Crooked Billet.

Crooked Billet. Much has been written on the Crooked Billet sign, probably because almost every occurrence of it differs from every other instance. The word “billet” is a diminutive of the Norman-French “bille” or “billus,” meaning a trunk of a tree and the name was used for many articles made of wood in various forms. For example, a “billet” was a shepherd’s crook, a bishop’s crosier, a trunk or tree branch, a walking stick (as in this case), etc.

A Crooked Billet pub in York displays the following: “When this comical stick grew in the wood,/ Our ale was fresh and very good;/ Step in and taste, O do make haste,/ For if you don’t ‘twill surely waste.” On the other side: “When you have viewed the other side,/ Come read this too before you ride,/ And now to the end we’ll let it pass;/ Step in, kind friends, and take a glass.”

Crooked Billet inns have been found among other places in Ash, Kent, Doncaster, Holbeach, Maidenhead, Ryehill, Workingham, not to mention more than a dozen in London. A sign with our image hangs at the Crooked Billet, Billet Road, Rumford, Greater London.

Stones, William Stones Ltd. has been brewing since 1895.

Crooked Billet (No.PS390). Dimensions: 48”H x 36”W x 5”D. Shipping: $120.

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