The Royal Oak (2) - sign, 89 Oak Hill, Wood Street Village near Guildford

Image: © P L Chadwick Taken: 25 May 2012

The rather faded sign of the Royal Oak, a free house. The sign is rather unusual in that the tree is actually a cut out, so that the sky around it is not painted, but is what you see through the surrounding frame. A lot of pubs in England are named the Royal Oak, to celebrate the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The significance of the oak being that, before the restoration, the future King Charles II spent most of one day, hiding in an oak tree from Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian troops. The King's birthday of May 29th was still celebrated by many people up to the end of the 19th century. So pubs continued to be given the name of Royal Oak, even when they were opened a hundred or two hundred years later. Today, for better or worse, the day has lost its significance, probably because the 29th May ceased to be a public holiday some time in the 1850's. This particular pub seems to date from the 20th century. Perhaps it was built to replace an earlier pub of the same name, a not uncommon practice. Image

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