Chapter III: Mammalian Signs (2)

The motto of the family, _Vero nihil verius_ and _Verite vient_ formed a rebus on the name. The boar as a badge was evidently assumed for the same reason. The Latin name for the animal is _verres_, though the De Veres probably got it through the Dutch (_veer_ or _vere_), as they were a branch of the House of Blois, and owned the Lordship of Vere in Zetland. The boar has been a favourite device of the De Veres from a very early period. The feet of the cross-legged and mail-clad figure of Robert, the fifth Earl, who died in 1296, still existing at Earls Colne Priory, are placed against a boar, and the same animal appears in different capacities on all, or nearly all, the other existing monuments of the family. Stowe speaks of John, the sixteenth Earl, “riding into the city, to his house by London Stone, with eighty gentlemen in a livery of Reading tawney, and chains of gold about their necks, before him, and one hundred tall yeomen in the like livery to follow him, without chains, but all having his cognizance of the Blew Boar embroydered on their left shoulder.” As a badge, the boar is carved, alternately with the mullet (another device of the De Veres[61]), over the clerestory windows of Castle Hedingham Church; on several parts of Lavenham Church, Suffolk; on the roof of the south aisle of Sible Hedingham Church; over the west door of Chelmsford Church, and elsewhere. In the Chelmsford Museum, moreover, is preserved a wooden boss, taken from the ceiling of a room of the old BLACK BOY Inn when it was pulled down. On this is carved a boar, within a circular ribbon charged with seven mullets. Some information as to how these devices came into these positions is given hereafter. For close upon five centuries this mighty family, whose riches were immense, and whose power was second only to that of the sovereign, ruled over a large portion of East Anglia in semi-regal fashion. For 567 years, too, was the same title retained in this one family. It is no wonder, therefore, that their armorial bearings should have been largely used as signs by those who were in various ways dependent upon them; but it is interesting to find at the present day such comparatively clear evidence of this fact. The principal Essex inn exhibiting the sign of the BLUE BOAR (and the one from which, in all probability, some, at least, of our others have taken the name) was the once famous BLUE BOAR at Castle Hedingham. This ancient house may be cited as a good example of an inn deriving its sign directly from the armorial bearings of a great historical family which formerly resided in the immediate vicinity, and, without doubt, owned the house. Its sign, of course, represented the badge of the mighty Earls of Oxford. The inn was a fine old house standing in St. James’s Street, where its ornamental chimneys once formed the most prominent feature. After being injured by fire it was pulled down in 1865. On this occasion various old coins and other relics were discovered, the most interesting being an inscription in Early English characters, written in chalk on a blackened beam behind the wainscot. It ran thus:--

“Hans pes withe yore nebor whilom ye maye,
For oftyn tymes favore do the passe withe ye daye.”

This may be translated as follows:--

“Be at peace with your neighbour while ye may,
For often times the favour will pass with the day.”

According to the authors of the _History of Sign-boards_ (p. 116), this sign was originally a _white_ boar, and represented the _boar argent_, which formed the favourite badge of Richard III., as well as one (or, more generally, both) of the supporters of his arms.

(_Badge of Richard III._)]

“The fondness of Richard for this badge appears from his wardrobe
accounts for the year 1483, one of which contains a charge ‘for
8,000 bores made and wrought upon fustian,’ and 5,000 more are
mentioned shortly afterwards. He also established a herald of arms
called ‘Blanc Sanglier,’ and it was this trusty squire who carried
his master’s mangled body from Bosworth battle-field to
Leicester.... After Richard’s defeat and death the WHITE BOARS were
changed into BLUE BOARS, this being the easiest and cheapest way of
changing the sign; and so the [WHITE] BOAR of Richard, now painted
‘true blue,’ passed for the [BLUE] BOAR of the Earl of Oxford, who
had largely contributed to place Henry VII. on the throne.”

Shakespeare in Richard III. (act v., scene 3) alludes to the dead king and his badge as follows:--

“The wretched, bloody, and usurping boar
That spoiled your summer fields and fruitful vines;
... This foul swine ... lies now ...
Near to the town of Leicester, as we learn.”

It is related that in this king’s reign one William Collingbourne was executed for composing the following couplet:--

“The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell our Dog,
Rule all Englonde under an Hogge.”

