King Arthur
Welcome to the webpage that explains the theory that The Black Horse inn sign & name are connected to Arthurian legend.
My name is Jon Bratton
Having
read S G Wildman's book I decided to do what Wildman couldn't...to use
the vast resources of the internet to see whether a stronger case can be
made out or whether the additional information weakens the case. I am
also doing what Wildman could have done but didn't...I am visiting every
Black Horse pub in the Country. This is going to be a long ongoing body
of work
Featured in a Sunday newspaper in Oct 2007 (In case the pesky newspaper drops this link try this back up Biggest Pub Crawl inHistory)
S G Wildman in his 1971 book "The Black Horsemen" contends that the Black Horse name could be symbolic of battle wins for the Celt/Romano Brits against the Anglo Saxons in the 500's. Why Black Horse? Because the Brit (Arthurian) defenders were cavalry (as opposed to Saxon infantry) and there is evidence, from several sources, that the horses that were used were black fell ponies from the Lake District
Where Black Horse Pubs are not found
What
is significant to me, is not just where "Black Horse" pubs are found,
but where they are not. For instance, Wildman notes there are no Black
Horse pubs in Cumbria, despite it being the home of the famous black
Fell Pony. (That is true now, and, substantially,
was always true, but not wishing to nitpick, according to Bulmer's
Directory of 1883, a James Swan had a Black Horse pub in Whitehaven
Actually there is, to this day, one on the border at Stainmore near
Kirkby Stephen, the likely scene of a battle against the Saxons.) There are none north of Hadrian's Wall (except for one in Montrose and one in Newton Stewart) nor Wales (except, for the most part, those following the line of Offa's Dyke) nor Cornwall. (It's
true there's none in Cornwall but there was one for many years in
Kenwyn Str, Truro. In 1873 Richard Collins had it, then Tom Letcher,
then Charles Charstone and by 1906 Geo Trewhala.) The more research I do the more I can erode the detail, if not the substance, of the book
Clusters of Black Horse Pubs
Wildman
concluded that, where there are clusters of Black Horse pub names,
there had been strong cavalry defence of Celtic / British land against
the Saxons or black horse cavalry patrol or resting areas
The Celtic strongholds, devoid of "Black Horses", ...the green bits of this map... were in areas "behind the lines" of the fighting They were the areas defended, not those that saw fighting. They are the areas that have a strong Arthurian tradition
The map above shows the position long after Arthur
Here's the beginning of the Saxon period
Note
that County Durham was then a green bit between two white bits and as
it happens had very much more Black Horse pubs than most Counties and
most clustered to the west of the County with only the Pennines and
Cumbria to the west of them
There is no doubt that the Black Horse pub distribution is uneven and clustered beyond mere chance and there has to be a reason
Some,
the ones in Lincolnshire, cannot be the scene of British cavalry
victories because Lincolnshire fell to the Saxons at the very beginning
as you can see from this map
"Black Horse" pubs in Lincolnshire
could be because the precursor to the modern Shire horse was called the
Black Horse of Lincolnshire
Black Horse -A Striking Image
In
all things there are exceptions and I would expect that many "Black
Horses" are so called because iconographically it is a powerful
image...indeed I can think of nothing more striking/memorable than a
silhoetted galloping/rearing horse
Contrarily, Mr Wildman, at
the very start of his book says that there has to be a specific reason
for choosing the name because a pub, a place of good cheer, would not
choose an image that is only associated with funerals.
Well, try telling that to Sampson Lloyd co-founder of Lloyds Bank..
..or Enzo Ferrari (or the Baracca family whose crest, used on some WWI Italian Aircraft, Enzo adopted as his logo). CLICK HERE if you want to know more
Because
there is good reason for choosing the name for its striking imagery,
and manifestly some were, I think it would have been better if Mr
Wildman had not cluttered up his distribution map with those eg all the
BH pubs in Lincolnshire so as to concentrate on those that are clustered
in places likely to be so named because of Brit cavalry victories or
cavalry patrols or cavalry resting areas. And there are plenty of
examples.
...this is the Black Horse at Cherhill, nr Calne, Wiltshire
CLICK HERE to
read about nearby Wansdyke an earthworks fortification..and the
webmaster makes the point that " cavalry securely housed in a
refurbished hill fort, communication to their rear and a route for back
up"..
Wildman's Inadequate Reference Source
Another
major problem I have with the book is that Mr Wildman only took the GPO
Telephone Books of the time (late 60's) as his source for "Black Horse"
pubs and assumed that, more or less, that was a good guide to all the
pubs with that name, from the time that most pubs existed
(1700's/1800's).
