Pub Sign Study – The Spotted Cow – Bury, Manchester

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Many pubs are better known by local nicknames than by their actual official names. For example, a pub in Miles Platting, Manchester that was officially called The Prince Of Wales was known to many as ‘The Dead House’. In fact if you referred to it by its actual name many locals who even drank there wouldn’t know where you meant. The nickname came from bodies being taken there after a tragedy in the street. The pub often displayed an empty coffin to attract more customers, though it has long since been demolished. The sign for The Spotted Cow cleverly incorporates the nickname right alongside the full title. The Spot not only shortens its full title – it also hints that the pub is the place, the ‘spot’ to be. Arthur Chappell