The king and his ministers, Sir Richard Ratcliffe, Sir William Catesby, and Lord Lovell, were, of course, thus referred to. At Earls Colne, as already stated (p. 63), there is a LION AND BOAR. Here, in all probability, we have again represented the boar of the De Veres, Colne Priory having been another seat of the family, some members of which lie buried there. Other signs, which have, in all probability, been derived (partly, at least) from other badges of the De Veres, will be noticed hereafter.

The sign of the FLITCH OF BACON is most conveniently described in connection with the boar. The authors just quoted say (p. 420), “The FLITCH OF DUNMOW is a common sign in Essex, and is sometimes seen in other counties;” but it does not appear that we have had more than one in the county for forty years past, that one being, of course, the well-known inn at *Little Dunmow. How the sign originated is too well known to need any explanation here. A similar custom has occasioned a similar sign at Wichnor, near Lichfield (_Gent’s Mag._, 1819). A beer-shop, about thirty years old, in the market-place at Romford, is known by the appropriate name of the PIG IN THE POUND. A PIG AND WHISTLE is in existence at Thames Haven, and there are beer-shops of the same name in Broomfield and Writtle parishes. The origin of this sign appears not to have come down to us out of the mists of antiquity. Very many and very learned are the explanations which have, of late, been proposed as the solution of it. Half the European languages have been ransacked for its derivation, but so far without any satisfactory results. Larwood and Hotten dismiss it as “simply a freak of the mediæval artist.” Possibly it may represent, in a corrupted form, the peg said to have been placed in the wassail-bowl by King Edgar, who, in order to discourage drunkenness, imposed a penalty upon any one who drank so deeply as to leave it uncovered. There is, however, a by-no-means-unlikely origin for the sign, and one which the author believes has never before been suggested. In Mr. Elliot’s interesting paper just quoted (p. 70) it is stated that, in addition to the _blue boar_, the De Veres, among several other devices, made use of a _Whistle and Chain_ as a household badge. Thus, among the devices of this one family, are found the two objects--a pig (or boar) and a whistle--which, when combined, constitute this most perplexing sign. It is very difficult--perhaps impossible--to prove now that the sign was actually derived from these two badges of the De Veres, but, remembering the enormous past importance of the family, it must be admitted that the sign was in no way unlikely to have been so derived. Mr. Elliot himself writes that he considers this suggestion not unlikely to be the correct one. Very probably this description of the Earl’s badges was a derisive one, applied to them by the Yorkist party during the Wars of the Roses. A whistle, like that adopted by the De Veres, was formerly worn by sea-captains, even of high rank; and Mr. Elliot is of opinion that it was assumed by the De Veres as a symbol of the office of Lord High Admiral, an appointment held by John, the thirteenth Earl, who was very active on behalf of the Lancastrian party.

Forty-six inns in Essex exhibit signs which are more or less canine. A few of these may have had their origin in Heraldry; but there can be no doubt that, in the great majority of cases, the signs have originated in the modern use of the dog, whether for sporting or other purposes. At Wethersfield and Halstead the DOG appears alone; at East Horndon there is an OLD DOG; a POINTER exists at Alresford; and at Colchester, East Mersey, and Tolleshunt Knights the DOG AND PHEASANT appears; while at Stifford and Great Leighs (beer-house) the DOG AND PARTRIDGE is used, as it was also at *Halstead sixty years ago. The sign of the SPOTTED DOG, although it is not mentioned by Hotten, occurs four times, namely at Witham, Barking, Chelmsford, and West Ham, and there is a beer-house of the same name at Braintree. The sole use of the Spotted, or Dalmatian, Dog in this country, says a writer in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, “is to contribute, by the beauty of its appearance, to the splendour of the stable establishment, constantly attending the horses and carriage to which he belongs.” On October 22, 1804, a disastrous and fatal fire took place at the SPOTTED DOG, *Chelmsford. The details are given in a scarce pamphlet, reprinted in Hughson’s _London_ (vol. vi. p. 246). It seems that about 120 Hanoverian soldiers marched into Chelmsford on the day in question, and about 70 of them took up their lodgings in the stables of this inn. While most of them were asleep it was discovered that the straw upon which they lay had caught fire. All were, of course, at once aroused, but being unused to the fastening of the door, they were unable to open it. When at last it was opened and the inmates liberated, many of them were sorely burned, and others had their clothing on fire. The flames were got under after a time, but not until they had extended to other stables and burned several horses. On clearing away the rubbish, the bodies of no less than thirteen of the Hanoverian soldiers who had perished in the flames were found. They were afterwards buried with military honours in the church. At Hordon-on-the-Hill there is a BLACK DOG (beer-house). The SHEPHERD AND DOG is a device which

