The Pub And The People

Mass Observation was founded in 1937 with the aim of researching the everyday lives of ordinary people in Britain. One of its best-loved publications is The Pub and the People (1943), a unique study of one of Britain's best-loved pastimes, describing how people behaved in pubs, what and how much they drank, and the decor and layout of the average pre-war alehouse. Alongside sociological interest it offers amusing insights into an era when supping pints was only for the roughest customers, and beer was considered helpful not only to general health ('There is no bad ale, so Grandma said') but also (contra the porter in Macbeth) to the act of love. 'The authors of this book have unearthed much curious information.' George Orwell, Listener 'Anyone with an interest in the history of beer and pubs in Britain ought to read it.' Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog

Steven Earnshaw traces the many roles of the drinking house in literature from Chaucer's time to the end of the 20th century, taking in the better-known hostelries, such as Hal's and Falstaff's Boar's Head in Henry IV, and the inns of Dickens.

WINNER OF THE DRINK BOOK AWARD AT THE FORTNUM & MASON FOOD AND DRINK AWARDS 2017. Pete Brown has visited hundreds of pubs across the UK and is uniquely placed to write about pubs that ooze atmosphere, whatever the reason, be it food, people, architecture, location or decor. The best pubs are those that always have a steady trade at any time on any day of the week, and where chat flows back and forth across the bar. They're the places where you want to drink weak beer so you can have several pints and stay longer. Some are grand Victorian palaces, others ancient inns with stunning views across the hills. Some are ale shrines, others gastropubs (though they probably don’t call themselves that any more). A precious few are uniquely eccentric, the kinds of places that are just as likely to have terrible reviews on Trip Advisor as great ones, because some people don't realize that the outside toilets, limp sandwiches on the bar and really disturbing full-size mannequin glaring at you from the corner are all part of the charm. This charming collection of 300 pubs explores what makes each one ooze atmosphere, be it food, people, architecture, location or décor, and looks at the quirks of local history as well as different trends and types of pub. Full of pen portraits of punters or publicans, legends, yarns and myths, this entertaining book is the perfect gift for regulars of that well-loved British institution, the pub.

The British pub is a much-loved institution, but recent decades demonstrate how vulnerable it is, being subject to the vicissitudes of fashion, markets, licensing, the economy and most of all the structure of the industry as the big brewers have abandoned their heritage and been supplanted by the Pub Companies and Pub retail groups like Wetherspoons. The book describes the frequent and dramatic changes within the beer industry. It carefully examines the issues and enigmas over the last 50 years in a manner which will enlighten those less familiar with the licensed trade and may alter the perspective of those with closer connections. From the perspective of pub brands, the book examines why they suddenly took hold, how the branding process dovetailed with Nineties inner-city regeneration and why it was supported by some licensing magistrates but opposed by others. How did brands differ from traditional pubs and why were they undermined by them? Tony Thornton looks at community ownership as a vehicle for saving pubs, along with its flaws, and examines the critical role of CAMRA. Returning to the overall market, the book focuses on the battles between the Regional brewers for survival and why these took place. It explains how the hedonism of the Nineties suddenly ended in the new millennium and why the high street operators faced their own crisis, which then merged with that of the retail industry. It also examines how the politicians have frequently misjudged pubs and the beer industry and done it few favours – and how the industry is still paying the price for their decisions. Equally controversially, it discusses why the Beer Tie, the glue that holds the industry together, is threatened if the Government introduces a Statutory Code. Moving to the present, the book considers the effects of the renaissance in brewing, the changes to food-led pubs and debates the impact of Craft beer. It looks at how pubs have changed because of the influence of food. Most crucially it concludes with the plight of the traditional, drinkers pub and looks for positive signs and trends for the future.

This book is the first scholarly study to explore economic relations between brewers and publicans in the brewing industry over a century. Based on overlooked historical evidence, this volume examines over 400 interviews with candidates for public houses, unpublished evidence of royal commissions heard in secrecy, representations of publicans in fiction and film and systematic reading of 15 licensed victuallers’ newspapers. The Mystique of Running the Public House in England situates licensed victualling among upper-working- and lower-middle-class occupations in England and abroad. This book explores why aspiring but untrained individuals sought public house tenancies, notwithstanding high levels of turnovers and numerous bankruptcies among licensed victuallers. Encapsulated in any newcomer’s appraisal was the captivating vision of El Dorado, a nirvana which promised unimaginable wealth, high social status, respectability and social mobility as rewards for those limited in income but not in ambition. Despite the allure of El Dorado, the likelihood of publicans realizing their aspirations was quite as remote as that of fish and chip proprietors, Blackpool landladies and French café proprietors. This volume will be of great value to students and scholars alike interested in British History, Economic History and Social and Cultural History.

Popular music was a powerful and persistent influence in the daily life of millions in interwar Britain, yet these crucial years in the development of the popular music industry have rarely been the subject of detailed investigation. For the first time, here is a comprehensive survey of the British popular music industry and its audience. The book examines the changes to popular music and the industry and their impact on British society and culture from 1918 to 1939. It looks at the businesses involved in the supply of popular music, how the industry organised itself, and who controlled it. It attempts to establish the size of the audience for popular music and to determine who this audience was. Finally, it considers popular music itself - how the music changed, which music was the most popular, and how certain genres were made available to the public.

Pubs and Patriotstells the fascinating story of the loathed-by-most Central Control Board (CCB), which was charged with controlling alcohol consumption in Britain during the first World War. With concern rising during the war that boozing at home was having a detrimental effect on the military front, politicians were faced with the possibility of imposing an alcohol prohibition. Deemed far too extreme, they opted instead to create the CCB, who would be responsible for one of the most radical and unique experiments in alcohol control ever conducted in Britain. By examining the control of a central civilian pastime during war years,Pubs and Patriots provides an unconventional but illuminating way of approaching one of the most significant events of the twentieth century.

The first full-scale history of Mass-Observation, the independent social research organisation which set out to document the attitudes, opinions, and every-day lives of British people between 1937 and 1949. Corrects and revises much of our existing knowledge of M-O, and opens up new and important perspectives on the organisation itself.