Pubs – serie

Manchester is a modern and cosmopolitan city that is also home to a range of old and traditional public houses. Many of these establishments have retained their distinctive heritage, with some dating back to early modern times and many having witnessed key moments in the city’s fascinating past.The nineteenth century in particular was a pivotal time in Manchester’s history, and middle- and working-class daily life outside the factory was often centred around the inn, pub or alehouse. One’s ‘local’ was a focal point for sociability, a centre for transportation, discussing politics, business transactions, and hosting meetings. This was also a key time for legislation that impacted on drink culture. The 1830 Beer Act and the arrival of the beerhouse radically changed the nature of drinking in the city. Brewing giants began to monopolise the industry by mopping up hostelries in an ever-growing tied-house system, which affected the style and quality of pubs, and these effects can often be seen in pubs that have survived into modern times, mainly through their architecture and design.Despite a current climate of pubs closing on a regular basis, the pub as an institution constantly reinvents itself to survive and many of Manchester’s old-fashioned hostelries sit alongside modern offices and apartments. In this book, author Deborah Woodman takes an engaging and illuminating look at pubs in the city centre, which highlights a novel aspect of Manchester’s history. Featuring a superb selection of colour and black and white images, Central Manchester Pubs will be of interest to locals, visitors and all those with connections to this exciting city.

For centuries, the North Yorkshire coastal town of Scarborough has been a favourite holiday resort. Visitors are drawn there by its glorious scenery, heritage and the warm, welcoming hospitality.In this book local author Keith C.R. Johnston takes readers on a fascinating exploration of the history of the pubs in Scarborough and the nearby villages. He focuses on hostelries that exist today and also highlights notable inns that no longer exist because the area, in common with many other places, has far fewer licensed premises than in the past. At one stage there were eleven pubs in the harbour area, only two of which still exist – the Golden Ball and the Newcastle Packet. Many of those that have disappeared played an interesting part in the history of the town. Scarborough developed as a fishing and shipping port - and later as a major spa centre and seaside resort - and this twofold history influenced the development of the town’s public houses.The author’s extensive research, using a wealth of source material, is further enhanced by the recollections of licensees, workers and customers. Illustrated throughout, with historic and modern images, ‘Scarborough Pubs’ presents a superb portrait of this aspect of local life, past and present.

The Wirral peninsula encompasses a fascinating diversity of places. Bounded by the River Dee to the west and the Mersey Estuary to the east, this unique area includes urban and industrial centres such as Birkenhead and Wallasey, built around the docks, the towns of Hoylake, West Kirby and Heswall, the faded seaside resort of New Brighton, rural hinterland and the unique Port Sunlight model village.In Wirral Pubs, author Les Jones takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the area’s watering holes, many of which have retained features and traditions of previous ages. Brimming with quirky tales and fascinating facts, this carefully crafted guide initiates readers into the fascinating history of the Wirral’s pubs.

The history of Greenwich is inseparable from its maritime history and royal palace. In later years, industries also built up along the River Thames’ frontage, including the massive power station that powered London’s tram and Underground systems. Today, the old industrial area on the peninsula in East Greenwich is home to the O2 dome. Greenwich’s pubs reflect the town’s history, from the Georgian Cutty Sark and Trafalgar Tavern on the river, to pubs serving the market, cinemagoers and residents. It is also the home of the Meantime Brewery, which acknowledges the Meridian Line centred on Greenwich.In Greenwich Pubs, author David C. Ramzan takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the area’s watering holes, many of which have retained features and traditions of previous ages. Brimming with quirky tales and fascinating facts, this carefully crafted guide initiates readers into the fascinating history of Greenwich’s pubs.

Wakefield was an important market town in the Middle Ages and also the site of Sandal Castle. Its position as an inland port on the River Calder brought in wealth through trade in wool, cloth and grain. Coal mining became a major industry in the nineteenth century and the town became the administrative centre for the West Riding of Yorkshire, later gaining a cathedral and becoming a city. Wakefield’s history is reflected in its pubs, from Tudor and Stuart heritage to eighteenth century coaching inns such as the Stafford Arms and the Black Rock, birthplace of a bishop, to Victorian pubs and later, all part of the changing cityscape.In Wakefield Pubs, local author Paul L. Dawson takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the area’s watering holes, many of which have retained features and traditions of previous ages. Brimming with quirky tales and fascinating facts, this carefully crafted guide initiates readers into the fascinating history of Wakefield’s pubs.