(_After Larwood and Hotten._)]

is now to be seen at Upminster, Ramsden Cray, and Great Stambridge (beer-house). Two centuries ago it appeared on the farthing token of “Peeter Pearcce” of Braintree; while a DOG WITH CHAIN, _passant_, occurs on that of “Thomas Peeke, Wyre Street, in Colchstr,” and a dog eating out of a fleshpot (the DOG’S HEAD IN POT) on the halfpenny issued by John Phillips of Plaistow in 1670. This device seems to have been originally used to indicate a dirty, slovenly housewife. It was never common. The HARE AND HOUNDS occurs seven times, the FOX AND HOUNDS ten times, and the HUNTSMAN AND HOUNDS once (at Upminster). Both the FOX and the FOX AND HOUNDS are very common beer-house signs. The HARE, an unusual sign when not accompanied by the Hounds, appears at Great Parndon. The TALBOT at North Weald may be named after the famous TALBOT in Southwark, which, under its former name of the TABARD, sheltered Chaucer’s pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. Talbot is the name of an old variety of hunting dog which, at the present day, is never heard of except in connection with Heraldry; and, as the sign in question is not now a pictorial one, most of the inhabitants of North Weald would probably be much puzzled to explain what it originally represented. There was another TALBOT in Stapleford Tawney until about ten years ago, but it is now a private house. The county contains no less than thirteen GREYHOUNDS, one of which is an OLD GREYHOUND. The sign of the GREYHOUND existed at Chelmsford in 1786, according to the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ for July 21st in that year, but it is not now extant, though Greyhound Lane still exists. In all probability this was the house that existed under the same name in 1662, as mentioned in the _Account of the Murder of Thomas Kidderminster_, to which reference has been already made. The GREYHOUND at Waltham Abbey is mentioned in the parish registers on June 4, 1735, when “John Munns from y^{e} Greyhound was Bur.” The GREYHOUND at Barking is mentioned in the parish register as early as 1592.[62] An entry states that “Henry, the supposed son of Henry Fisher of London, from the Greyhound, was bap^{d} the 17th of October.” For this sign we are probably about equally indebted both to the sport of coursing and the art of Heraldry. _Greyhounds argent_ formed either one or both of the supporters of Henry VII., the badge, and often one of the supporters, of Henry VIII., and one of the supporters of Elizabeth and Mary; so that in all probability the sign found its origin in Heraldry, but owes its use in the present day, largely at least, to coursing.

In a hunting district like Essex it is in no way surprising that there should be as many as twenty-five references to the fox on our sign-boards. Although twenty years ago the sign of the Fox only occurred five times, it now occurs eleven times; while there are ten signs of the FOX AND HOUNDS, and three of the FOX AND GOOSE. The latter is a combination which mediæval artists never tired of representing. It may be seen, among other places, on a carved oak screen in Hadstock Church. Of the FLYING FOX at Colchester, Larwood and Hotten say (p. 170)--“It may represent some kind of bat or flying squirrel (?) so denominated, or is a landlord’s caprice.” It seems much more probable, however, that the device is intended to represent a fox flying before the hounds.

There is a beer-house known as the WOLF at Great Coggeshall. The origin of the sign, which is not mentioned by Larwood and Hotten, is hard to explain. Probably it is unique.

The sign of the HARE AND HOUNDS, of which, as previously stated (p. 76), we have seven examples, is, doubtless, entirely derived from the sport of coursing; but the RABBITS, a very old house still in existence at Little Ilford, has probably an heraldic origin. Most likely the sign is derived from three coneys appearing on some family coat of arms, but whose, it is now difficult to say. The sign appeared in the list as the THREE RABBITS forty years ago, and as the THREE CONEYS on Jean Roque’s _Map of Ten Miles Round London_, published in 1746. Lysons, in his _Environs of London_ (1796, vol. iv. p. 157), says--

“A great mart for cattle from Wales, Scotland, and the North of
England is held annually, from the latter end of February till the
beginning of May, on the flat part of the forest of Waltham
(commonly called Epping Forest), within the parishes of Ilford,
Eastham, Westham, Leyton, and Wanstead. A great part of the
business between the dealers is transacted at the RABBITS in this
parish--on the high road.”

There is also a beer-shop known as the RABBITS in Stapleford Tawney parish. It is probably named after the foregoing. There is another beer-house so called at West Thurrock. Larwood and Hotten do not mention the sign under any of the above forms, although they say that in 1667 Hugh Conny, of Caxton and Elsworth, Cambridge, had THREE CONIES for a sign, and a RABBIT is depicted on the farthing token of one William Hutchenson, of Chelmsford.

