In Britain, there are (or were) taverns with names like "The Quiet Woman", which features an illustration of a woman carrying her own head. I know this from reading an article in the Chicago Tribune years ago about someone getting into trouble for putting such an establishment in the USA, and also the Thomas Hardy novel The Return of the Native makes reference to such a tavern in the story.

So I wondered if such pubs still exist, and how this practice came about in the first place.

sounds good i would like to know too ..... ...?

If you check these links out they give you a few pub names and how they got them Pub Names
Pub Signs
Hope this gives you a few answers.
David

Thank You i would like to go to the U K some day