Origin of "ARMS" in pub names ie "the Builders ARMS"

[bigrob]

Why do so many British style pubs have the name ARMS in them, i.e.; The Builders Arms, The Fat Lady's Arms; The Kensington Arms?
This Question has been keeping me awake at night frequenting pubs looking for answers and turning me into an alcoholic.

[ticker]

Originally the ARMS referred to heraldic coats of arms which would have been displayed on the pub's sign - often the arms belonged to some local notable. That form of name has become almost indicative of pub-ness. More recently some pubs have extended the practice to things which have no coats of arms as sort of an Inn joke (sorry).

[casdave]

I think there may also be a link to the old trade guilds which had their own heraldic emblems. Some of these guilds date back well into medieval times.
If a pubs clientele was engaged in a particular task beers would be brewed specifically for them, like in Sheffield which was famous for steel, the ale nearby was less potent so as to slake the thirst of the workers.