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Oggwyn Trench
13-03-2010, 00:48
Is it me or is the traditional Pub Sign disappearing , the amount of pubs that now have no sign or a sign that instead of a picture (traditional , modern or humourous ) just has the pubs name / food / beer seem to becoming more popular . I like the old signs they give you a clue to where the pubs name came from be it Heralidic / Local Legend/Industry / Person , theres more to a name than just a name .

arwkrite
13-03-2010, 06:57
I agree with you Oggwyn. Perhaps its a case of real art costs money so get a signwriter to to a quicker and cheaper job. Sounds like a bad case of bean counters influence to me.I can think of a number of Marstons pubs with just the name on a black background. A case of corporate identity ? Boring or what. You would have thought that the fact of people liking a bit of variety would have entered the minds of these corporate poeple. But no, everything has to be the same. See a pub sign of a certain colour and you know its design,beer,snacks and menu before you have crossed its threshold.
An original style pub sign has no place in the mind of these people Its all about Identity, they don't realise they are designing out that very thing.

oldboots
13-03-2010, 09:29
They're definitely disappearing from what I can see, although looking at old photos of pubs a lot of late 19thC/early 20thC pubs only had names no pictures, so this kind of penny pinching has a long history. I've taken to photographing the signs a bit more than I used to (when I remember). Oddly enough the first thing Brakspears showed our party visiting the brewery was the artists studio.

rpadam
13-03-2010, 11:01
A few years ago, Greene King started a programme of replacing its pictorial pub signs with a standard design using a glorified version of its logo and the pub name underneath.

Quite rightly, protests grew as the traditional pub signs started to disappear and eventually this deadful corporate re-branding exercise was quietly dropped.

You can still see some of these monstrosities about, but thankfully most have now been replaced with... something quite like what they took down in the first place!

Pubsignman
13-03-2010, 16:49
A few years ago, Greene King started a programme of replacing its pictorial pub signs with a standard design using a glorified version of its logo and the pub name underneath.

Quite rightly, protests grew as the traditional pub signs started to disappear and eventually this deadful corporate re-branding exercise was quietly dropped.

You can still see some of these monstrosities about, but thankfully most have now been replaced with... something quite like what they took down in the first place!

Yes, the new Greene King signs are an odd comprimise between a traditional picture and the company's corpoate logo. I've attached a picture of one such sign - The Jolly Sailor in Poole. As you can see, they haven't even bothered with the pubs name, opting for their phone number instead. Still, it's an improvement on what they had before.

In London, Fullers and Young's are two breweries who consistantly provide excellent signs for their pubs. I wish more would follow their lead.

Pubsignman
13-03-2010, 16:54
Here, for comparison, is the grim offering which thankfully Greene King seem to be in the process of replacing.

Conrad
13-03-2010, 17:47
Well that is one way to get the phone number on our site :)

It certainly feels like to me that there are less pub signs. There is definitely something about them that works for me, I remember knowing all the pub signs in Bath from walking through the town as kid, well before I became interested in pubs, there was just something different and enjoyable about them.

We always welcome pictures of pub signs on the main site, they are something that I think should be recorded wherever possible.

Soup Dragon
13-03-2010, 17:55
The George IVth in Lichfield has replaced the pub sign picture of George IV, with a written 'George IV', which looks cr*p to be honest - mind you, they have done the whole place out like a trendy bar, with candles and sofas etc, which looks equally as cr*p.

hopwas
13-03-2010, 17:58
The George IVth in Lichfield has replaced the pub sign picture of George IV, with a written 'George IV', which looks cr*p to be honest - mind you, they have done the whole place out like a trendy bar, with candles and sofas etc, which looks equally as cr*p.

I know what do you mean.. the sign with darkish red with white text "George IV" written over it. I remember old sign with George IV's portrait it looked much better than current..

Soup Dragon
13-03-2010, 18:02
Mind you, George IV was a tw*t - they should rename it, the Charles I, as there was no head on the beer

hopwas
13-03-2010, 18:03
This...

http://thelichfieldblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/sign-300x291.jpg

Old George IV's pub sign..

http://thelichfieldblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/georgivpub-225x300.jpg

hopwas
13-03-2010, 18:05
Mind you, George IV was a tw*t - they should rename it, the Charles I, as there was no head on the beer

:D

At least they have one of my favourite tipple, Timothy Taylor's..

.. shame about the price, £3.15 (I think)

Soup Dragon
13-03-2010, 18:06
Standards are slipping, dear boy. They will be spelling place-names without a capital letter next, what do you think, hopwas?

Soup Dragon
13-03-2010, 18:08
:D

At least they have one of my favourite tipple, Timothy Taylor's..

