It seems that the elephant & castle name came from the pub with the same name. How that cameto be named is unknown but the image of the elephant & castle would have been fairly familiar, though exotic, at the time, appearing in various cultural & even architectural places. the castle would probably have been derived from the Indian "howdah" seats. Some examples here got me thinking about possible inspiration for seating for our "auditorium".....
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This is great - love the parasols!
ReplyDeleteThere is a suggestion that the elephant was an emblem of the Cutlers Guild, presumably located in the area (before the pub) - related to the use of ivory in the making of cutlery - slightly unfortunate!