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09-09-2023, 16:04
Visit the Paul Bailey's Beer Blog site (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2023/09/in-praise-of-public-bar.html)
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I first started going in pubs when I was aged 16 going on 17.I can't remember the first pub that I had a drink in, but it was almostcertainly one in Ashford, the town where I went to school and grew up in, but it would have been a place where underage drinkers could be served alcohol, without too many questions being asked. My friends and I we'reunder 18, and whilst physically a number of us looked oldenough to drink, I imagine our behaviour would have given the opposite impression.The pub was probably the long-demolished Park Hotel, a traditional,multi bar establishment, that had seen better days. The pub was under threat ofclosure and demolition, to make way for Ashford’s new shopping centre, whichexplains the lack of investment. Shortlyafterwards my friends and I gravitated to the Invicta, a three-storey, cornerpub in the Godington Road area of the town.
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It was named after Invicta, the White Horse of Kent, and wasthe pub where our friend Roy drank. His parents were regulars there, whichwas probably why we were allowed to drink there. John, thelandlord, and his wife Mary knew we weren’t old enough to imbibe, but as long aswe behaved, the couple were content with our presence. The Invicta was owned by Couragewho, along with Whitbread, operated the majority of Ashford's pubs
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We occasionally frequented the Bybrook Tavern, anotherCourage house in the nearby suburb of Kennington. Despite its ancient appearance,the Bybrook Tavern was a relatively recent addition to the town's stock of pubs, having been converted from acouple of old cottages back in the 1960’s. Today, it is part of the adjoining, and recently opened, HolidayInn, but still retains the name of the former pub for the bar area.
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I remember Roy issuing a reminder, in advance of a group of us meeting up at the Bybrook, that “Shirts will be worn!” Thiswas a reference to a sign put up by the pub landlord, a former military man, aswere many licenses in the decades following WWII. The major, quite rightlywasn't enamoured with the presence in his pub of builders, tradesmen and otherlabourers, stripped to the waist, during hot weather. These were the sort ofpeople my father described as “sweaty oafs,” so even within the confines of the public bar, or pub garden, I wholeheartedly agreewith the landlord’s sentiments.
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The era I'm talking about was the early 1970s, a time whenboth the country as a whole, and places like Ashford were undergoing majorchange. The pubs hadn't changed much, apart from perhaps the switchover to kegor top pressure beers, so the interior of many of them was much as it wouldhave been in the two or three decades that followed the Second World War. Almostwithout exception, every pub had more than one bar, usually a Public and Saloonbar. A handful offered additional drinking areas, called either Private or SnugBar, and my favourite example of this was a smashing late Victorian pub, close toAshford town centre, called the Lord Roberts.
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The Lord Roberts boasted a small and cosy Private Bar,sandwiched between Public Bar at the front of the pub and the Saloon at therear. The only access was externally, from the alleyway, at the side of thebuilding. From the time I could drink legally in pubs, the Lord Roberts becameone of my favourite watering holes in the town, and if you were lucky enoughhave a girlfriend, it was a place to take her for a quiet and respectable drink.Unfortunately, the Lord Roberts fell victim to Ashford Borough Council’s wreckingball, as it was demolished to make way for service road, for a hideous Y-shapedmonolithic office block, constructed in the heart of the town.
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The reasons why so many pubs had different bars during thatperiod, reflects the way in which the public house evolved over the centuries. Writerand columnist, Richard Boston devotes several pages to the subject, in his excellentbook Beer and Skittles, (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2022/12/life-isnt-all-cakes-and-ale-although-it.html) and he covers in some depth, the differences betweenthe various bars, and the way in which they developed.
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My own memories from that time, are that publicbars were often rather basic, with a tiled or lino floor covering, or even justplain wooden boards. There wasn't much in the way of wall coverings either, althoughsometimes there was painted matchboard at the base, below a wooden dado rail. The upper half of the walls, was normally bare plaster,painted in colours ranging from cream and pale yellow, through to various shadesof dark brown.
