Context 165 - August 2020

C O N T E X T 1 6 5 : A U G U S T 2 0 2 0 29 Food and drink FIONA NEWTON The Improved Public House In the years following the first world war an entirely new public house type developed: the Improved Public House used some radical design principles to regulate alcohol consumption. The hub of the community and the social heart of a place; public houses are rarely noticed until they are threatened or lost. Prominent landmark buildings of today, they are the result of the attitude of successive generations to drink and community. Most traditional pubs have evolved, changing as the years pass but rarely the result of a single reasoned design. But in the years following the first world war an entirely new public house type developed. Becoming known as the Improved Public House, it used some- times radical design principles to incorporate contemporary ideas on the regulation of alcohol consumption. Before the first world war During the 19th century the growing population became increasingly urbanised. In these rapidly growing urban areas new types of licensed prem- ises developed. The most showy and flamboyant of these were the gin palaces, gleaming with their elaborate carved furniture and etched mirrors. Beerhouses were smaller domestic establish- ments whose licence permitted them only to sell beer. Street-corner beer houses were considered to be a haunt for those of ill repute, and the cause of disorder and immorality. In a life beset with overcrowding, malnutrition, polluted water supplies and poor sanitation, it may be little wonder that the slum populous took refuge in drink and turned to the pub as the societal heart. The local licensing justices rarely allowed alterations or rebuilding of existing premises or the creation of new licences, believing that new or improved premises would encourage more drinking and drunkenness. As a result very few pubs were rebuilt before 1914. Traditional village taverns had three public rooms: a public parlour, a tap room and a bar. Alongside their saloon and the public bar the new 19th century outlets began to introduce more and more rooms. By the 1890s some had as many as 15 different areas. The brewery companies, concerned by the economic situation after the BoerWar, set about acquiring, en masse, free houses within their areas of operation. In 1880 12,000 pubs brewed their own beer. By 1914 this had fallen to 1,500 and 95 per cent of public houses were in the hands of the breweries. Even when beer sales were low, the brewers’ share in the market was maximised through their tied houses. Small breweries had been driven out of production and the expanding brewing empires had inherited premises which were often dilapidated, decayed and unfit. The Licensing Act 1902 gave the police power to arrest drunks and prohibited the sale of intoxicants to known drunkards. The act also reinforced the relationship between licensing and the physical form of licensed premises. Justices were required to maintain the standards in the legislation, and to approve alterations and architectural drawings before a licence could be All photos are by John East The Comet, Hatfield (1934, Grade II), designed by EB Musman