feature

The Demise of the Public House

During the past few years’ public houses, in both towns and villages, have been closing at an unprecedented rate, recently as many as four a day, around 29 a week. Th e worst year was in 2009, when about 52 pubs per week closed. Many of these were housed in historic buildings and had been operating for several hundred years. Today they have either been converted into fl ats, or destroyed.

In the past, when water from wells and even rivers became unfit to drink, everyone, including children, drank beer, ‘small ale’. Brewed in almost every home, it was a weak alcohol but it was enough to destroy the bacteria in the water that made people ill. Women known as alewives, began selling their ale from home and public houses developed.

The demand for ale grew rapidly and eventually the number of ale sellers was restricted in the 17th century. Later the size of drinking vessels was also regulated to a standard

The Carrrier’s Arms, Dolphin Lane size of four pints, divided internally into eight parts by pegs. The customer was supposed to drink down to only one peg at a sitting. Naturally this led to challenges to drink more than one peg – hence ‘to take him down a peg or two’.

Today beer is sometimes the mainstay of a party and it was no different in medieval times. Ale Parties were often held, usually to raise funds. There were ‘parish-ales’, ‘church-ales,’ ‘clerk-ales’, ‘tithe-ales ‘etc. There were also ‘bride-ales’ (later abbreviated to bridal) during which ale brewed by the bride

The Elm Tree (left) and The Anchor (left). High Street The White Lion (left) and The Rose (centre right), High Street

was exchanged for gifts. ‘Bid-ales’ or benefits helped a needy person or cause.

As most people were illiterate the naming of a public house was common by the 12th century, with names such as ‘The Royal Oak’ or ‘The Red Lion’. The sign would contain the name, but an illustration was also used so the pub could easily be identified.

By the early 1900s Melbourn had a population of 1500, it also had a considerable number of public houses. Although not all operating at the same time, there were sometimes as many as twenty.

The number of pubs in the country peaked by the late 1800s. There were 99,000 in 1905 but by 1935 this had

dropped to 77,500. Today there are about 48,000.

The quality of beers also declined, until 1971 when the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), began a crusade to improve the beer sold in pubs throughout Britain. Today it has over 180,000 members. There are now more breweries, mostly small independent ones, using traditional methods and ingredients. An estimated 11,000 different beers are now produced by the UK’s 1,700 breweries.

The tax on beer in UK is more than in most countries, adding 52p to every pint; however, since 2014 landlords are no longer ‘tied’ to a brewery and can buy on the open market.

The population of Melbourn is now over 5,000 and we are fortunate we still have two pubs and a restaurant. Ed. AD

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