Having looked at the pub history in my
immediate local area, I found that, out of 10, only one has not changed
it's name in the last 100 years or so...ironically the one with the
unchanged name since 1774 is my local..yes you've guessed...The Black
Horse...but pubs do regularly change their names ....
...this
one at Great Linford, near Milton Keynes, for example, was, for most of
it's long existance proudly called The Black Horse but between 2000 and
2006 it was renamed the Proud Perch...I ask you!... fortunately it's
reverted back to it's historic name
...and/or cease being pubs
through demolition or change of building use. His data base of Black
Horse pubs is very crude/limited/unsophisticated, and to some extent
Wildman acknowledges this.
You
can see from John Crossling's website that Warwick has about a quarter
of the pubs it once had and I found a similar proportion for my home
town ["there were..205 people per pub in the 1860's and now ...there are
1000 people per pub"]
There
follows a song about the pubs in St Albans in 1882 and as best as I can
tell by adding them up there's about 90 whereas there's now about 60.
One of the casualties is the Black Horse which is no more and it seems
that it is not just a name change but is physically gone as, according
to recent lists there is no pub at all now on Spicer Street, which is
where the Black Horse stood. Mind you the number of name changes is
huge.
CLICK HERE to see the pubs now in St Albans
Song 1882
I’ll
mention the name of each Pub in the Town, North-Western, The
Marlborough, The Anchor, The Crown, The Malster, The Post Boy, The
Trumpet and then White Hart, Two Brewers, and the famous Peahen.Cross
Keys, Potter’s Arms, and the Queen’s Hotel The Duke, Bat and Ball, The
Lamb, and The Bell; The White Horse, The Wheat Sheaf, and Queen
Adelaide, The Cock, and The Peacock, and the naughty Mermaid.The
two Red Lions and the Fleur de Lis, The Boot and New Inn, and the old
Crab Tree; The Wellington Inn, King’s Head, and King Will., The Old
Rising Sun, and the Little Windmill.The Plough, The Harrow, The Stag, and the Hope, The Bull, and Victoria, and the old Antelope; The Vine, and Black Horse, Sugar Loaf, and Green Man, The George, and George Tap, King’s Arms, and The Swan.The
Farrier’s Arms, the Verulam also, The Rule and Compass, and the little
black Crow, The Lower Red Lion, Royal Oak, and the Queen, The Cock and
Flower Pot near the Woodman is seen.Down to the Blue Anchor I
have often gone, And to The Black Lion, and Old Unicorn; To The Rose and
Crown, and little Six Bells, Then back to The Painter to see Mrs.
Wells.The Blacksmith’s Arms are close to his shop, Then we go to
The Sailor Boy, there must we stop; We pass by the Cricketers on our way
back, And find The Beehive behind The Wool Pack.There’s old
Garibaldi with a flaming red coat, The savage White Lion and the tame
little Goat; The Hare and the Hound are in Sopwell Lane still, And the
two Fighting Cocks are down by the Silk Mill.There’s The Prince
of Wales and Crystal Palace, The young Farmer’s Boy - the old Steeple
Chase; The Acorn, The Alma, The Eagle and Child, And bold Robin Hood of
the Forest so wild.The Midland Inn and the Midland Hotel, Three
beershops kept by Blanks, Luck, and Bell; The White Hart Tap is not in
my list, The old Golden Harp I nearly had missed; Two in Pound Field
whose signs I’ve forgot, And the Pineapple is the last of the lot.
Wildman's
book lists 229 Black Horse pubs throughout the Country which includes 5
extinct ones but I suspect 100 years or so earlier that figure would
have been four times higher.
Trade Directories-A Better Source
It
would have been a bigger research project but Wildman, acknowledging
the shortcomings of his data base, could have studied Trade Directories
of the 1800's for various areas...
This
is Kelly's for N & E Ridings 1893. Others are Pigot's, Slater's,
Glover's, Lewis's, Bentley's etc. available in Public Libraries. (In this list there is a Black Horse shown in Long Street in Thirsk but there used to be two, at 90 Long Str and 110 Long Str.) For pubs in Hull CLICK HERE . I'll investigate whether his case is strengthened or weakened by the additional data that could have been available to him.
In
fairness, the Black Horse pubs that are significant to his case are
mostly rural and the biggest name changes have occurred in urban areas.
