dragon; for there is a much more likely origin. In the British Museum Library may be seen a highly remarkable tract of the year 1669, entitled, The Flying Serpent, or Strange News out of Essex: being a true relation of a Monstrous Serpent which hath divers times been seen at a parish called Henham on the Mount, within four miles of Saffron Walden. Showing the length, proportion, and bigness of the

Serpent, the place where it commonly lurks, and what means hath been used to kill it. Also a discourse of other Serpents, and particularly of a Cockatrice killed at Saffron Walden,” &c.[80] The truth of the statements contained in the tract is attested by the Churchwarden, the Constable, the Overseer of the Poor, and four Householders. The title-page bears no author’s name, and the imprint of the copy in question is partially destroyed; but there can be little doubt that it is one of the many curious productions of “Poor Robin,” whose Perambulation from Saffron Walden to London has already been noticed (p. 66).[81] In addition to an awe-inspiring portrait of the beast, here reproduced, the tract contains a very amusing, though now highly absurd, account of the first discovery of the serpent, the nature of its habitat, the means taken to kill it, and other details, as set forth in the title. Doubtless the appearance of the tract caused sufficient talk and attracted enough attention to induce some enterprising publican or other tradesman to set up the Essex Serpent as a sign; or perhaps some former Griffin or Green Dragon was rechristened under that name in order to attract customers. That it is a fairly old sign is certain. Gough, in his British Topography,[82] after alluding to the pamphlet just spoken of, says: “Mr. Oldys [who died in 1761] says there is a public-house in King Street, Covent Garden, called the Essex Serpent, and having a serpent painted on its sign.” Sussex had a “strange and monstrous Serpent (or Dragon)” in 1614, as may be learned from a very curious old pamphlet of that date, entitled True and Wonderful, republished in the Harleian Miscellany.[83] Essex can boast of a reptilian sign which probably exists nowhere else, a beer-house keeper at Ingatestone having, for some inscrutable reason, selected the Viper—a device not noticed by Larwood and Hotten.

CHAPTER VI.

BOTANICAL SIGNS.

Those signs will be noticed first which are obviously derived from some prominent tree or trees growing close to the houses called after them. These seem generally to be of very modern origin, as they figure but sparsely in the list printed forty years ago. Most of them, it will be noticed, are in the vicinity of London. There is a Bay Tree at Stratford, a Chestnut Tree at Walthamstow, an Elms at Leytonstone, a Fir Trees at Wanstead, a Four Ashes at Takeley, a Grove Tavern at Walthamstow, a Holly Bush at Leyton, and another at Loughton, a Holly Tree at Forest Gate, and a May Bush at Great Oakley. The sign of the Willows appears at Willingale Doe. There is also on the list a Three Ashes at Cressing, and another at Chelmsford, while forty years since there was another at Rochford, a Yew Tree at Great Horkesley, and another at Felstead (beer-house), a Three Elms at Chignal St. James (which has three elm trees in front of it), and no less than seven Cherry Trees in different parts of the county, although forty years ago only four were in existence. The Thorn Inn at *Mistley seems to have been in existence since 1786 at least, as it is mentioned in an advertisement in the Chelmsford Chronicle for February 24th in that year. Its sign is, obviously, connected with the old name of the place, which was Mistley Thorn. In the Very Young Lady’s Tour from London to Aldborough and Back (1804, see p. 37) occurs the following: