Wednesday 24 September 2008

Pub Signs

The Observer at the weekend carried a half page article entitled "Dismay at vanishing art of the pub sign"

Well, readers of this blog know otherwise. Pub sign art is alive and well in South West London - albeit a less traditional version.

Perhaps we should not be too harsh on Young's and others for their modern take on the traditional pub sign. After all, they are still ordering bespoke signs and supporting a dying trade.

Surely we would not want all pub signs to look like this one in Wimbledon :

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That one looks like an "Edwards" sign . Bet it was cheap...

Anonymous said...

It's not just the signs but also the traditional names that are disappearing and perhaps there should be some sort of "listing" for them.

Few pubs were named by accident. They've been inspired by religion, royalty, lust, pride, murder, heroes and scandals and, together, they're a historical reference work on the High Street.

If someone started emptying out the National Gallery or the British Library there'd be an outcry. Perhaps we should all take more notice of the sign above the door in our rush to the bar - it might not be there one day!

Elaine Saunders
Author : A Book About Pub Names
http://www.completetext.com