It's The Bull & Egret in Covent Garden. Bulls and egrets aren't usually known as bedfellows, either in the natural world or symbolically, indeed I believe this is the only The Bull & Egret in the country.
The history of The Bull & Egret
The Bull & Egret pub in Covent Garden is a lasting tribute to the founders of the Football Association, who created the rules of the game more than 150 years ago. The pioneers of football met at the original Freemasons pub in 1863 to thrash out the laws of a game now played across the globe. Today there’s Football Association memorabilia and the perfect set-up to enjoy televised football, alongside pub food and a large selection of drinks.
It's not a helpful history, giving no explanation of bulls nor egrets nor how the origins of football come into this. The key missing fact is that this pub used to be called The Freemasons Arms, being close to the Grand Masonic Temple, so a good place for an apron-friendly drink. And the Football Association was indeed founded at the Freemasons Tavern on 26 October 1863 when secretary Ebenezer Cobb Morley convened a meeting which agreed the first laws of the game. The catch is that the Freemasons Tavern and Freemasons Arms were completely different pubs, the Tavern on Great Queen Street where The Connaught Rooms now stand, the Arms 200m away on Long Acre. The correct site even has a memorial plaque, and The Bull & Egret is merely being suggestive.
The actual history of The Bull & Egret The pub was first licensed in 1704 and was known as the Bull's Head until 1778, after which it became the Freemasons Arms. Originally owned by Charringtons, it was acquired by Sam Smith in 1985, Greene King in 1988 and Shepherd Neame in 2003. Earlier this year it was purchased by two blokes called Callum Murphy and Will St John who run a chummy pubco, and in July they added TV screens and renamed it The Bull & Egret.
That explains the Bull - it's a reference to the pub's original name - but the Egret still baffles me.
Update: The cattle egret (Ardea ibis) is a stocky heron originally native to the tropics, now more widely established globally. The birds often spend time close to large grazing animals to grab the insects and worms their hooves disturb, hence 'Bull & Egret' would be a common foraging pair. Thanks Peter!
And what of other unusual combinative names?
London has hundreds of pubs named the Something & Something and not all of those make obvious sense either. I ploughed through a database of 4000 London pub names and tried to uncover the reasons behind the strangest pairings.
Some make perfect sense:
» Fox & Hounds, Dog & Duck, Hare & Hounds (country pursuits)
» Coach & Horses, Horse & Groom, Cart & Horses (early travel)
» Rose and Crown (the War of the Roses)
» George & Dragon (our patron saint)
» Crown and Anchor (naval symbols)
» Crown & Sceptre (Crown Jewels)
» Bat & Ball (sports)
Some you can see why the two might be paired:
» Star & Garter (badge of the Order of the Garter)
» Hook & Cleaver, Lamb & Trotter (Smithfield meat market)
» Hoop & Grapes, Cork & Bottle (beer & wine)
That explains the Bull - it's a reference to the pub's original name - but the Egret still baffles me.
