16 C O N T E X T 1 2 8 : M A R C H 2 0 1 3 eritage of isure The heritage he heritage of leisure ge of leisure The heritage e heritage of leisure The he of leisure The heritage of heritage of leisure PAUL AINSWORTH Promoting and protecting heritage pubs Many of the 290 pubs on the National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors are under serious threat from dramatic alterations to historic features or from outright closure. It is often said, and rightly so, that the British pub is a uniquely wonderful institution. The 50,000 or so pubs which remain offer a rich variety of drinking and social environments, mostly good, sometimes great, occasionally grim. In times gone by, the pace of change to pub interiors was fairly gradual, but since the 1960s the dictates of fashion and commerce have, sadly, led to frenzied levels of gutting, stripping, refitting and refitting again. CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, began seriously surveying our historic pub interiors in 1991, seeking out and recording those which were genuinely old and either largely unaltered or which retained exceptional rooms or features.The very best of these make up the National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. Currently just 290 pubs, or about half a per cent of our pub stock, meet the inclusion criteria, so their importance and precious status can not be over-stated. Many of these treasures are, though, under serious threat from two directions.The first is outright closure – pubs are presently calling their very last orders at the rate of 18 a week and historic pubs are in no way immune. Second, as mentioned above, those which do hang on may well suffer the unwanted attentions of ‘improvers’ who view historic features as impediments to short-term commercial gain. In fact, when asked, the majority of pub-goers say they prefer traditional interiors, and increasing numbers actively seek out our remaining gems. CAMRA’s Pub Heritage Group, which is responsible for the National Inventory and its next tier, the regional inventories, works hard to stimulate and feed such interest.We have already published a series of regional heritage pub guides, and a book focusing on the National Inventory itself comes out in April 2013.We also have a comprehensive website – www.heritagepubs.org.uk – and we mount displays at beer festivals and other events. Much of the work of the Pub Heritage Group is devoted to trying to save threatened heritage pubs.We have already succeeded in getting many Inventory pubs statutorily listed (244 are presently designated Grade II or above), which affords them significant extra protection.We have taken active steps to find new owners for Drewe Arms, Drewesteignton, public bar (right) and new room (below)(Photos: Michael Slaughter LRPS)
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