The sign of the FLEECE occurs twice at *Colchester, once at *Coggeshall, and once at Brentwood. That of the GOLDEN FLEECE appears at Chelmsford and East Ham, although the former seems to have become golden only during the last forty years. There were also FLEECES at Halstead and Witham sixty years ago. Both forms of the sign are, of course, intended to represent Jason’s Golden Fleece, or Gideon’s, and their use commemorates the time when the woollen trade was one of the staple industries of Essex. The Fleece also formed the pendant of the Order of the GOLDEN FLEECE, which was founded in 1429 by Philip, Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders, “to perpetuate the memory of his great revenues raised by wools with the Low Countries,” as Ashmole says. Ancient encaustic tiles have been found, Mr. Elliot writes, both in Witham and Maldon (St. Mary’s) Churches bearing the arms of the Dukes of Burgundy, with their badge of flint, steel, and sparks in the upper and side spandrels, and the figure of the Fleece below. A fleece forms a charge in the arms of the town of Leeds,[63] now the principal seat of the woollen trade. Larwood and Hotten facetiously remark that “a fleece at the door of an inn or public-house looks very like a warning of the fate a traveller may expect within.” The STAR AND FLEECE is an odd combination, which does not appear to be noticed in the _History of Sign-boards_. It may simply be an impaled sign, or may represent the fleece of one of the mullets in the arms of Leeds. An example has existed at Kelvedon for over forty years, and another was in existence a few years since. Another emblem of the woollen trade is the WOOLPACK, of which, as already stated (p. 39), we have six examples, arranged in an almost straight line across the county, namely, at *Romford, Ingatestone, Chelmsford, Witham, *Coggeshall, and *Colchester. Three, at least, of these were in existence sixty years since, at which time there was another at Bocking. It is recorded in _Bufton’s Diary_[64] that on May 1, 1693, at Coggeshall, “Y^{e} soldiers set up a Maypole at y^{e} WOOLPACKE doore.” The WOOLPACK is a device which appears commonly on the tokens of the seventeenth century. It is met with at Billericay, Dunmow, Castle Hedingham (twice), Braintree, Bocking, Witham, and Colchester. The sign of the WOOLPACK, it should be noticed, is still, or was lately, to be seen at the three last-named places. The sign of the SHEARS, as pointed out elsewhere (p. 41), is another relic of the now departed woollen trade. From the middle of the seventeenth to the end of the eighteenth century, the spinning, carding, and weaving of wool formed the staple industry in most of the larger towns and villages of Eastern England. Several prominent families of the district in former days owed their wealth to this trade. In the neighbourhood of Hedingham it is said that several old houses, of which remnants only now exist, were once “wool-halls,” combining a residence for the merchant with a warehouse for his wools, worsteds, and “pieces.” Very high wages were earned by the workpeople, even by children and old persons. It has been estimated that, at the middle of last century, not less than 20,000 hands in and around Colchester were employed in the woollen trade; but by the end of the century the number had sunk to less than 8,000. Many old persons still living can remember their parents’ or grand-parents’ accounts of the festivities on St. Blaize’s Day, the 3rd of February, when there were processions in mediæval fashion, with shepherdess and lamb, and men and women spinning and weaving, accompanied by a great deal of noise and fun, bell-ringing and band-playing, ribbons and banners, roystering and drinking. In the evening bonfires were lit upon the hills to commemorate (as the common people thought) the name of their patron, St. Blaize. The weaving of bunting for ships’ flags lingered in and around Sudbury until about twenty years ago, but has now quite died out in East Anglia. The RAM, at North Woolwich, perhaps, represents the crest of the Clothworkers’ Company.[65] Our six examples of the sign of the LAMB may, or may not, have had an heraldic origin. They probably represent the Lamb with the flag of the Apocalypse; but this was used as a crest by the Merchant Taylors’ Company.[66] The farthing issued in 1654 by “Tho. Lambe at Bvttls Gate in Colchester” bears a _Holy Lamb couchant_, and that of “Joseph Lamb of Lee [Leigh], 1664,” bears the same device. In both cases a rebus or pun on the name of the issuer is, of course, intended. The LAMBS at *Colchester and *Romford are both at least sixty years old. Probably the sign was first set up as an emblem of the woollen trade. The five instances in which the Lamb occurs in conjunction with a Lion have already been noticed (p. 63), and attention has also been drawn to the fact (p. 23) that some, at least, of our SHIPS are probably intended for _sheep_. The SHOULDER OF MUTTON, which occurs both at Great Totham and Fordham, probably represents the joint so often brought to table.

