Thursday 17 November 2011

At the sign of the gallows

On a non beer-related forum, the subject recently came up of pub signs that completely span the road. The best must surely be that of the Fox & Hounds at Barley near Royston in Hertfordshire, with its cast of fox, hounds and mounted huntsmen. Others that were mentioned were the Magpie at Stonham Parva in Suffolk, where the sign spans the main A140 road, and two coaching inns, the Green Man & Black’s Head at Ashbourne in Derbyshire, and the George at Stamford in Lincolnshire.

Are there any others to be found?

8 comments:

  1. The sign was so famous that when the original Fox and Hounds closed (some time in the 1960s, IIRC), it was moved to another pub in the village, which was suitably renamed.

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  2. Even with this great advertising tool the Magpie in Stonham Parva has been shut for the last few months.

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  3. The George in Nunney, Somerset is another. More of a hotel than a pub but it does have a public bar you can get a pint in.

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  4. Good job that pub sign (which is wonderful) isn't in Southport or some idiot in a huge lorry would have driven into it and damaged it by now - as they keep doing to our pier.

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  5. There is a flurry of blogging about a proposed ban on smoking in cars because it can create 11-23 times the amount of SHS in smoky Irish pubs prior to the smoking ban.

    Were your pubs really all that smoky?

    Are there no requirements for ventilation and air exchanges with fresh outside air?

    Gary K.

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  6. Rather off topic, I think, and the BMA have admitted their figures were bollocks anyway. Plus there's nothing to stop you opening a window in a car to create a natural draught.

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  7. Just how mono-focused do we get when on a mission for a pint? I've been in the George at Stamford, didn't notice the sign. I do like the Fox & Hounds sign - wonderfully un-pc.

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  8. The pub that springs to mind is Ye Olde Starre Inne on Stonegate in York(e). More info and photos here: http://york-wiki.co.uk/ye-olde-starre-inne-york.html
    Was the signwriter paid by the letter?

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