UK’S MOST POPULAR DOG-RELATED PUB NAMES RANKED – AND WHY THE TRADITION BEGAN
Source: Mirror (Extract)
Posted: April , 29 2021
As pubs enter their third week of business and gear up for indoor service, Team Dogs takes a look at the many boozers with names dedicated to our four-legged friends.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend and they’re right if the number of British pub names dedicated to our canine pals is anything go by.
From The Black Pug in Warwick, to The Fox and Hounds in Berkshire, there’s no shortage of boozers across the UK named after our four-legged friends.
As beer gardens enter their third week of business after Covid lockdown restrictions eased, TeamDogs have taken a look at some of the top picks for dog-related pub names in the UK.
The Greyhound is the 25th most popular name for a pub in Britain, with Fox and Hounds coming in at number 28, being the second most common choice relating to canines, with 129 UK venues taking on the title.
And the reason for the trend’s popularity is thought to date back more 500 years.
Historically, pubs used pictures instead of words as their signage due to many punters being unable to read.
As such, pubs were named through easily identifiable images.
Pub names relating to dogs, like Fox and Hounds, Dog and Duck and Dog and Gun, often refer to traditional sports like hunting or shooting.
The Spotted Dog in Forest Gate, east London, is thought to once have been a hunting lodge for King Henry VIII during his reign from 1509 to 1547.
There are also more than 100 pubs called Hare and Hounds, another shooting-related name.
It’s the third most common dog-related pub name in the UK, with 114 around the country, making it the 37th most popular name overall.
Here are the top eight most common pub names in the UK, based on pubs listed as open on Pubs Galore – is your local on there?
Greyhound – 138 pubs – 25th most common name overall
Fox and Hounds – 129 pubs – 28th most common name overall
Hare and Hounds – 114 pubs – 37th most common name overall
Dog and Partridge – 32 pubs – 139th most common name overall
Dog – 25 pubs – 177th most common name overall
Dog and Gun – 21 pubs – 215th most common name overall
Black Dog – 20 pubs – 225th most common name overall
Dog House – 19 pubs – 231st most common name overall
