Boy And Barrel Pub - Huddersfield, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 38.840 W 001° 46.792
30U E 580651 N 5944976
This pub sign was first erected in 1898, is nine feet tall, weighs half a ton and had a temporary stay in The Bradford Industrial Museum. It shows a sailor sitting on a barrel.
Waymark Code: WMG5GC
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/15/2013
Views: 5
Although the model is dressed as a sailor he represents Bacchus the Roman name for the God of Wine.
A famous painting by (
visit link) Guido Reni of 1623 shows Bacchus as a boy drinking wine from a barrel. Although pubs are primarily associated with beer, a number of pubs have used the reference to barrels to advertise their premises using the boy and barrel name.
The pub opened in 1898 and by 1994 years of exposure to the Huddersfield elements had meant that the figure had become badly damaged with various pieces missing. The fact that the pub is an English Heritage Listed Building meant that any repair work had to be done sensitively and so The Bradford Industrial Museum was given the job of renovating him.
This website (
visit link) shows some of the restoration work and repositioning back onto the roof.
This impressive sign sitting high up on the roof is very hard to miss.