The Elephant and Castle district of London is named after an 18th century public house and coaching inn of the same name that became a notable landmark because of its location near a major road intersection in the area.
The inn was rebuilt in 1816 and in 1898, and ultimately demolished in 1959. A new pub called the Elephant and Castle opened at the junction of New Kent Road and Newington Causeway in the 1960s and remains in operation today.
The image of an elephant with a castle on its back has been used throughout Europe for centuries, particularly in crests and coats of arms, and is thought to be derived from the howdah, an ornate seat or covered pavilion on the back of an elephant or camel. The original Elephant & Castle coaching inn is thought to have opened on the site of an old blacksmith and cutler which may have displayed the crest of The Worshipful Company of Cutlers, which featured an elephant carrying a castle.
