White Hart
The fifth most popular pub name in England, linked to Richard II's badge.
via Wikipedia: White Hart · see source
The White Hart is a common pub name in England, the fifth most popular name for a pub. It derives from the white hart badge of Richard II, who probably took it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent". The name may also have been a pun on his name, as in "Rich-hart". In the Wilton Diptych, the earliest authentic contemporary portrait of an English king, Richard II wears a gold and enamelled white hart jewel, and angels surrounding the Virgin Mary all wear white hart badges.
In English Folklore, the white hart is associated with Herne the Hunter. Arthur C. Clarke wrote a collection of science fictional tall tales under the title Tales from the White Hart, using as a framing device the conceit that the tales were told during drinking sessions in a pub named the White Hart that existed somewhere between Fleet Street and the Embankment. This pub was fictional but based on a real pub named the White Horse where the science-fiction community of London met in the 1940s and 1950s.
Quick Facts
- Earliest known pub foundation
- 1388
- Location of fictional pub
- Between Fleet Street and the Embankment
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Arthur C. Clarke's fictional White Hart pub was based on a real pub named the White Horse where London's science-fiction community met in the 1940s and 1950s.
- The White Hart in Llangybi retains 11 fireplaces from the 17th century and a priest hole.
Notable British inns called the White Hart
Ye White Hart in Barnes is a Victorian pub overlooking the Thames, a landmark on the Boat Race course, and once served as headquarters for Barnes Football Club. The Whyte Hart Hotel in Bletchingley, said to have been founded in 1388, appeared in a 1958 Pathé News documentary about archaic dishes. The White Hart Hotel in Braintree dates to the 14th century, sits at the crossroads of two Roman roads, and was a coaching inn running services to Sudbury and Norwich until the railway arrived in 1848.
The White Hart in Brentwood, the oldest pub in the town, dates from before 1480 and may have been named after Richard II's 1392 visit; it became a coaching inn and later offered motor vehicle repairs in 1910, now operating as a nightclub and restaurant called Sugar Hut. The White Hart in Canterbury has a Victorian facade but is built on the site of St Mary de Castro, demolished around 1486, with its mortuary now the pub's cellar. The White Hart Inn at Coggeshall dates to 1420 and retains original timber rooms with up to 18 beds. The White Hart Inn in Colyford sits on the A3052 along the south coast.
American inns
The White Hart Inn in Salisbury, Connecticut, named after a Hampshire tavern, has operated as a post-road inn since 1867, though part of its building dates to 1806 as a private residence. It closed and was for sale in November 2010, then sold in May 2014 for $2.9 million to an investor group led by Thomas Conley Rollins Jr., reopening that year. The property includes 16 guest rooms, three dining rooms, a taproom, two outdoor patios, a porch, a ballroom, and a café, with artwork by Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, and others displayed throughout.
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