Old Saracens Head, Longford
| These premises have been known by different names during their history: | FROM | TO | NAME |
| 1765 | 1876 | SARACENS HEAD INN | |
| 1876 | 1924 | BEERHOUSE | |
| 1879 | 1922 | OLD SARACENS HEAD | |
| 1922 | c2000 | SARACENS HEAD | |
| To the Greeks and Romans a Saracen was a nomad of the Arabian desert. The word came to mean 'Arab', then 'Moslem', especially with regard to the Crusades. Noble families whose members had taken part in the Crusades tended to include a Saracen's head as part of their arms and so it was transferred to inn signs.
There was also a New Saracens Head in Longford.
Research by 'philex31' on the Historic Coventry forum would suggest that the Sephtons and their extended family had connections with many of the pubs in the Longford area: Boat (Blackhorse Road), Boat (Grange Road), Greyhound, Elephant and Castle, Miners Arms, Bird In Hand, Green Man, Old Crown (Windmill Road), New Inn, Saracens Head, Coach and Horses, Engine. Also, away from Longford were the Park Gate Hotel and the New Inn (Stockingford). The majority of the Coventry Sephtons appear to be descended from James Sephton, a canal-boat builder, who arrived in the Hawkesbury area c1805 from Shardlow in Derbyshire.
Somewhat at odds with this boozy background, other family members operated temperance hotels in the city centre (The Victoria, Warwick Row and The Priory, Bayley Lane). | |||
LICENSEES:1879 Richard Steane 1880 John Staines 1888 Benjamin Lole 1892 Robert Miles 1900 - 1922 Joseph Hodson | |||
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