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Boston describes this effect as a “Symphony in Brown” but, asothers pointed out, these are the colours of beer ranging from pale ales,through to bitters and stouts. The darker colours were often reserved for thematchboard section of the lower half. Public bars tended to be male dominated or had apreponderance of men - the classic, “lads of the village” type of thing, andwere also home to traditional pub games, such as darts, bar-billiards, dominoes,or cards - the latter being strictly non-gambling games, of course.
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Perversely,despite their male dominance, public bars were often looked after by a femalemember of staff, most of whom suffered no nonsense from any of the customers,regardless of their sex.
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One example I recall well, was the Dog & Bear at Lenham,a large village between Ashford and Maidstone. The Dog & Bear was formerly acoaching inn, and like most pubs at the time, had two bars. The Public bar was called"Joyce's Bar", whilst the Saloon was called "Squirrel’s Bar" after the nickname ofthe characterful landlord, with his trademark handlebar moustache and mutton-chopwhiskers. So Squirrel looked after Saloon, with its preponderance of femaledrinkers, whilst his wife Joyce kept stock of the male dominated Public Bar. Saloon bars were nearly always carpeted and were decorated withmuch more ornate wall-coverings, including that ghastly gold and burgundy, "flockwallpaper" that became all the rage as the 1970’s drew on. The seating too wasmore comfortable, compared to the rather basic wooden bench seating and chairs,traditionally found in the public bar. In the saloon the chairs and bencheswould be covered and padded, providing seating that was far more comfortable,and also appealing to women. If you wanted a lunchtime or evening meal, this wouldnormally be served in the saloon bar, unless of course the pub had its ownseparate restaurant.
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When I went up to Manchester to study at Salford University,I had to get used to a whole new vocabulary when it came to pubs. Public barswere invariably known as the Vault, whereas saloon bars were more likely describedas the Lounge Bar. Some northern pubs had a Smoking Room, and I recall oneestablishment that even had a Reading Room. If anything, the Vaults in some of thesestraight-talking northern towns, were even more male dominated then theirsouthern counterparts.
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The same situation applied in the small number of pubs theoperated an exclusively male vault. Women were barred from the vault, in theseplaces, and I remember as a student, taking part in a demonstration against suchobvious examples of sexual discrimination. Several months later legislation wasbrought in outlawing, such practises. This, of course, was a result of pressure being appliedin parliament, rather than a scruffy bunch of students conducting an impromptu protest!
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Despite the claims of some historians, separate bars fordifferent sectors of society was not an anachronistic survivor from a class-riddenage. Instead, there were sound practical reasons behind the styling of the differentbars. Public bars, for example, were often frequented by men in overalls,covered in dust or plaster from nearby building sites. These were working peoplewho would drop in for a quick pint, either at lunchtime, or on their way home.It wouldn’t have been practical for them to go home and get changed first.
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Conversely, city business men, dressed in expensive suits, wantto be rubbing shoulders with other men, or women, wearing the same attire,rather than with tradesmen straight off the construction site. This is just oneexample of the benefits of a multi-bar pub, and another one that Richard Bostonwas keen to remind us of was, prices were usually lower in the public bar. Asstated earlier, the public bar was traditionally the place where games wereplayed. In addition, if a pub has two bars regardless of what they might becalled, it is relatively easy to avoid a group of people or an individual youdon't particularly like, but the most important factor for a traditional pub isit’s a place where people can feel at home.
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Despite these sound reasons for retaining multi-bar pubs,their numbers have continue to dwindle. Back in the mid 1970’s, when Boston waswriting his book, the trend towards the abolition of the public bar and it'sreplacement by a barn-like interior was on the up. Unfortunately, that trendcontinued to gather pace, steadily but also stealthily, so much so that many ofus didn't even notice it happening. Eventually a tipping point was reached, andnow multi bar pubs are very much the exception rather than the rule, certainlyin this part of the country.
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I have however felt heartened after recent visits to townsand cities such as Bath, Burton-on-Trent, Sheffield, Henley on Thames, Norwichand of course Manchester. If you know where to look, and you're a connoisseurof good pubs you can still find pubs offering a variety of different rooms todrink in, including some with traditional public bars, so good hunting!
