Photo-a-Day  (Friday, 26th November, 2021)

In the year 1393, during the reign of King Richard II, that pubs were first ordered to hang a sign outside to make them easily visible. Given that the majority of the population could not read, an illustration was often used
MOST POPULAR NAMES According To CyrilOGoooogle are

1. Red Lion
2. The Crown
3. Royal Oak
4. White Hart
5. The Swan
6. The Plough
7. White Horse
8. New Inn
9. The Ship
10. King’s Head

Hard to imagine the original white swan was sitting where the red car is now, there making the road very narrow and hence the name..the bottleneck.

Very good pic, Dennis.

That's very interesting Mick, although how they would have portrayed "The New Inn" is a puzzle. But the others would have been easy to portray to non-readers and the act of using illustrations certainly makes sense. We rarely go through the Pemberton area of Wigan but I recognise The White Swan as we used to take out much-loved dogs to Dukes Barn Kennels when we were going on holiday and we used to turn off near the pub for the kennels.

A very fine building and a good photo Dennis.
Nice to see that a pub is still in use. I love to see a typical English pub and this is one. We have 3 of those titles in Westhoughton.
I find Cyril's 'find a Google' very helpful... always informative.

According to the pubs listing site Pubs Galore, there are 547 pubs across the UK called The Red Lion, 491 called The Crown and 426 The Royal Oak, the top three named on Mick's list.
The Drunken Duck in Ambleside was so named because of a leaking barrel, which was enjoyed to excess by the ducks in the pub yard. When the landlady woke up to discover all her ducks seemingly dead, she started to pluck one ready for the cooking pot, luckily the duck revived presumably with a sore head, just in time to avoid becoming next days lunch.
As a matter of interest there are a total of 173 pubs listed in the Wigan Postal District.

Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t there a White Swan in Standish that was known locally as The Mucky Duck?

Irene they used a fair maiden holding a tray with a tankard of ale and some food on it.

Nice picture, Dennis.

Thanks for the history lesson, Mick.

DTease, yes there was a White Duck in Standish. It's now under a different name. PeterP, I was a barmaid for many years....I wonder if I was a "fair maiden with a tankard of ale", even with dark hair and dark eyes? .....I hope so!

DTease - that was the White Duck, next to the police station. Now part of the 'Fifteens' chain of bars.

No idea as to how many pubs are still open in Pemberton, but there were plenty at one time, though you can't blame folks for buying in from supermarkets as they can have a night in at home for whole a lot less.

Here's a list of the top one hundred UK pub names.
Courtesy of Mickipedia. https://www.pubnames.co.uk/top100.php

Very interesting Cyril - I must look on Mickipedia sometime although we do get a lot of It on here!

That made me laugh, Veronica! xxxxx

Why are they called 'Red Lion', when lions do not come in that colour?

Something to do with Heraldry, maybe?

Well it is true Irene...;~))