The BEAR occurs by himself only twice, namely, at Buttsbury (where he is at least forty years old), and at Romford. The BEAR at Buttsbury is mentioned in the Stock parish registers in 1673. Forty years ago there were also BEARS at Colchester and Great Baddow. We are probably more indebted to the old custom of bear-baiting for this sign than to Heraldry. Larwood and Hotten say that it was originally adopted by ale-houses as a pun on the word “beer.” If so, the pun was a very weak one. The WHITE BEAR is to be seen at Galleywood and at Stanford Rivers. At the latter place he has existed at least since 1789, and is represented on a board over the door, but not upon the swinging sign-board, as a Polar Bear picking his way over blocks of ice. The sign of the WHITE BEAR is not a modern one. It was used in the seventeenth century, and both of our Essex examples are over forty years old. The Queen of Richard III. used a White Bear as her badge, and this perhaps originated the sign.

Of the ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, a very old device, we have two instances in Essex, one at Harwich, and the other at Colchester. Neither seems to have been in existence twenty years ago. Most probably they are named after the famous old coaching inn at Newington Butts; but they may have originally been cutlers’ signs. The elephant with a castle on his back (as he was generally represented in the Middle Ages) formed the crest of the Cutlers’ Company.[67] At Great Baddow, Rayleigh, and elsewhere the device serves as a beer-house sign.

The GOAT AND BOOTS on *East Hill, Colchester, though over forty years old, is a sign which is not noticed in the _History of Sign-boards_. It is, doubtless, a corruption of the not-uncommon sign of the GOAT IN BOOTS, which appears to be a caricature of Welshmen, and not a corruption of the Dutch description of Mercury, _der goden boode_ (the gods’ messenger), as is often stated. We have in Essex no example of the not-uncommon sign of the GOAT AND COMPASSES, which is usually supposed to be a corruption of the Puritan motto, “God encompasses us.” This explanation, however, is not sound. The motto could never have been represented pictorially upon the sign-board, and we know that pictorial representation was the sole aim and object of the sign in olden times. Probably the sign is merely a compound one; or it may represent the arms of the Cordwainers’ Company[68] in a corrupted form. To this origin may be certainly traced the sign of the THREE GOATS’ HEADS, which, however, does not occur in Essex.

The SQUIRREL’S HEAD at Squirrel’s Heath, Romford, has no doubt some connection with the locality. It was not in existence forty years ago. The sign of the THREE SQUIRRELS, which is not found in Essex, has been in use for over two centuries.

The sign of the SEA HORSE, which has existed at *Colchester for at least sixty years past, is not noticed by Larwood and Hotten. Very likely it commemorates the capture in the Colne, and subsequent exhibition in the town, of some such strange creature as a seal or porpoise, which vulgar belief set down as a “sea horse.”

The sign of the DOLPHIN occurs four times in the county, namely, at *Colchester, *Chelmsford, Maldon, and *Romford. The animal also figures as a beer-house sign at Stisted, Goldhanger, &c. The houses bearing it may have taken their sign from the many representations of the dolphin in private coats of arms; but, most likely, they have simply been called after the famous DOLPHIN Inn which existed in London for several centuries, and is said to have been occupied by Louis, the Dauphin of France, who, in 1216, came over to contest the English crown with King John. It was once adorned with fleurs-de-lys, dolphins, and other French cognizances. The dolphin formed the badge of the Dauphins of France, just as the three ostrich feathers form the badge of our own Princes of Wales. Larwood and Hotten do not notice the sign of the WHALEBONE of which Essex possesses four examples, namely, at Woodham Ferrers, *Colchester, Fingringhoe, and White Roothing. That at the latter place has apparently been in existence for at least a century, as it is mentioned more than once in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ in the year 1786, while the one at Colchester figured in the list as the OLD WHALEBONE forty years ago. The FISHBONE, however, spoken of by Larwood and Hotten as being “rarely met with as a public-house sign,” though frequently used by dealers in rags and bones, is probably the same sign under a different name. In the museum at Saffron Walden there has been, for nearly fifty years past, a large whale’s scapula, which is said formerly to have hung as a sign in one of the streets of that town. Mr. Joseph Clarke believes it was displayed at the KING’S HEAD, and it has on it an almost illegible letter R, probably part of the monogram G. R.; but more likely it formed the sign of the WHALEBONE at some house not now in existence, or not under that name. Of the SUN AND WHALEBONE which has existed at Latton since 1789 at least, the authors so frequently quoted say that “it may have originated from a whalebone hanging outside the house or [it may indicate] that the landlord had laid the foundation of his fortune as a rag merchant.” More probably, however, its origin was the impalement of two distinct signs. The sign-board is not pictorial. This sign was very fully discussed in _Notes and Queries_ in 1862 (3rd series, vol. i. pp. 250, 335, 359, 397, 419, and 473). Several most profound speculations were advanced to account for it, but they were all more or less far fetched. The WHALEBONE at Chadwell Heath has now disappeared, though a beer-shop so named existed there until about the year 1870. From it, in all probability, our four existing houses of this name, as well as the SUN AND WHALEBONE at Latton, have taken their designation; for the sign is a very uncommon one in the adjoining counties, and does not appear at all in London. The house in question originally took its name from two whale’s jaw-bones (not _rib_-bones, as is commonly supposed) set up in the form of an archway over the road close at hand. Local tradition says that the bones were those of a whale that was stranded in the Thames near Dagenham during the great storm that prevailed on the night preceding September 3, 1658, when Oliver Cromwell died.

