occur three times on the Essex tokens. The sign of the Three Crowns, which occurs four times in the county, as hereafter mentioned, is very probably derived either from the arms of the Drapers’ Company, or from those of the Skinners’ Company.[45] The signs of the Horseshoe and the Three Horseshoes (the former of which occurs three times in the county and the latter ten times) probably both owe their origin partly to the fact that horseshoes appear on the arms of the Farriers’ Company,[46] and partly to the old custom of fastening a horseshoe upon the stable-door or elsewhere in the belief that it would scare away witches. The Three Horseshoes now existing at Billericay seems to be at least one hundred years old, as it is referred to in the Chelmsford Chronicle on March 10, 1786. As a beer-house sign the Horseshoe occurs at Great Parndon, and the Three Horseshoes at Braintree, Waltham Abbey, High Ongar, and elsewhere. It appears from the parish registers of Grays that there was a Horseshoes there in 1724, and there was a Three Horseshoes at Great Parndon in 1789. The Clothworkers’ Arms[47] appear twice on the Colchester tokens, once on the farthing of “William Cant, in Hedingham Sibley, 1667,” and once elsewhere. The Shuttle on the tokens of “Moses Love, slaymaker, of Coggshall,” and “Nathaniell Cattlin of Safron Walden, 1668,” the Woman Spinning on that of “John Little in Movlshem, 1666,” and the pair of Shears on that of “James Bonvm in Stisted, 1670,” are all probably connected with the woollen trade which formerly flourished in Essex. In 1662 there was a house known as the Shears in Chelmsford. It is mentioned in the Account of the Murder of Thomas Kidderminster as being in “Colchester-lane,” which was probably what is now known as Springfield Lane. Littlebury was once another seat of the woollen trade. Until comparatively recently the 3rd of February used to be celebrated there, as related in a poem still occasionally to be met with, that being the day dedicated to Bishop Blaize, patron of workers in wool. Two huge pairs of shears, one of which is here represented, may still be seen carved on the old oaken north door of the church.
In addition to the foregoing signs connected with trades and occupations, we have the following, though none of the employments named ever bore coats of arms. Most of them are modern vulgarisms, and need no further attention. There are Cricketers’ Arms at Manningtree, Danbury, and Rickling; Maltsters’ Arms at Willingale Doe, Lambourne (beer-house), and Colchester; Freemasons’ Arms at Brightlingsea and Braintree (beer-house); a Drovers’ Arms at Rayleigh; an Engineers’ Arms at Stratford; Thatchers’ Arms at Mount Bures and Rettendon (beer-shop), Tolleshunt D’Arcy, and Great Warley; a Volunteers’ Arms at Maldon; a Yachtsman’s Arms at Brightlingsea; a Slaters’ Arms at Chadwell Heath; a Moulders’ Arms (beer-shop) at Great Wakering; a Woodcutters’ Arms (beer-shop) at Eastwood; a Foundry Arms (beer-shop) at Hornchurch (of course named after Messrs. Wedlake’s foundry there); Labourers’ Arms at Great Baddow and Woodham Ferris (beer-shops); and an Odd Fellows’ Arms at Springfield (beer-house). Mr. H. W. King finds mention in ancient deeds of a house at Leigh, in 1682, with the sign of the Hambro’ Merchants’ Arms, but whether an inn, shop, or private residence does not appear, nor is there any subsequent mention of it. The owner, George King, is described as a mercer on some of his tokens, still extant, and also on his tombstone, now destroyed. Most probably, therefore, it was a shop-sign. It stood on the site of the present King’s Head. At High Ongar a beer-shop displays the sign of the Foresters’ Arms. Sixty years ago there was a Nelson’s Arms at *Colchester. At the same time, the Weavers’ Arms[48] formed a very suitable sign at *Colchester, and there were a *Joiners’ Arms, a *Tailors’ Arms, and a *Sawyers’ Arms at the same place. Of the latter, there is still an example (beer-house) at Magdalen Laver. In times past, probably, many other trades have had their “Arms,” though only sign-board ones.
