{On a cartouche below the bull:}
Milo the Cretonian an ox slew with his fist and ate it up at one meal. Ye gods what a glorious twist.
{Below this is a monogram:}
SI {or IS}
The bull is easy to see but the mouth, and face, are easily missed. Seems likely that 'Milo of Crete' in the inscription refers to Milo of Croton.
Site: Edward VI and the Bull and Mouth Inn (2 memorials)
EC1, London Wall, Rotunda garden at Museum of London
A gaping mouth about to chomp on a whole ox; pineapples sprouting from pipes instead of smoke - this strange terracotta sign was originally set high on the facade of the now demolished Queen's Hotel in nearby St Martins-le-Grand (and can be seen to the right of this image). It commemorated the Bull and Mouth Inn which was demolished in 1830 to make way for the Queen's Hotel which was itself demolished in 1888 and replaced by a building for the GPO.
Spitalfields Life describes this green enclave as "a hidden garden spiralling down to a large closed door, just as implacable as the blank walls upon the exterior." and goes on to visit the "mausoleum {where are stored} the fourteen thousand human remains in the Museum’s collection".