Nevertheless many rural pubs, unless they have turned to food, have
simply ceased to be
Here's
a Kelly's Directory example, . Wildman's book lists, for Cambridgeshire
(2), Norfolk (2) and Suffolk (3) a total of 7 Black Horse pubs
whereas Kelly's Directory for that area of 1883 shows 23 CLICK HERE for the Directory
Here's
another example. Wildman contends that "Arthur drove northward up the
Roman Road into Durham but there are only the two 'Black Horses' at
Ainderby Quernhow and Kirkby Fleetham to mark this journey"
(They're the two yellow circles to the east of the A1) In fact, even when he was doing his research, there were three, see the yellow circle to the west at Kirklington... presumably it was not in the telephone book...but note the three green circles representing three former Black Horses in 1893 at Healey, Crakehall and Barnington
Black Horse at Crakehall Station...now gone (http://www.crakehall.org.uk/way-in.html ) . If he'd gone beyond merely the phone book ie trade directories his case would have been stronger. Indeed, this is undoubtedly a cluster of Black Horse pubs and added to that there is a Black Horse Lane in nearby Northallerton
Could Something in the 500's Affect Pub Names in the 1700's?
If
it is true that where there was a successful defence of land by the
Arthurian cavalry the area became known as black horse country is it
feasible for the name to last 1200 years or so until the bulk of the
pubs came along in the 1700's/1800's?
I do believe it is
feasible for the black horse name to survive, even if the reason for the
name has been lost because there was a strong oral tradition among the
Celts and the Saxons
A Roman Inn
There were of course some pubs back then.
It
was when the Romans invaded the British Isles (55 BC-410 AD) that the
English Tavern came into existence. The constructing of straight roads
across the countryside, lead to the appearance of a network of inns,
offering lodgings and refreshments Once the Romans departed, their roads
quickly fell into a state of disrepair.
Nevertheless the Saxons
were fond of a tipple. Per the historian Thomas Hughes, "The
Anglo-Saxons had their eala-hus (ale house), win-hus (wine house) and
cumen-hus (inn)". A variety of weak beer was the staple drink of the
entire population, being considered much safer than water. As their
kingdom grew, so too did the need for decent roads and travellers’
rests.
Since starting this research I have visited
many 'Black Horses' in Durham, Yorkshire and Lancashire and I have been
struck by the topography surrounding many of them ie rolling hills just
perfect for a successful cavalry charge.
Indeed
I was driving around the centre of Chorley, in Lancashire, not knowing
the address of the Black Horse and was about to give up when I noticed
that on one edge of the town there were rolling hills. If there is any
truth to this theory, I thought, that's where the 'Black Horse' will
be...and it was!
This
is one example of many, particularly in Lancashire..see my notes on
individual pubs If you know of any more please email me at
More on Arthur using Fell Ponies
Wildman wondered why the Arthurian cavalry were remembered by the name "Black Horses".
Could
they have used Fells? Without any knowledge of horses, but researching
this line of thought, he found that his theory was borne out by the work
of Antony Dent and Daphne Machin-Goodall in "Foals of Epona"
who had come to the same conclusion from an entirely different starting point.
This is the currently in print work of Dent & Goodall
Although
there is some disagreement to the origin of the Fell pony, the most
commonly accepted theory stems from the remarkable similarity between
the Fell pony and the Friesian horse. It is believed by some but not all
that the breed developed during the Roman occupation of Britain early
in the first Century, at which time mercenaries from Friesland were
involved in the construction of Hadrian’s Wall. The Friesian auxiliaries
brought their own horses with them, ancestors of the modern Friesian
horse. Bred from Friesian stallions and native pony mares, the resultant
offspring inherited the strength and docile nature of the Friesian
along with the hardiness and pony- character of the north country
ponies.
Evidence that some Friesian mercenaries made their home in
this region comes from place names like Frizington in Cumbria, which
roughly translated means "Village of the sons of Friesians”.
“Foals
of Epona” suggests that in prehistory there was a dark-coated pony in
the Channel area (between England and France -- before the sea separated
us from the continent) which may have been foundation stock for several
breeds - the Friesian, the Fell and Dales, and other breeds in France,
Norway, Portugal.
Why are the Dales and Fell breeds
predominantly dark (black, brown, bay) while other native breeds are
grey, palomino, chestnut, dun? Dunno Both the Fells and the Dales
originated from similar foundation stock found throughout the area of
the Pennine range and have been known as “galloways” in northern
England, signifying a strong, hardy, versatile pony similar to the now
extinct Scottish Galloway (note the Geordie word for horse is gallowa)
which likely contributed to the development of both breeds.
