History of Pubs in London Town

It's a common known fact to the masses that London is the home of pubs of the world. London has the greatest concentration of public houses in England. After the Great Fire in 1666 London was rebuilt to meet the expectations of an even thirstier population. The decades that came after the fire saw England develop rapidly as an industrial nation and the capital attracted those looking for new opportunities.

'London expanded into the adjacent countryside enveloping rural villages, its population grew exponentially, and its population was a thirsty one. By the mid eighteenth century, for example, Westminster boasted a pub for every 116 people. Improvements in roads and the increased need to transport goods and people for commercial purposes saw the creation of splendid coaching inns across the country and in London in particular. In the towns the working population drank in alehouses, whilst the better off wined and dined in the taverns.'


One can't help wonder why so few pubs have survived if there were so many in past times. İt is considered that many of the changes occurred during the 19th century. Due to the railway age which had arrived by the mid 1800’s many of the fine coaching inns were no longer needed. Steam trains travelled faster, further; a journey of two days by stagecoach, with the required changes of horses and an overnight stay, could now be accomplished in a few hours. All but a handful of London’s coaching inns were demolished, those that survived were either neglected or converted into goods warehouses for the railways.

'Almost as the coaching inns disappeared, the Beer Act of 1830 (aka Wellington’s Beer Act, for the Duke was Prime Minister) created pubs in almost every street, modest parlours of ordinary houses were opened as pubs; they could not sell spirits, as in part their creation was an attempt the counter the proliferation of gin and gin shops. Some of these modest ‘beerhouses’ are still open in London today, although they are now fully licensed.'


Throughout the 20th century the number of pubs in London gradually declined partly due to a more sober public, social improvement and the increase of other social distractions which didn't involve drinking (as much) such as restaurants, cinema, sports and motoring. Many of London’s pubs were destroyed during the Blitz in 1940 and post war clearances of large areas of London especially in the East End.

The 1950’s and 1960’s were decades of modernisation and corporatisation and many pubs again suffered from ‘improvement’ or ‘theme-ing’ therefore detaching from the original and antique atmosphere we all love currently. This was also the time when forward thinking brewers such as Ind Coope and Watneys were ditching traditional brewing in favour of more reliable and more profitable keg (pasteurised) beers. 'The Beer Orders Act of 1986 which made large brewers sell off vast swathes of their pub estates put the fox in charge of the hens, the consequences we see with every pub ‘For Sale’ board.'

Luckily some companies and pub owners have continued to keep the same antique look and feeling which distinguishes English pubs from any other beerhouse or bar in the world.


Excerpts from: http://www.pubs.com/main_site/heritage_content.php?id=london_pubs_history

Photo: Painting by William Hogarth