100-Year-Old Scottish Pub Renamed ‘The Cock And Seaman’ Is A Tough One For The Locals To Swallow

The Doric is a pub that’s sat on Market Street in Edinburgh, Scotland for over 100 years. The pub itself was first built back in the 17th century (think 300+ years old), and it’s changed hands a few times over the years. Most recently The Doric was purchased by a group named AtWill Pubs who are notorious for snatching up historical pubs and giving them newer, better names. In this case The Doric has been renamed to ‘The Cock and Seaman’, and this clever twist of a phrase isn’t so well in the stomach’s of the locals.

As a matter of fact the locals are outright LIVID that The Doric’s name has been changed, because after 100+ years of existence The Doric‘s become part of the very fabric of Edinburgh!

The Southport Visiter reports:

Neighbours of a landmark Sefton pub have been reacting to its rather rude name change.
Builders could be seen today replacing the signs on the Doric pub in Seaforth with a new name – The Cock and Seaman.
The Doric Street pub is the latest to undergo a radical make over courtesy of pub chain AtWill Pubs who run similarly named Merseyside boozers The Cock and Pullet in Oxton and The Cock and Donkey in Birkenhead.
Owners Edward Atkinson and Fred Williams started the company in 2009 with the purposes of reviving pubs which had fallen foul of restrictive brewery tie-ins and reopening them as “wet lead cask boozers of the Rovers Return and Queen Vic variety”.
The Cock and Seaman is the latest pub in their empire and is expected to open in two weeks.
Reaction to the name change was mixed with drinkers taking to social media at the news.
Avril Jones said: “Was shocked when I saw it! Why change it in the first place and to change it to this is just a laugh! It will always be The Doric.”
Michelle Dewsbury said: “I live in Doric Street and it’s all true, can’t believe they’ve named it that tho absolute joke”
Jily Kemp said: “Why change its name especially this one, joke!”
Mr Atkinson, admitted that the new name was cheeky but hoped people would have a sense of humour about it.
He said: “Both Fred and I are Liverpool lads, and share the scouse sense of humour. However this is not to say that we don’t take our pubs seriously. We have a passion for good pubs, quality local cask ales, and all that makes British pubs great: traditional features restored and enjoyed.
“We hope our pubs have reinstalled a sense of community, they have been a cornerstone of English heritage for thousands of years: the demise of the industry at the hands of the big pub co’s has given us the drive to go it alone, and here we are with 13 pubs and we’re still growing.
“The Doric (named after a ship itself), as The Seaman was formerly called, had changed hands several times over the last 10 years. The place needed so much doing to it. The community has been starved of a good local for too long.

As you can see, the reaction from the locals runs the spectrum from ‘tough pill to gargle’ on through ‘lol dick jokes, amirite guys?’

I for one would just like to state that if I had a pub by this name on my block I’d be drinking there every night of the week. Lastly, I’d just like to note that sometimes headlines write themselves, and I was merely a vessel for the words and no imagination whatsoever (on my part) went into coming up with the title of this post…and YES, I am 14 years old, and jokes like this will always be funny to me.

For more on this incredible name change click on over to the Southport Visiter!