Introduction to seminar

Carved woodwork windows at the back of The Luttrell Arms at Dunster, Somerset.

In order to give a seminar on the history of pubs, which I gave to the Family and Community History Research Society in Juy 2000, something to think about I provided this introduction to the various spheres in which the pub has been important.

Over the centuries the public house has been more, much more than a place to have a pint of beer or glass of wine in. Its importance in the lives of our ancestors particularly before the industrial revolution cannot be under-estimated.  Even today the pub remains a vital part of British society. 

I have identified certain roles, some of which may overlap, that public houses had (and may still have):

1.        Social hub of communities -  centres for recreation, certain legal functions (i.e. inquests), headquarters for clubs and societies, centre for ritual events (i.e. annual dinners, or weddings)   

2.        A provider of food as well as drink

3.        Commercial - coaching inns,  centre for various trades

4.        Transport hub - coaching inns,  railway hotels

5.        A uniquely English (British?) institution.  Perhaps only monarchy and church can match this central role in English life over the centuries.

6.        Economic importance -the role of the pub as the local representative of a national industry

7.        Employers of labour, not just bar staff but people who ran coaching inns.  The importance that many publicans had in local societies.

8.        A mirror of changes in society - drunkenness and laxity in eighteenth century.  Increasing temperance and sobriety during nineteenth century, late twentieth century changes resulting from affluent society. Changing attitudes to women in public houses.  Internal layout and design reflecting demands of consumers and need to attract them.

9.        Architectural beacon - importance in townscapes.  Changing designs - coaching inns to estate pubs are a democratic art form

10.   The class system - how the public house developed and reacted to changes in the class system and relations between the social classes..

CONSTRAINTS

It seems to me that there are certain issues, which I call constraints or aspects, which are worthy of further study.  These constraints affected the development of public houses through the centuries and continue today:

1.                  Legislation, seeking to control drunkenness, restricting licenses, opening hours, quality of beer sold. Licensing magistrates restrict licences or demand improvements, such as the model pub movement in the early twentieth century.

2.                  Temperance - closely linked to legislation.  Particularly during nineteenth century. And as most alcohol was supplied by pubs, there was a need to control supply and encourage sobriety

3.                  Commercial imperatives -  the need to meet changing customer tastes and wants

4.                  The relationship with the brewers - who increasing bought pubs from late eighteenth century to sell their products

5.                  Architecture - the changing face of public houses s outside ('Brewers Tudor') and inside (two bars catering for different social classes)

6.                  Social centre  - centre of local society. Particularly until eighteenth century only social centre outside home and church.  Since the eighteenth century many functions have taken over by other bodies i.e. coffee houses, hotels, music halls, village halls.

7.                  Rural and urban - It is clear that the pub had different roles, depending on where it was located and the clientele it attracted.  Rural pubs were certainly very different from their suburban, commercial (coaching inns or those in market towns) and industrial equivalents. There are also regional variations, not just in architecture and layout, but in the actual use made of the buildings themselves.

What do you think?

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