I JUST LOVE A GOOD PUB SIGN

THE ART OF HAND PAINTED PUB SIGNS CONTINUES

I have always been fascinated by the various pub names, that give the typical British Pub its character, but especially the superbly hand painted pub signs that advertise them. I love art, being a huge fan of Portrait/Landscape artist of the year. I also loved watching a man named Bob Ross, who taught you how to paint on the television. I found watching this programme rather relaxing, especially how he made the process of oil painting look so easy. Another one of my childhood idols was Tony Hart. I think he made appearances in a children's programme called Vision On, where he showed off his painting techniques. He then had his own children's afternoon show named Take Hart, with the,"Gallery", where he gave you the chance to send in your paintings. If they were chosen they got shown on the T.V. but I always liked it when they said, "we unfortunately are unable to send them back to you", which I thought was such a shame, especially if it was an exceptional piece of work.

Although I took O'level art, who remembers that qualification, I never took the plunge to send in any of my work. I was lucky to pass my O'level art exam, gaining a C grade, but never continued to draw or paint. Therefore,I thoroughly appreciate the skill, technique, passion,& patience of any person who has the god given gift of being able to draw or paint.

WADWORTH BREWERY DEVISES WILTSHIRE

NORTHGATE BREWERY FOUNDED 1875

The Northgate Brewery in Devizes, Wiltshire is a fine example of a Tower Brewery. This means that the design of the brewery is to aid gravity, to help brew the beer it produces. The bulk raw materials, water & barley malt are winched/pumped to the top of the tower. The brewing stages, occur on various floors of the tower, with the brewing kettles normally found on the 1st floor. Tower breweries developed in the late Victorian period. The 1st example from around the 1870's, becoming popular during the 1880's.

great to see the tradition continuing

Travelling around the British Isles, although I haven't had the pleasure of being to any breweries in Scotland, or Northern Ireland. I hope to be able to do this, as soon as travel becomes easier after this dreadful lockdown situation has finished. I am also extremely fortunate, to have family who live in Wiltshire. It can be hard to see my lovely family, who both work very hard, trying to find a free weekend to see them, can be hard. Felicity, & my main man Neville, kindly on one of our visits, organised a trip to the Wadworth Brewery, which I was thrilled to be able to accept. I think Neville was more interested in the pint, & steak pie at the end of the tour. The tour was thoroughly enjoyed by us all, but as you can see from the photos of the pub signs above, this was my favourite part of the tour. It was strange, as although we were able to enter the studio, where the signs were being stored, apart from the artist work bench, the artist wasn't present. I would loved to have asked him a few questions. I had to make do, by taking some photos of these fantastic examples of Wadworth traditional pub sign heritage.

tools of the trade

The sign studio, was filled to the brim, with pub signs past & present, in various stages of being either an original piece, or being once again restored to their former glory. The question I bet you are asking, is why these fine examples of artwork came about in the first place. When the British Isles were under the control of the Roman Empire, drinking establishments were called, 'Tabernae". These were said to be the inception, of what we now know as the,"Public House", where weary travellers, could rest up, enjoy a hearty meal, & perhaps a few glasses of wine. To entice customers into their establishment, the landlord would place vine leaves, above the entrance to indicate this was a place of refuge, from a long tiring exhausting journey. Vine leave being in short supply in Britain, would normally be replaced by holly, from a holly bush. Hence the name the Hollybush, or The Bush came to be a popular pub name. Other ways of letting people know you sold alcohol, not just to customers who wished to wet their lips, but to local officials who would sample the liquid for its quality, & to gain taxes from the selling of alcohol, was the alestake. The alestake was literally a long piece of wood that would be placed outside your business. Ingenious.

HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH

Whilst looking around the sign room at Wadworths, I was told that the outline of Queen Elizabeth I portrait, on the incomplete sign that was sitting on the floor, was to grace the officers mess, aboard the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth I. I was truly humbled. I was honoured, & privileged to be able to see the sign in the process of being painted, then to be able to see it, in all its glory on board the ship in this little video clip of the bar on its opening ceremony.

FAVERSHAM BREWERY KENT OLD BOTTLE STORE

I did say I liked old fashioned hand painted pub signs. The ones you can see displayed in the section above, are kept hanging on the walls, of the Old Bottle Store at Shepherd Neame Brewery, in Faversham Kent. Funnily enough, the experience of booking a tour to this brewery was rather strange, as I think on a couple of occasions I booked the tour, turning up to the brewery, when it was actually closed. To cut a long story short, the brewery tour was amazing, therefore I would thoroughly recommend a visit, when the brewery thinks it's safe enough for the public to do so.

The shots of the pub signs, were taken at the end of the tour, the Old Bottle Store is a large space, which comes in handy, as the brewery uses the room for private functions, & themed shows which again I must endeavour to do, in the not too distant future. Faversham, where the brewery is sited, is a lovely idyllic town, as you can imagine there are a few examples of beautiful historical pubs in the towns centre. This is the perfect spot, to be able to enjoy the brews, that the brewery provides especially as the water used, comes form a natural artisan well. Believe it or not, they have a licence to brew the the Japanese beer Ashari. When comparing the taste of the two beers, it was judged that the one brewed under licence at Shepherd Neame was of a better quality due to the quality of the water from the well.

SIGNS IN GENERAL

CITTIE OF YORK one mighty sign

Believe it or not, signs & advertising have come a long way since establishments had just a wooden stake outside their premises to woo customers, into their establishments. Advertising has come on leaps & bounds, using the latest forms of technology, to persuade consumers to buy the products they have on offer.

In large cities, such as the likes of London & Paris especially during the 1700's, it got to the stage that the size of advertising signs got so out of proportion with sign protruding over the narrow streets it got to the point where public safety was an issue. People were known to have been killed from oversized heavy signs falling on them. Laws had to be passed, to make sure the signs were not dangerous for passing pedestrians, with the majority of signs having to be moved either above the shop or against the wall.

advertising is big business

During the 18th century when technologies such as gas lighting, the industrial printing press & electricity began to shape modern signage. Businesses & artisans had more options when creating signs beginning to understand the importance, as to how influential advertising could be to gaining more custom.

Today the sign industry, & companies that specialise in massive advertising campaigns, in connection with adverts, you see on the television, as well as adverts that are specially moulded to our specific needs through cookies on the computer screen, all gripe our consumer tendencies to having the latest products. It is estimated that the advertising & commercial industry is worth an estimated £40 billion pounds. It amazing how far advertising has come from just having a wooden stake outside your premises to show you are open for business.