This was, perhaps, the case, as “Ye Whalebone” is marked against the tenth milestone from London on the map of the high-road from London to Harwich, given in Ogilby’s _Itinerarium Angliæ_, published in 1675, only seventeen years after the whale is said to have been stranded. Also in Dr. Howell’s _Ancient and Present State of England_, first published in 1678, it is stated (6th Ed. p. 263) that, “near about this time [1658], there came up the Thames as far as Greenwich a whale of very great length and bigness.” Daniel Defoe, too, in his _Tour through the whole Island of Great Britain_, first published in 1724, says (vol. i. p. 3) the WHALEBONE was “so called because the rib-bone of a large Whale, taken in the River of Thames, was fixed there in 1658, the year Oliver Cromwell died, for a monument of that monstrous creature, it being at first about Eight and Twenty Foot long.” The WHALE’S BONE is also marked on _Andrew and Drury’s Map of Essex_, published in 1777. That a storm of most unusual magnitude did rage on the night in question, is certain. Prideaux, in his _Introduction to History_ (1682), speaks of “that most horrid tempestuous night which ushered in this day [on which Cromwell died].” Pepys also mentions the storm. Nor is it anything new for whales and similar animals to appear in the Thames. In Sir Richard Baker’s _Chronicles of the Kings of England_ (p. 425), published in 1684, it is recorded that on the 19th of January, 1606, “a great Porpus was taken at West Ham, in a small creek a mile and a half within the land; and within a few days after a Whale came up within eight miles of London, whose body was seen divers times above the water, and was judged to exceed the length of the largest ship in the River: but when she tasted the fresh water and scented the land, she returned again into the sea.” On the morning of April 31, 1879, too, a whale alarmed some fishermen by his spouting near Hole Haven. Many other records might be cited. It is, however, a curious circumstance that in M. J. Farmer’s _History of Waltham Abbey_, published in 1735, there is given as an appendix “The Inquisition taken the 17th of King Charles I. [1642] of a Perambulation of Waltham Forest in the County of Essex,” in which occurs the following passage:--[The Forest boundary runs] “from Great Ilford directly by the same King’s High Way leading towards Rumford, to a certain _Quadrivium_ (or way leading four ways), called the Four Wants, where late was placed and yet is a certain side of a whale, called the _Whale bone_.” From this it would appear that the spot was known as the Whalebone long before Cromwell’s death. Possibly, however, there is an error in the above date, Charles I. being inserted instead of Charles II.

A good deal of discussion upon the subject took place several years ago in the pages of _Notes and Queries_. In 1871 (p. 4), “G. S.” wrote that he had often seen whales’ bones set upright in Holland for cattle to rub against, and that he “was once struck with the same in a large park between Ingatestone and Chelmsford. The owner was a Dutch gentleman, who had introduced this sensible idea into England.” Other correspondents wrote that they knew of whales’ bones having been set up in various parts of England. Later on (p. 195), Mr. J. Perry, of Waltham Abbey, wrote that--

“There is (or was lately) a pair of whale’s ribs placed over the
old toll-gate at Chadwell Heath, near Romford, Essex, which form a
kind of Gothic arch across the roadway. They must have been there
for a considerable period, as it is beyond the memory of any of the
good old country-folks living in the locality to tell when first
erected. At a little distance from the toll-house occurs a similar
pair, set up over the carriage entrance to a residence.”

