There is often a lot of speculation about where a pub’s name came from, especially when it isn’t obvious. A lot of pubs in Glasgow and Scotland were named after the publican that owned the pub and sometimes they were named after a local landmark or street name, but what are the meanings behind names such as ‘The Pig and Whistle’?
The Pig & Whistle
The name ‘Pig & Whistle’ is generally considered a corruption of “peg and Wassail”, a phrase associated with the ancient custom of drinking health in tankards marked with pegs, somewhat as modern medicine phials are marked into measured doses.
Bag O’ Nails
The origin of this pub name is comically nothing to do with nails or carpentry. The name actually comes from the word ‘Bacchanals’ which means a’ wild and drunken celebration’.
The Clutha Vaults
The Clutha Vaults on Stockwell street gets the name from the ancient Gaelic word meaning the Clyde, there were also small steam passenger boats on the Clyde called Clutha’s these boats were numbered 1 to 12 and the fare would have cost a penny to cross the river.
My father John Gorevan gave the Clutha Vaults it’s name in recent years and has a bottle of Clutha Whisky as a reward.
Leave a Reply