Many other “arms” are borrowed from the names of illustrious persons, though there is some uncertainty about several in the subjoined list. The following will be at once seen to be named after well-known Essex landowners: such are, the Ducane Arms at Braxted, the Lennard Arms at Aveley, the Neville Arms at Audley End, the Rayleigh Arms at Terling, the Tower Arms at South Weald, the Wake Arms at Waltham Abbey (which is over forty years old), the Wilkes Arms at Wenden Lofts, and the Western Arms at Rivenhall, which figured as the Lord Western Arms forty years ago, when there was also a Petre’s Arms at Ingatestone. Other arms of this class, but not necessarily connected with the county, are the Camden Arms at Forest Gate, the Cowley Arms at Leytonstone, the Headley Arms at Great Warley, the Henley Arms at North Woolwich, the Laurie Arms at Romford, the Manby Arms and the Waddington Arms at Stratford, the Milton Arms at Southend, the Spencers’ Arms at Hornchurch, and the De Beauvoirs’ Arms at Downham, together with the Peto Arms, the Sidney Arms, the Sutton Arms, and two Napier’s Arms. Sixty years ago there was a *Theobald’s Arms at Grays. The De Beauvoirs’ Arms is at least forty years old. It seems to be locally known as “the Beavers.” Its sign is a pictorial one with the arms duly displayed. Larwood and Hotten describe the General’s Arms at Little Baddow as a “new-fangled, unmeaning sign,” through knowing nothing of its local significance. It appears that the house belongs to Lord Rayleigh, and the arms of the Strutt family—crest, motto, and all—are correctly depicted upon the sign-board. It takes its name from Major-General William Goodday Strutt, brother of the first Baron. After seeing much active service, in which he lost a leg and received many wounds, he was appointed Governor of Quebec, and died February 5, 1848.
The Royal Arms are displayed in the undesirable neighbourhood of Silvertown. Although our present Queen has now reigned fifty years, the Queen’s Arms only appear three times on Essex sign-boards, against no less than seventeen King’s Arms. Probably the fact that the number of kings has been very much greater than the number of queens will fully account for this. There is, however, a Victoria Arms at Brentwood. It seems probable that during the last forty years many houses formerly known as the King’s Head have come to be called the King’s Arms, after the recent craze for “arms;” for the former sign was much commoner, and the latter much rarer, forty years since than now. It may be pointed out, for instance, that in Mr. Creed’s list of signs round Epping in 1789, the King’s Head appears six times, and the King’s Arms only once; also that the Queen’s Head appears twice, while the Queen’s Arms does not appear at all. This shows the great prevalence of “Heads” over “Arms” on the sign-boards of last century, and also that the present prevalence of Kings over Queens in the same situation was observable even then. Probably the two Queen’s Heads given, which were at Harlow and Fyfield respectively, represented the portrait of Queen Anne. A token was issued by William Drane at the King’s Arms (depicted in the field), in Waltham Abbey in 1668, and the same sign is mentioned in the Chelmsford Chronicle for 1786 as occurring at Halstead. The sign still exists at both those places; but it is, of course, difficult to say whether or not the houses are the same as those that displayed the sign in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries respectively. The sign of the King’s Arms at Waltham Abbey in 1668 can hardly have been more than eight years old at the time, as no one would have ventured to display such a sign during the time of the Commonwealth. Doubtless it was set up at the time of the Restoration in 1660 in honour of the new king, Charles II., for whose father, perhaps, this William Drane had fought.
Among the more miscellaneous “Arms” may be mentioned the Chatsworth Arms at Forest Gate, the Alma Arms (beer-house) at Navestock, the Chobham Arms at Stratford, together with a Liberty Arms, a Libra Arms, three Ordnance Arms, a Railway Arms, and a Roman Arms in the Roman Road, Colchester. The last-named sign has been corrupted within the last twenty years from the Roman Urn. Most of these extremely absurd signs have come into existence during the last few years. They serve to show how completely the original use of arms as signs has become disassociated from their present use. Another indication of the modern growth of “Arms” is to be found in the fact that they are very common as beer-house signs—beer-houses having only been instituted since the beginning of this century. Even forty years ago “Arms” were decidedly less common as signs than they are now. The list has of late been swelled by such stupid and unmeaning additions as the Alma Arms, Libra Arms, and Lilliput Arms, very few, if any, of which existed fifty years since.
To the above may be added the following, which appear in London, and are most of them modern and meaningless absurdities:—The Waterloo Arms, the Grand Junction Arms, the Paviors’ Arms, the Palace Arms, the Roman Arms (in the Roman Road, Bow, E.), the Mechanics’ Arms, and the Volunteers’ Arms. The Sol’s Arms, in the Hampstead Road, commemorated by Dickens in Bleak House, still exists under the same name. “Arms” in London are very frequently situated in streets of the same name, and these streets are usually named after persons, who, it may be presumed, own property in them. Altogether there are in London no less than 352 distinct signs consisting of “Arms” of some kind or other, not counting the number of times each particular sign is repeated. Thus, in London, “Arms” form rather more than twenty per cent. of all distinct signs.
