This is a subject very close to my heart and it saddens me that over 50
pubs per week are currently closing? I encorage all Brits to visit your local pub at least once a week – not for half a pint but a few drinks and someting to eat. If you are visiting England please take the time to visit a tradtional English Pub or three. Our tour guides will always recommend a local tavern should you need some guidance.
The English pub, or public house, is an institution in British community life as a place to imbibe, eat and converse with neighbors dating back nearly 2,000 years to the time of the Roman colonization of the British Isles.
Origins
Post-Roman Pubs
Increased Popularity and Regulation
Pubs in the Middle Ages
Modern Pubs
These Roman taverns remained even after the withdrawal of the Romans from Britain. During the Middle Ages the pub sign came into existence – the earliest versions being green bushes set upon poles to indicate the sale of beer, stemming from the earlier Roman tradition of vines being displayed to advertise wine. By the fourteenth century, more abstract names were common, as evidenced by Chaucer’s description of the Tabard Inn in Southwark. The ‘Hostellers of London’ were granted guild status in 1446, showing that these medieval inns and hostelries were important in continuing the practice of offering rest and refreshment to travellers.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries these establishments primarily sold beer and ale, until the first half of the eighteenth century when the so-called ‘Gin Craze’ took hold, especially amongst the poorer classes as the production of gin had increased to six times that of beer. The 1751 Gin Act forced gin makers to sell only to licensed premises and put drinking establishments under the control of local magistrates.
During the 19th Century the Wine and Beerhouse Act was introduced to restrict the hours Public Houses could sell alcohol. This was further compounded by the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 which set the 11pm limit on the sale of alcohol throughout the twentieth century. The Licensing Act 2003 repealed the previous licensing laws for England and Wales, taking responsibility away from magistrates and placing it in the hands of local councils.
British Tour Guide
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