.. shame about the price, £3.15 (I think)

It was bloomin' off the other day when i went back to rate it

hopwas
13-03-2010, 18:13
Standards are slipping, dear boy. They will be spelling place-names without a capital letter next, what do you think, hopwas?

There is quite few road signs with mis-spelling of Lichfield in Tamworth.. For example one near Ventura Park in Tamworth, road sign reads "Litchfield 8 miles" and another one "Litchfield 10 miles"

Best known pub sign error in Tamworth is JDW's The Bole bridge and it was too late to change the sign error that it has stuck with The Bole Bridge (notice the space) when it is really should be The Bolebridge (notice NO space)

It has been stuck ever since.. (Stupid JDW!)

hopwas
13-03-2010, 18:15
It was bloomin' off the other day when i went back to rate it

I haven't popped in since last Oct.

Earl of Lichfield recently gone through change and refurb.

Pubsignman
13-03-2010, 18:27
One of my biggest frustrations in terms of the loss of pub signs, is that Wetherspoons very rarely display pictoral signs, if indeed any sign at all. As the biggest pub chain in the country, this is a massive disappointment. I'd love it if they decided to put a sign on all of their pubs, but it doesn't seem to fit their brand identity, so as it stands, I have to take comfort in the small thrill of finding a Wetherspoons that actually does have a sign.

Conrad
13-03-2010, 19:00
Yeah, it kind of surprises me with Wetherspoons, frequently their names show imagination, I have no idea why they don't back them up with excellent signs, it is a real pity.

Conrad
13-03-2010, 19:01
There is quite few road signs with mis-spelling of Lichfield in Tamworth.. For example one near Ventura Park in Tamworth, road sign reads "Litchfield 8 miles" and another one "Litchfield 10 miles"

Best known pub sign error in Tamworth is JDW's The Bole bridge and it was too late to change the sign error that it has stuck with The Bole Bridge (notice the space) when it is really should be The Bolebridge (notice NO space)

It has been stuck ever since.. (Stupid JDW!)
Reminds me of this classic:

Welsh translation gone awry. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7702913.stm)

hopwas
13-03-2010, 19:09
Classic!

This made me my day..

• Cyclists between Cardiff and Penarth in 2006 were left confused by a bilingual road sign telling them they had problems with an "inflamed bladder".

• In the same year, a sign for pedestrians in Cardiff reading 'Look Right' in English read 'Look Left' in Welsh.

• In 2006, a shared-faith school in Wrexham removed a sign which translated the Welsh for staff as "wooden stave".

• Football fans at a FA Cup tie between Oldham and Chasetown - two English teams - in 2005 were left scratching their heads after a Welsh-language hoarding was put up along the pitch. It should have gone to a match in Merthyr Tydfil.

• People living near an Aberdeenshire building site in 2006 were mystified when a sign apologising for the inconvenience was written in Welsh as well as English.

Conrad
13-03-2010, 19:14
• In the same year, a sign for pedestrians in Cardiff reading 'Look Right' in English read 'Look Left' in Welsh.

I'm now wondering which they were trying to kill off, the Welsh or the English.

hopwas
13-03-2010, 19:20
I'm now wondering which they were trying to kill off, the Welsh or the English.

I bet the council has hired Anne Robinson.. :whistle:

oldboots
13-03-2010, 20:14
Yes, the new Greene King signs are an odd comprimise between a traditional picture and the company's corpoate logo. I've attached a picture of one such sign - The Jolly Sailor in Poole. As you can see, they haven't even bothered with the pubs name, opting for their phone number instead. Still, it's an improvement on what they had before.


Good grief it looks like a still from a gay porn version of Captain Pugwash.

Oggwyn Trench
13-03-2010, 21:40
Good grief it looks like a still from a gay porn version of Captain Pugwash.

Something you want to tell us OB:o

trainman
14-03-2010, 06:41
Yes, that George IV example is a good one of awful blandness replacing traditional pictorial signage.
One that stuck in my mind was the Samuel Pepys, Stew Lane, which had an even blander sign reading 'TSP'. The Farmers Boy in St Albans caused a furor when it, too, replaced its pictorial sign with an naff one reading 'TFB'. Why, oh why, is the country's heritage allowed to disappear at the hands of idiot 'designers' who, most likely, never even visit pubs? Corporate blandness abounds. Well, I've got some letters for them - 'WTF'???

Oggwyn Trench
14-03-2010, 09:54
Pub signs are also good for the history of an area , the Pear Tree Bridge (closed) in Oakengates is on a long straight road on the edge of an estate , look at the sign , a foot bridge over a canal into a pear orchard you realise the road was where the canal was and the bridge was the way to the pub , its bits of history like this we are losing.