For more information about Fell Pony history, or just to see some magnificent animals, why not visit a lovely website, run by Fell Pony Experts, from whence this photo of a Fell Pony came, and see also details of the Fell Pony Album
And howsabout this little fella, actually called Lancelot
which is proof positive of the connection...nearly
My Further & Ongoing Research
I looked at places where there are lots of Black Horse pubs to see if there was evidence of battles between British/Celts and Saxons. The county most closely rivalling Durham in BH pub presence is Wiltshire so I started there.
This website says "Wiltshire was the scene of important battles between the Celts and Saxons".
Next comes Sussex (Regia)...most BH pubs are clustered in West Sussex near Chichester. Click here
to see this quote "...the history of Sussex begins in 477, when the
Saxons landed in the west of the county under Aelle and his three sons,
and founded the kingdom of the South Saxons (see Kingdom of Sussex) The
Saxons took the Roman city of Regnum, which became Chichester, and drove
the British westward, into the forest of Andred".
Work in progress...stay tuned
Nennius wrote of Arthur's 13 battles
1. At the mouth of the river called Glein. There are two river Glens, one in Lincolnshire and the other in Northumbria.
2
to 5 At the river Dublas (Douglas) in the region of Linnius
(Lancashire), but with linnius meaning 'region of the water' it could be
in Cumbria.
6. 'On the river called Bassas' which could be
Bassenthwaite Lake in Cumbria or Bassen Beck close by. There are also a
lot of Bass prefix names in Yorkshire.
7. Nennius says this 'was
in Celyddon Forest, that is, the battle of Celyddon Coed'. This was
thought to be near Celleron, where the Roman Road (High Street) descends
from Arthurs Pike toward Broughton, near Penrith - sites controlled by
Meirchawn and his son March.
8. Nennius wrote 'The eighth battle
was in Guinion fort, and in it Arthur carried the image of the Holy
Mary, the everlasting virgin, on his (shield) and the heathens were put
to flight on that day, and there was great slaughter upon them, through
the power of our lord Jesus Christ and the power of the holy virgin his
mother'. Guinion would equate with the Roman Vinnovium at Bishop
Aukland, County Durham but there was a second place of the same name in
the North West.
9. 'was fought in the city of the Legion (urbe
Legionis). This must have been either Chester, York or Caerleon, the
only forts where Roman Legions were permanently based. The favourite is
Chester, which in the 616 war was referred to as Caer Legion.
10.
'on the banks of the river called Tryfrwyd'. Tryfrwyd meant 'three
streams (or torrents)' and could be at the junction of the Calder,
Hodder and Ribble at Mitton where once the Roman road ran from York to
Ribchester. So says the Harleian document, written in Welsh between 875
and 925. The Vatican document however reads 'the river strand called
Traht Treuriot' which would have placed the battle near the River Trent.
11. Again the Harleian and Vatican versions disagree, the
former saying the battle was 'on the hill called Agned' and the latter
'on the hill called Breguoin ... we call that the battle of Breguoin'.
Agned is referred to by Geoffrey of Monmouth when saying that Ebrauc
founded the city of York and went on to say he also 'founded the city of
Alcud towards Albany (Scotland) and the fortress of Mount Agned'. On
the other hand Breguoin could be a corruption of Brigantii, a tribe
living in the York area of Yorkshire.
12. Arthur's final victory
took place in 516 'on Baden Hill and in it 960 men fell in one day, from
a single charge of Arthurs, and no one laid them low save he alone; and
he was victorious in all his campaigns'. As Gildas also referred to
this battle it is safe to assume that it was fought exclusively against
the Anglo Saxons. The wording 'no one laid them low save he alone'
obviously meant that Arthur either had no backing from other kings of
Britain or by now was a king in his own right. Whatever the reason there
was comparative peace for many years after. Gildas even went so far as
to say that peace was created between Britons and Anglo Saxons lasting
44 years, lending strength to the theory that a lot of Arthurs battles
were not against the Anglo Saxons. At the end of the 6th century
Cyndyllan tried to emulate Arthur by attacking the Anglo Saxons on the
edge of his kingdom at Lichfield, to stop them encroaching further. He
failed however and lost all his land right back to Shrewsbury as a
result.
13. The battle of Camlann in 537 led to the death of
Arthur and Medrawt. This being Arthurs 13th battle may well have led to
the number 13 being classed as unlucky. It is not known where or what
caused the battle but by now Arthur was old for a soldier and many
wanted to replace him. By now the Anglo Saxons had taken over the north
and the east, and the Welsh kingdom of Powys extended as far as
Lichfield, so Arthur could no longer be in Cole country and Camlann may
have been a last battle to keep his kingdom in the east midlands.
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