Afterwards (1878, p. 397) “S. P.” wrote as follows:--

“When I was a boy, there stood by the roadside, about two miles
west of Romford, at the east end of the long straggling village of
Chadwell Heath, and on the left hand going from London, a
tremendous pair of bones, forming an arch. The bases were deeply
rooted in the earth, but even then the space spanned was
considerable. Near by was a toll-house, with its bar, known from
the adjacent relic as ‘Whalebone Gate.’ I think, too, if I remember
rightly, there stood near the spot a road-side inn called by the
sign of ‘the WHALEBONE.’ My father, an Essex man, long since dead,
used to tell me that he had it from his grandfather, that the bone
was the upper [should be lower] jaw of an immense whale, which had
been cast ashore about three miles to the south of the spot, on the
north bank of the Thames, at Dagenham, while the Great Storm was
raging on the night that Oliver Cromwell died. In course of time,
toll on suburban roads was abolished; the toll-house and gate were
cleared away; and the jaw was appropriated to serve as an entrance
arch to the front garden of a neighbouring suburban villa--the
rural residence, I believe, of a Whitechapel pork-butcher--an
edifice known, and still indicated on suburban maps of a tolerably
modern date, as ‘Whalebone House.’ ... What became of the worthy
tradesman I have above alluded to, I do not know. Probably his
house is still standing, but I am unable to identify it now by its
former title or peculiar gate. I am under the impression that what
remains of the relic has been transferred to its original site; for
I was past the spot where, so far as my memory serves me, it
formerly stood, on July 25th in this year. Half the arch (_i.e._,
one bone) stood upright, still deeply rooted in the earth, but
alone, forgotten and deserted, by the side of the high road in a
fallow field. No one in the neighbourhood seemed to know anything
about it or its history.”

To this, Mr. J. A. Sparvel-Bayly, of Billericay, wrote (1879, p. 58):--

“In the little village of East Tilbury in Essex, situate on the
banks of the Thames, and not far from Romford, is a house known as
‘Whalebone Cottage,’ in front of which is an arch composed of the
jawbones of a huge whale. From their weather-worn appearance they
may possibly have belonged to that alluded to by S. P.”

In reply to this, Mr. W. Phillips (p. 338) stated that--

“The jawbones spoken of by Mr. Sparvel-Bayly as being at East
Tilbury, ‘not far from Romford’ (it is twelve miles from Romford as
the crow flies), cannot be identical with those mentioned by S. P.,
whose account I can corroborate, so far as knowing the jawbones he
mentions, forty years ago, when travelling on the box-seat of the
old Colchester Coach alongside a coachman of the Mr. Weller sort,
of some sixty-five summers. The two bones were then in existence on
the north side of the road near the tenth milestone, and two miles
the London side of Romford, in front of a roadside public-house
with the sign of the ‘WHALEBONE,’ which my coachman said used to be
the resort of the many highwaymen that once infested Chadwell Heath
close by. He spoke of his being told when a boy that the bones had
been there from the time of Cromwell.”

From the foregoing, it is clear that there were formerly _two_ pairs of bones set up near together; indeed, Mr. J. Perry distinctly says there were. One pair has now entirely disappeared. The other pair still stand (although S. P. seems to have overlooked them), as described, over the entrance of an adjoining house, known to this day as “Whalebone House” or “Lodge,” and marked as such in local directories. There is also in the immediate vicinity a “Whalebone Farm,” as well as a “Whalebone Lane.” The bones (of which an illustration is here given) are of the following dimensions:--

Feet. Inches.
Height out of ground (along curve) 15 6
Circumference (at base) 3 3½
“ (near top) 2 0
Breadth at base (flat inner side) 1 5
“ (round outer side) 1 10½

(_Chadwell Heath._)]

If, as seems probable, the bones are those of the Greenland whale (_Balœna mysticetus_), it is extremely unlikely that the creature which owned them was ever stranded in the Thames. The following letter from Prof. W. H. Flower, F.R.S., is of much interest. He says--

“Pairs of the lower jawbones of the Greenland whale, erected
usually as gate-posts, occur in many parts of the eastern counties,
especially in the neighbourhood of the old whaling-ports--the
Thames, Yarmouth, Hull, Whitby, &c. They have all been brought from
the Arctic Seas by whalers, at any time since 1611, when the first
ships left England for the Spitzbergen whaling, which (with the
Baffin’s Bay whaling) has been carried on with more or less success
ever since, though now confined to Peterhead and Dundee. I very
much doubt Defoe’s ‘28 feet long.’ Twenty feet, following the
curve, is the maximum of the Greenland whale, and no other whale
has such large jaws. I also doubt the story of the creature being
stranded, because, if so, it cannot have been a Greenland whale--a
species which never visits our shores.”