Wittenden
14-03-2010, 13:05
Yes, the new Greene King signs are an odd comprimise between a traditional picture and the company's corpoate logo. I've attached a picture of one such sign - The Jolly Sailor in Poole. As you can see, they haven't even bothered with the pubs name, opting for their phone number instead. Still, it's an improvement on what they had before.

In London, Fullers and Young's are two breweries who consistantly provide excellent signs for their pubs. I wish more would follow their lead.

Doesn't make me want to use the pub!

Farway
14-03-2010, 14:42
The Fox & Hounds in Funtingdon, West Sussex has different picture on either side of the sign, fox on one, hounds on the other side

http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubpictures/57194/

The Kings in Southsea, Hants has also done this, different King on each side, which now reminds me to get down there and take the pictures Doh!

Conrad
14-03-2010, 16:49
Great shots and great example.

Dave which is the amusing one with a bit of the sign missing?

Oggwyn Trench
14-03-2010, 19:09
This ones as revalant today as its ever been http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubpictures/32107/

Dave M
14-03-2010, 22:08
Dave which is the amusing one with a bit of the sign missing?

That is going to really irritate me, I really can't remember. Do know the one you mean, I think it might be in Essex. Or London. Possibly Kent.

It is a really clever one though and I will keep trying.

rpadam
14-03-2010, 22:14
The new Shepherd Neame ones are a bit formulaic and unimaginative - with the brewery name (in white on red) at the top, a black-and-white line drawing in the centre and the pub name (again in white on red) at the bottom - but at least they maintain the time-honoured tradition of a pictorial sign.

Pubsignman
14-03-2010, 22:43
The new Shepherd Neame ones are a bit formulaic and unimaginative - with the brewery name (in white on red) at the top, a black-and-white line drawing in the centre and the pub name (again in white on red) at the bottom - but at least they maintain the time-honoured tradition of a pictorial sign.

I quite like them - They're not as imaginative as the Fullers signs, but I think it's good that the brewery has managed to get some degree of brand identity into their signs without decending into the realms of logos or non pictoral boards. Mind you, there aren't too many Sheps pubs round my way - maybe I'd think differently if every other pub had one.

Here's an example - The Two Brewers, Croydon.

RogerB
15-03-2010, 08:45
The best pub sign has to be the Beehive at Grantham - it has a real beehive as its sign! You can see it perched in the tree outside the pub.

http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/21256/

Annoyingly, I was in Grantham a few weeks back and never visited it.

Conrad
15-03-2010, 12:22
Have to admit I quite like that Shepherd Neame one, wouldn't want them all to be like that, but certainly a lot better than nothing.

trainman
15-03-2010, 12:56
The best pub sign has to be the Beehive at Grantham - it has a real beehive as its sign! Annoyingly, I was in Grantham a few weeks back and never visited it.

Well, that's just careless Roger! It's on my list, and I've got apiphobia! (Yes, I had to look it up, again...)

hondo
01-10-2010, 11:24
393

arwkrite
01-10-2010, 11:41
I hope they do not encourage indoor pipe smoking as the sign appears to imply. Let us just put it down to poetic licence.

trainman
01-10-2010, 12:23
393
I recognise that! The Gate, Sawbridgeworth, part of a mini-crawl en route to Queens Head, Allens Green. Also featured Queens Head, Harlow, & Rising Sun, High Wych. A complicated but well-timed day out using buses from Harlow Town. The Allens Green pub required a taxi though but, thanks to Quinno, we went 3rd Sat of the month for the regular mini-fest. About time I returned.

Strongers
01-10-2010, 13:04
Same sort of thing on The Gate (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubpictures/14378/) in Barnet.

hondo
08-03-2011, 10:44
514

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rann

makes Charlie Sheen look normal :confused:

Oggwyn Trench
12-03-2011, 11:37
514

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rann

makes Charlie Sheen look normal :confused:

Looks normal compared to a great Shropshire eccentric http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Mytton several local pubs are named after him

Farway
12-03-2011, 14:39
Looks normal compared to a great Shropshire eccentric http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Mytton several local pubs are named after him

"'round shouldered, tottering old-young man bloated by drink. Worn out by too much foolishness, too much wretchedness and too much brandy' in one account." Does this fit anyone on here?

hondo
21-03-2011, 12:47
http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=333

Conrad
21-03-2011, 13:40
http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=333
Wonder if the wife would let me get one as an outdoor ornament :whistle:

RogerB
20-04-2011, 09:52
This is an interesting little 10 minute video that I'm sure will be of interest to many of us. I have been to the pub and met the guy featured - quite a character. Sadly he's not at the pub any more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJaX2xYznUE

Lady Grey
21-04-2011, 01:39
I'm loving this thread. Part of the appeal about pubs for me, is the pub sign. You can have a beautifully painted pub - all smart and pristine, but if the signage is bland and corporate it won't encourage me through the door. Just the opposite in fact.