Preston has played host to a plethora of pub signs through the years, especially considering the city once held a reputation for having a different pub for every day of the year! Pub names depict everything from local folklore, historic events, royalty and notable characters. A simple pub sign can hold the key to a town’s past and when it comes to the history of pub names, each one is different. We’ve dipped into the archives to find some of the best old pub signs that welcome punters to cross the threshold. READ MORE: Long lost pubs of Preston. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: More forgotten Preston pubs. MORE MEMORIES: Popular Preston pubs of the 90s.
21. Black-A-Moor Head
With an unusual name for a pub The Black-A-Moor Head stands on Lancaster Road in the city centre. The sign shows the head of a dark skinned man in Saracen robes. And blackamoors were usually fighting bodyguards for the Knights Templar during in the Crusades Photo: Donna Clifford
22. The Moonraker
The sign for The Moonraker is a most interesting one - showing a moonraker staring at the reflection of the moon in the river. But who or what was a moonraker? According to the Cambridge Dictionary it is a person who comes from the county of Wiltshire, especially a smuggler. It is also a name given to someone who is thought to be a simpleton. So how it came to be the name of a Lancashire pub is anybody's guess Photo: Archive
23. Ye Olde Blue Bell
This sign used to hang on one of Preston's oldest pubs - Ye Olde Blue Bell - on Church Street. It was probably given this name due to its close proximity to the Preston Minster church further along the road, and the necessary tradition of providing bell ringers with free ale! Photo: Archive