Liverpool was once the epitome of ‘the city with a pub on every corner’, but no longer. As social habits and communities continue to radically change, hundreds of pubs continue to disappear annually, and mostly without trace except in memories. However, not all have been lost. Right across the heart of this European Capital of Culture and UNESCO World Heritage City, Liverpool still boasts many outstanding and historic pubs, each with fascinating tales to tell.Every year, millions of people from around the globe come to visit this world-class city and Liverpool’s pubs feature high on their lists of essential places to visit. Here, they enjoy some of the finest ales, and experience one of the most hospitable places in Britain. In Liverpool Pubs, and with fascinating stories and pictures, respected local historian Ken Pye provides an indispensable guide, and a temptation, for even more people to come and discover the very best of these alehouses for themselves.

Ipswich is a brewery town. The administrative centre of the agricultural county of Suffolk, world famous for its barley and brewing, Ipswich was for decades the home of the Cobbold (later Tolly Cobbold) brewery, which was not only a prominent local employer but influenced the development of the town, through the Cobbold family’s interest in and patronage of sport, the arts, and politics.Ipswich is also a town of pubs. From the Middle Ages, when its taverns were filled with pilgrims to its famous shrine and many religious houses, through to the twentieth century when local brewers provided refreshment to factory workers and visitors to the busy port.This book is a record of that history – Ipswich’s breweries, public houses, taverns and inns, many of which no longer exist. It uses historical records and local sources to bring them back to life as an intrinsic part of the town’s history and culture, bringing it right up to date with a look at its thriving present-day pub scene, illustrated by a large number of old and new photographs.

The drinking establishments of Saxon Chester are a mystery to us. The nineteenth-century historian Thomas Hughes wrote, ‘Anglo-Saxons had their eala-hus [ale house], win-hus [wine house] and cumen-hus [inn]’. We don’t know where they could have been located, but we do know that weak beer was the staple drink throughout the land because it was safer to drink than water. Chester has many cosy, historical and picturesque public houses, some that have served the public for hundreds of years.Chester pubs, like those throughout the country are going through a time of radical change. Reinvented for a new generation of patrons, many of the pubs have turned into gastro and themed pubs and bars. Within the pages of the Chester Pubs you will find a mixture of typical pubs from down the ages, some from a long way down, and a few of the newer bars.

Brighton has long been an important seaside town, and today draws in visitors from all over Britain and beyond for its varied nightlife, rich history and attractive waterfront. In 1800, Brighton had forty-one inns and taverns, and by 1860 there were well over 450, echoing the town’s growth in popularity through the Regency and early Victorian eras. A recent resurgence of interest in real ale has also seen a welcome boom in micro-breweries, placing Brighton firmly on the beer-lover’s map.David Muggleton takes us on a tour of these watering holes, including the long-established venerable Greyhound, elegant Regency Cricketers, high-Victorian Colonnade, elaborate mock-Tudor King & Queen and the English Renaissance revivalist Good Companions, the pub reputed to have opened on the very day that the Second World War began. Brimming with quirky tales and fascinating facts, this carefully crafted guide initiates readers into the fascinating history of Brighton’s pubs.

The teeming nature of life in eighteenth-century Edinburgh elevated the Old Town’s taverns to a critical role in the city’s social life, and there was ‘no superabundance of sobriety in the town’. Much of the business life of the city was carried out in taverns where it was even normal for doctors to consult their patients.The Edinburgh taverns of the eighteenth century are described as having ‘a coarse and darksome snugness which was courted by their worshippers’. These earlier basic hostelries were swept away during the period 1880–1910, which is recognised as the golden age of pub design. These new pubs were decorated with an abundance of spectacular ornaments to attract customers into their shining interiors.This book won’t tell you how many real ales or malts the pubs stock or whether the burgers are worth popping in for. What it does provide is a record of Edinburgh Pubs that are architectural gems of exceptional quality or which have a particularly interesting historical association.

Ever since it was the starting point for voyages of discovery to the New World, the old port of Bristol has boasted a wealth of taverns, inns, alehouses, and public houses. Most of the older drinking establishments that have survived have stories to tell – frequently quirky or surprising, but always interesting and often with nautical links. Some involve real historical figures such as Daniel Defoe and Alexander Selkirk, the model for Robinson Crusoe, while others are connected with fictional characters like Long John Silver. And some were used by smugglers, press gangs, privateers and out-and-out pirates.Local author James MacVeigh takes the reader on a fascinating journey through some of Bristol’s oldest and most notorious watering holes. He explores their histories and hidden secrets and tells of the many characters that have frequented or run the city’s public houses.

