The Crown and Thistle, which occurs at Great Chesterford, is a rather uncommon sign. It, of course, represents the royal badge of Scotland, a thistle, imperially crowned.
Few will be surprised to learn that the Rose is very common as a sign. A rose imperially crowned is now the national badge of England; white and red roses formed the cognizances of the rival factions of York and Lancaster in the “Wars of the Roses;” the same flower, under different forms, served as the badge of nearly all the English sovereigns from Edward I. to Anne; and it is one of the very commonest “vegetable” charges known in Heraldry. The fact that, while the sign of a simple Rose occurs only three times in Essex, namely, at Southchurch, Peldon, and West Mersea, the Rose and Crown occurs as many as twenty-five times, clearly shows the heraldic origin of the sign, most of our kings and queens having worn the rose crowned. The Rose and the Thistle combined together in a very absurd heraldic style, and crowned, were used as a badge by James I. to typify the union of the two kingdoms of England and Scotland. On the beautiful chapel of Henry VII. at Cambridge the rose and crown are repeated innumerable times, together with the king’s other badges, a portcullis and a fleur-de-lys, both of them crowned. A rose crowned also appears on the token of “Iohn Freeherne iunior, in Witham, 1667.” The authors of the History of Sign-boards say (p. 124): “Hutton, in his Battle of Bosworth, says that ‘upon the death of Richard III., and consequent overthrow of the York Faction, all the sign-boards with white roses were pulled down, and none are to be found at the present day.’ This last part of the statement, we believe, is true.” The rose in the sign of the Rose and Crown at Thaxted is, nevertheless, painted white, though this is certainly unusual. On Cary’s and other old maps of Essex, published about a century ago, may be seen marked two houses, presumably inns, known as the White Rose and the Red Rose, situated near one another on the edge of Epping Forest. Neither of these signs appear in Essex at the present day, nor do Larwood and Hotten mention them. There is also a White Rose in Castle Street, Leicester Square, London. The Rose and Crown at Saffron Walden has long been the principal inn in the town. One of the earliest references to it in the Corporation records occurs in 1654, when 2s. were expended “For 1 Quart of canary at the Rose when Moulton and Douglas suffered.” In 1660, 2s. 4d. was “Spent at the Rose and Crown when Captain Turner sent about the town armes.” In the following year, and again in 1682, the name appears again; while in the years 1689, 1704, 1709, and 1819, the Corporation seems to have expended various sums at “the Rose” (undoubtedly the same house) upon certain special occasions. It was from this house, too, that “Poor Robin” started on his Perambulation from Saffron Walden to London in 1678 (see p. 66), as shown by the following extracts. He says:—
. . . . . . . . . .
“Thus, having shown you when, in the next place
I’ll show you whence, my journey I did trace.
. . . . . . . . . .
It was from the Rose and Crown, where Mr. Eve
Doth keep a house like to an Under Sheriff;
There is good Sack, good French wine and good Beer.
. . . . . . . . . .
There, at my parting, some kind friends of mine,
Would needs bestow on me a quart of wine,
Where, with stout drinking, ere my parting hour,
That quart was made at least a three or four.
Yet would my jovial friends on me attend,
Part of my journey unto Audley End.”
The Mr. Eve mentioned herein is undoubtedly the same landlord mentioned in the Saffron Walden Mayor’s Book in 1680, when the Corporation “Pd. Mr. Eves for wine at
the Dinner, &c., when the King came to Audley End, when we delivered the Address—£5 2s. 0d.” The Rose at Peldon appears to be at least a century old, as it is mentioned in the Chelmsford Chronicle on May 5, 1786. The inn plays a rather conspicuous part in the Rev. Baring-Gould’s Mehalah, wherein (ii. p. 58) it is described as “an old-fashioned house with a vine scrambling over the red tile roof, and an ancient standard sign on the green before the door, bearing a rose painted the size of a gigantic turnip.” Few houses suffered more severely from the earthquake of April 22, 1884, than this. An illustration of its appearance immediately after that event is here given.
Mr. King finds mention in ancient deeds of a Rose and Crown—either inn, shop, or tenement—at Rochford in 1693. In the Stock parish registers it is recorded that on August 23, 1676, “Richard Barnes, a citizen of London, dwelling (as he sayd) in the Minories, taken sick in travell, dyed in ye highway neare ye house called ye Rose, and was burried at ye p’ishes charge.” Presumably this Rose was not an inn. A Rose appears on the token, dated 1670, of Thomas Guyon of Coggeshall, but no house with that sign now exists there. The Rose and Crown at Rochford is referred to in the Chelmsford Chronicle on April 14, 1786. The sign of the Rose of Denmark occurs at Canning Town. Its origin is not obvious. Larwood and Hotten do not refer to the sign.
