Pub Sign Study The Horseshoe Failsworth Manchester
@arthurchappell (45004)
Preston, England
September 14, 2018 3:14pm CST
Horseshoes have lots of association with good luck and good fortune, hence they appear on many pub signs, sometimes on their own and occasionally with the blacksmith or horse in the picture too.
Though nowadays horseshoes are made of steel, they used to be made of iron, which traditionally wards off evil. Most horseshoes also need seven nail to hold them in place and the number seven is also linked to good fortune.
A popular legend has it that while working at a smithy, the future Saint Dunstan was ordered to sort out a horseshoe for a horse owned by the Devil, but Dunstan somehow shoed the devil himself, sending him off in hopping agony. Hanging horseshoes on doors and walls, and ship masts is believed to ward of ill-fortune, evil and bad weather.
Some say the horseshoe should be hung in a letter U position, while others say it should be inverted. The sign here in Failsworth cleverly sets the very lettering of the word horseshoe in an inverted U shape.
Arthur Chappell
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5 responses
@xander6464 (40718)
• Wapello, Iowa
15 Sep 18
I always heard that they should be hung in the U position so the good luck won't run out. But lots of places here have them inverted, too. Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas is the most famous one I know of and they invert.
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@arthurchappell (45004)
• Preston, England
15 Sep 18
@xander6464 some places say the upright U radiates out luck rather than spilling it - I just reckon the horseshoe is better on the horse than on the barn door
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@arthurchappell (45004)
• Preston, England
15 Sep 18
@xander6464 Electric Horseshoe sounds a great name for a C & W bar
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@xander6464 (40718)
• Wapello, Iowa
15 Sep 18
@arthurchappell I like that radiating idea because it kind of implies that the horseshoe is constantly creating luck rather than just having a fixed amount that has to be conserved. If I have a horseshoe, I don't want to have to replace it every few months like batteries.
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@bunnybon7 (50975)
• Holiday, Florida
14 Sep 18
i am wondering what the "free house" means on the sign? you get a free house?
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@bunnybon7 (50975)
• Holiday, Florida
14 Sep 18
@arthurchappell thanks. funny how our language gets turned around over seas isn't it.
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@arthurchappell (45004)
• Preston, England
14 Sep 18
@bunnybon7 A lot of people in the UK are baffled by the words free house on pubs too
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@arthurchappell (45004)
• Preston, England
14 Sep 18
@amadeo I played horseshoes in a contest at a holiday camp once - reached the semi-final before being beaten
@arthurchappell (45004)
• Preston, England
14 Sep 18
@Courage7 The U shape makes more sense but in hanging shoes up on nails in stores they would usually be hanging down.
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@Courage7 (19635)
• United States
14 Sep 18
@arthurchappell Yep that makes sense.
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