The port of Kingston upon Hull is one of England’s most historical and diverse cities, and boasts a wealth of taverns, inns, alehouses and public houses. Most of the older drinking establishments that have survived have stories to tell – frequently quirky or surprising, always interesting and often with nautical links, given the city’s associations over the centuries with the fishing and shipbuilding industries.Author and historian Paul Chrystal takes the reader on a fascinating tour around some of the watering holes in the city and its surrounding villages, relating historical facts and dubious tales on subjects as diverse as the English Civil War, Philip Larkin, maritime matters and the slave trade. This book explores the histories and secrets, and tells of the many characters that have frequented or run the city’s public houses. Hull Pubs will make locals and visitors alike want to visit at least one one of the city’s venerable old taverns in the year Hull celebrates being UK City of Culture, and long afterwards.

Nottingham has long been famed for its pubs. In the Middle Ages the city was already a prosperous centre of trade for the East Midlands, and three of its pubs date from this era – Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, the Salutation and The Bell Inn. The city continued to grow during the Industrial Revolution, attracting many new industries such as lace making, bicycle manufacture and tobacco, and many new pubs were opened. The city continues to thrive and is today the largest city in the East Midlands.In Nottingham Pubs, author Dave Mooney takes the reader on a fascinating journey through some of the city’s most interesting, oldest or most famous watering holes, following nine walks around different parts of Nottingham and nearby areas, including Kimberley, which was home to one of Britain’s largest independent breweries until its closure in 2006. Many of the pubs have retained features and traditions of previous ages, and the variety of Nottingham’s pubs today is revealed here, including the characters that have frequented or run the public houses, for which Nottingham is justly renowned.

The hamlet of Worthing began to develop as a fashionable seaside resort during the late eighteenth century. It attained town status in 1803 when its administration was invested in a board of commissioners that first met at the Nelson Hotel. Inns of greater antiquity were the White Horse at West Tarring, the Maltsters Arms at Broadwater and the Anchor in Worthing High Street. Other well-established pubs, such as the town centre Warwick and the Cricketers at Broadwater, began as basic beer retailers and brewing victuallers of the early Victorian period.Several pubs in the area are of architectural interest. The ornate Grand Victorian opened in 1900 as the Central Hotel, the half-timbered design of the Thomas á Becket (1910) was in homage to the nearby medieval Parsonage Row cottages, while the imposing Downlands was built in 1939 in the classic roadhouse style. Worthing Pubs takes us on a fully illustrated tour of the historical hostelries in the district, yet also acknowledges how the local drinking culture has been shaped by the contemporary craft-beer bar and the burgeoning micropub scene.

Horsham is the natural capital of the western end of Sussex’s forest ridge, its significance and development dating from the medieval period when it became an important market centre and home to the county assizes. Horsham also became a very significant brewing town, being the home of King & Barnes. Although the family firm, closed in 2000, the legacy continues to be reflected in the town’s drinking culture today and with the opening of a number of small breweries in the town and surrounding area in recent years.In Horsham Pubs David Muggleton guides us through this high Wealden town to visit its fascinating and varied hostelries, many of which have retained features and traditions of previous ages. The originally expanded around The Carfax, in which stands the eighteenth-century Crown Inn. The Bishopric is another ancient street and home to the Kings Arms, known by 1667, and the probably even older Olive Branch, originally the Green Dragon and timber-framed with wattle and daub panels. Other pubs include the Brewhouse & Kitchen recently opened in the former Horse & Groom pub; the Malt Shovel, formerly the Michell Arms after one of the town’s former brewers and rebuilt in 1939; and the Anchor Tap, once appurtenant to the Anchor Hotel and reopened as a pub in 2016 – the local branch of the Campaign for Real Ale was founded here in 1975. Our tour also takes us out of the town centre to the Foresters Arms, a genuine community pub for a residential area; the Boars Head, a country farmhouse that became the Fox & Hounds until being renamed in 1971; and the new Chapeau Brewery taproom located on an industrial estate. This carefully crafted guide will initiate readers into the fascinating history of Horsham’s pubs.