& Inn Signs lar in both rural areas where coursing was popular and urban areas where Greyhound racing had a strong following. Many signs reflected sports, such as ‘Hare and Hounds’, ‘Dog and Pheasant’, ‘Fox and Hounds’, ‘The Bull’ and the ‘Dog and Bull’ both hinting at bull baiting. One infamous ‘Dog and Duck’ once stood in St. Georges Fields, London when, before being closed down by magistrates, it was frequented by thieves and prostitutes. Of the many variations of shooting with dogs there was at one time said to be over seventy ‘Dog and Pheasant’ inns in the county of Lancashire alone. Some inn names commemorate
sporting events, the best known with a dog on is the ‘Blue Cap’ beside the main Chester to Manchester road. It recalls a famous match which took place in 1763 between Hugo Meynell’s best hound, whom he hunted with the Quorn Foxhounds and Blue Cap, a hound of Smith Barry’s, Master of The Cheshire hunt. The two hounds followed a trail of aniseed over a specified distance and Blue Cap won. Such trails were the forerunners of today’s drag hunting. The dog also appears at times on humorous signs, such as ‘The Dog and Pot’, ‘Devils Lapdog’, ‘Dog and Bacon’ and ‘Dog and Hedgehog’, the latter
perhaps taken from the well-known engraving entitled ‘A Rough Customer’. The many aspects of the dog are not neglected in these signs, and we come across such signs as ‘Lame Dog’, ‘Mad Dog’, ‘Barking Dog’ and even ‘The Dog in the Lane’. Today, the chosen theme of the inn sign is often repeated further in the interior decoration. The many ‘Fox and Hounds’ and ‘Dog and Ducks’, for instance, will display hunting and shooting pictures on the walls, and the inn sign will often feature on menus and place mats.
Dog News 79