Three Tuns

The pub sign Three Tuns is sometimes seen, and should depict three large barrels. The tun is now an antiquated measure but a tun barrel once held 252 gallons, usually of wine.

Three tuns appear on the coat of arms of both the Brewers and the Vintners Livery Companies. The Brewers Company archives detail the long running feud between them and Mayor Richard Whittington (of pantomime fame). He was constantly fining them for overcharging or drawing too much water, presumably jealous of their wealth.

The Vintners were similarly wealthy as they controlled all wine trading in earlier centuries - a third of Britain's annual imports. They began as a religious fraternity and, like many Catholic organisations, lost much of their property to Henry VIII during the Reformation. Although they no longer control the wine trade today, they are involved in educational and charitable causes.