3 ms·

Why has the number of pubs gone down so much? Have pubs consolidated into fewer larger pubs or is the time spent in pubs down drastically because of other enter

by qq66 15y ago

Why has the number of pubs gone down so much? Have pubs consolidated into fewer larger pubs or is the time spent in pubs down drastically because of other entertainment? I guess I still have a romanticized view of Ireland with uilleann pipers in every pub...

RossM 15y ago
From talking to two ex-publicans I know that: 1. Pubs are very expensive to run, and are difficult not to make a loss on. Rent goes up and up, and chain's prices go down. 2. The smoking ban in England caused a lot of pubs to be tipped over the edge and had to close down. 3. The price of alcohol being increased through taxes has had quite an effect. So in recent terms, I'd say these changes in society has led to a lot fewer pubs. However, I don't know much about the history of pubs in GB, so there was probably an earlier decline with alternative reasons - which I'd be interested in hearing.
- StrawberryFrog 15y ago
  Also, Tesco and other supermarket chains sell six-packs and crates of lager for £ cheap at the low end, and have huge ranges of real ales and imported wines at the other end. People may drink less now, but they also drink differently.
  - sambeau 15y ago
    While we may drink less the beer and wines we drink are twice as strong.
- rmc 15y ago
  Some of those would apply to Ireland, and some not. Ireland has some differences from the UK for pubs. 99.9999% of pubs are not chain pubs. A chain pub here, might have 3 pubs. All pubs are 'free houses' and can sell anything. (This means they sell all the same big brands. There's none of the Real Ale/CAMRA stuff which is a shame). Likewise there was a smoking ban a few years before UK. No new pub licences have been issued in about 100 years. So if a country pub closes down, the licence is usually sold on (for €€€€) to open another pub somewhere else.
sambeau 15y ago
Pubs and legislation has changed. At the turn of the last century (1900s) people could open their front room as a small pub. So while a small village might have 30 pubs few of them were Inns - the large pubs that we are used to. Ireland kept the small room longer than England - they still exist in the west. While a front room with beer on sale may not be our modern idea of a 'pub' it would have figured in James Joyce's quote.
rmc 15y ago
I'd suspect the law has gotten much stricter about who's allowed sell beer. There were probably a lot of speakeasies and people operating small public houses out pc their houses.

by qq66 15y ago

RossM 15y ago

From talking to two ex-publicans I know that: 1. Pubs are very expensive to run, and are difficult not to make a loss on. Rent goes up and up, and chain's prices go down. 2. The smoking ban in England caused a lot of pubs to be tipped over the edge and had to close down. 3. The price of alcohol being increased through taxes has had quite an effect. So in recent terms, I'd say these changes in society has led to a lot fewer pubs. However, I don't know much about the history of pubs in GB, so there was probably an earlier decline with alternative reasons - which I'd be interested in hearing.

StrawberryFrog 15y ago
Also, Tesco and other supermarket chains sell six-packs and crates of lager for £ cheap at the low end, and have huge ranges of real ales and imported wines at the other end. People may drink less now, but they also drink differently.
- sambeau 15y ago
  While we may drink less the beer and wines we drink are twice as strong.
rmc 15y ago
Some of those would apply to Ireland, and some not. Ireland has some differences from the UK for pubs. 99.9999% of pubs are not chain pubs. A chain pub here, might have 3 pubs. All pubs are 'free houses' and can sell anything. (This means they sell all the same big brands. There's none of the Real Ale/CAMRA stuff which is a shame). Likewise there was a smoking ban a few years before UK. No new pub licences have been issued in about 100 years. So if a country pub closes down, the licence is usually sold on (for €€€€) to open another pub somewhere else.

sambeau 15y ago

Pubs and legislation has changed. At the turn of the last century (1900s) people could open their front room as a small pub. So while a small village might have 30 pubs few of them were Inns - the large pubs that we are used to. Ireland kept the small room longer than England - they still exist in the west. While a front room with beer on sale may not be our modern idea of a 'pub' it would have figured in James Joyce's quote.

rmc 15y ago

I'd suspect the law has gotten much stricter about who's allowed sell beer. There were probably a lot of speakeasies and people operating small public houses out pc their houses.