WELLS;’ but the waters have long lost their reputation.” Hood, in his witty poem on the Epping Hunt, refers to the house as follows: “Now many a sign at Woodford Town, Its Inn-vitation tells; But Huggins, full of ills, of course, Betook him to the WELLS.” The HORSE AND GROOM at Great Warley seems to be at least a century old, as it is mentioned in the _Chelmsford Chronicle_ on March 10, 1786. At Margaret Roothing there is a HORSESHOE, which is a comparatively rare sign by itself. The BULL AND HORSESHOE at North Weald is, doubtless, merely an impaled sign. Our three HORSESHOES and ten THREE HORSESHOES have already been referred to (p. 40). At Finchingfield there is a beer-house with the sign of the KICKING DICKEY, and the CROSS KEYS at Roxwell is commonly known in the parish by the same name. The origin of the sign, which Larwood and Hotten do not mention, is hard to explain. The Lion, with frequent variations of colour and position, is of common occurrence in the county. This great variety in colouring clearly shows that we are indebted to the art of Heraldry for most of our sign-board lions. Messrs. Larwood and Hotten say (p. 118): “The _lion rampant_ most frequently occurs, although in late years naturalism has crept in, and the _Felis leo_ is often represented standing or crouching, quite regardless of his heraldic origin.” When it is remembered that _three lions passant, guardant, or_ occur on the Royal Arms of England, and a _lion rampant gules_ on the arms of Scotland; that a _crowned lion statant, guardant or_ is used as the Royal Crest of England, a _crowned lion sejant affrontée gules_ as the Royal Crest of Scotland, and a _lion rampant guardant, or_ as the dexter supporter of the Royal Arms of England; and that lions of various colours and in different attitudes have served as charges, badges, crests, and supporters to many of our earlier sovereigns, and now appear in the armorial bearings of innumerable private families, it will not be found in any way surprising that the lion figures so commonly as he does upon our sign-boards. So frequently, indeed, are lions made use of in Heraldry that it is almost impossible to assign the variously-coloured examples now to be seen on our sign-boards to their original wearers. _Lions rampant_ appear on the trade-tokens of John Rayment of Brentwood, in 1669, and of Richard Boyse and Richard Rich, both of Colchester, in 1668 and 1656 respectively. At present the animal occurs eight times in Essex as a simple LION, and once as a BRITISH LION. The LION at Chelmsford, although it has now disappeared, was once evidently a very important inn. The Rev. R. E. Bartlett finds several mentions of it in the parish registers, the earliest before the middle of the sixteenth century. They are as follows: “1543. William Knight, a stranger, who by misfortune and his own lewdness was drowned at the Lion, and was buried the 22nd of May.” Again, in 1545, “Wyllyam Pemberton, servaunte to the