Larwood and Hotten, in common with nearly all heraldic writers, innocently treat of whales and dolphins as _fishes_, as they were commonly supposed to be in the Middle Ages. A writer in _All the Year Round_, so lately as the year 1879, commits the same absurd error.

It will here be necessary to ask pardon of modern men of science for discussing, under the heading “Zoology,” certain monstrous beasts which, though unknown to us in these enlightened times, were accredited with a material existence by the ancient heralds, and others who wrote in the dark days of several centuries ago. Such imaginary creatures as dragons, griffins, unicorns, and the like, are, of course, here referred to.

The DRAGON in his own proper colour (whatever that may be) does not occur in the county; but we have four examples of the GREEN DRAGON, situated respectively at Shenfield, Black Notley, *Saffron Walden, and Waltham Abbey. Sixty years ago there were also GREEN DRAGONS at *Colchester and elsewhere. It is very easy to account for the origin of the use of the Dragon as a sign, but it is not so easy to say why he should so often be green. The GREEN DRAGON, however, has been a common sign for over two centuries. As the badge and supporter of the arms of many of our sovereigns, he was generally red, though occasionally black or golden. The Dragon appeared on the standard of the Saxons, and was used as a badge by several early Princes of Wales. It formed one or other of the supporters of the arms of Henry VII., and of all the Tudor sovereigns except Queen Mary. It appears also in the heraldic bearings of many private families. There can, therefore, be very little doubt as to its heraldic derivation, although it was formerly used as a chemist’s sign, in which case its origin was probably non-heraldic. Perhaps, as the Rev. H. L. Elliot writes, the strange colour in which this monster usually appears on sign-boards is due to the fact that a Green Dragon, holding in his mouth a bloody hand, was a badge of William Herbert, Lord Steward, created Earl of Pembroke in the time of Edward VI. The GEORGE AND DRAGON is a sign which occurs eight times in Essex. This very common sign has increased greatly in popularity since the institution of the Order of the Garter, of which a representation of St. George killing a dragon forms the pendant; but the fact that several of our recent kings have borne the name of George has no doubt had a good deal to do with its adoption. The legendary act of St. George, the patron-saint of England, is alluded to in the following amusing little rhyme:--

“To save a mayd, St. George the Dragon slew--
A pretty tale, if all that’s told be true.
Most say there are no dragons, and ’tis sayd
There was no George;--let’s hope there was a mayd.”

A representation of St. George killing the Dragon appears on the token issued by J. Lark of Coggeshall in 1667.[69]

There are also in Essex three examples of the sign of the GRIFFIN, situated respectively at Great Canfield, Halstead, and Danbury. The GRIFFIN at Danbury, an ancient and well-known inn, is mentioned in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ on May 9, 1788. It is also several times prominently alluded to (ii. p. 174, iii. pp. 130 and 144, and iv. p. 66) in Mr. Joseph Strutt’s Essex and Herts Romance of _Queenhoo Hall_, published in 1808. Although in former ages people firmly believed in the existence of griffins, the animal has never yet been seen except in Heraldry. Consequently it is only natural to assign the origin of its use as a sign to that art; but griffins appear upon the escutcheons of so many families that it is now quite impossible to say in whose honour it made its first appearance upon the sign-board.

The UNICORN appears as a public-house sign at West Ham and at Romford. At the latter place the house is situated in Hare Street, and is at least a century old, as it is mentioned in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ for March 2, 1787. A _unicorn rampant_ is depicted on the farthing tokens of William Alldred of Colchester, and a _unicorn passant_ on those of “Will. Anger of Mvch Clafton [? Clacton] in Esex, 1654.” The original use of the UNICORN as an inn-sign may be attributed to the fact that it was formerly a common chemist’s sign, and is one of the supporters of the arms of the Apothecaries’ Company, or to the fact that it now forms the sinister supporter of the Royal Arms. Much interesting information as to the ancient belief in its existence, and the power of its horn as an antidote to all poison, is given in the _History of Sign-boards_.