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I first started going in pubs when I was aged 16 going on 17.I can't remember the first pub that I had a drink in, but it was almostcertainly one in Ashford, the town where I went to school and grew up in, but it would have been a place where underage drinkers could be served alcohol, without too many questions being asked. My friends and I we'reunder 18, and whilst physically a number of us looked oldenough to drink, I imagine our behaviour would have given the opposite impression.The pub was probably the long-demolished Park Hotel, a traditional,multi bar establishment, that had seen better days. The pub was under threat ofclosure and demolition, to make way for Ashford’s new shopping centre, whichexplains the lack of investment. Shortlyafterwards my friends and I gravitated to the Invicta, a three-storey, cornerpub in the Godington Road area of the town.
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It was named after Invicta, the White Horse of Kent, and wasthe pub where our friend Roy drank. His parents were regulars there, whichwas probably why we were allowed to drink there. John, thelandlord, and his wife Mary knew we weren’t old enough to imbibe, but as long aswe behaved, the couple were content with our presence. The Invicta was owned by Couragewho, along with Whitbread, operated the majority of Ashford's pubs
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We occasionally frequented the Bybrook Tavern, anotherCourage house in the nearby suburb of Kennington. Despite its ancient appearance,the Bybrook Tavern was a relatively recent addition to the town's stock of pubs, having been converted from acouple of old cottages back in the 1960’s. Today, it is part of the adjoining, and recently opened, HolidayInn, but still retains the name of the former pub for the bar area.
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I remember Roy issuing a reminder, in advance of a group of us meeting up at the Bybrook, that “Shirts will be worn!” Thiswas a reference to a sign put up by the pub landlord, a former military man, aswere many licenses in the decades following WWII. The major, quite rightlywasn't enamoured with the presence in his pub of builders, tradesmen and otherlabourers, stripped to the waist, during hot weather. These were the sort ofpeople my father described as “sweaty oafs,” so even within the confines of the public bar, or pub garden, I wholeheartedly agreewith the landlord’s sentiments.
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The era I'm talking about was the early 1970s, a time whenboth the country as a whole, and places like Ashford were undergoing majorchange. The pubs hadn't changed much, apart from perhaps the switchover to kegor top pressure beers, so the interior of many of them was much as it wouldhave been in the two or three decades that followed the Second World War. Almostwithout exception, every pub had more than one bar, usually a Public and Saloonbar. A handful offered additional drinking areas, called either Private or SnugBar, and my favourite example of this was a smashing late Victorian pub, close toAshford town centre, called the Lord Roberts.
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The Lord Roberts boasted a small and cosy Private Bar,sandwiched between Public Bar at the front of the pub and the Saloon at therear. The only access was externally, from the alleyway, at the side of thebuilding. From the time I could drink legally in pubs, the Lord Roberts becameone of my favourite watering holes in the town, and if you were lucky enoughhave a girlfriend, it was a place to take her for a quiet and respectable drink.Unfortunately, the Lord Roberts fell victim to Ashford Borough Council’s wreckingball, as it was demolished to make way for service road, for a hideous Y-shapedmonolithic office block, constructed in the heart of the town.
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The reasons why so many pubs had different bars during thatperiod, reflects the way in which the public house evolved over the centuries. Writerand columnist, Richard Boston devotes several pages to the subject, in his excellentbook Beer and Skittles, (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2022/12/life-isnt-all-cakes-and-ale-although-it.html) and he covers in some depth, the differences betweenthe various bars, and the way in which they developed.
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My own memories from that time, are that publicbars were often rather basic, with a tiled or lino floor covering, or even justplain wooden boards. There wasn't much in the way of wall coverings either, althoughsometimes there was painted matchboard at the base, below a wooden dado rail. The upper half of the walls, was normally bare plaster,painted in colours ranging from cream and pale yellow, through to various shadesof dark brown.
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Boston describes this effect as a “Symphony in Brown” but, asothers pointed out, these are the colours of beer ranging from pale ales,through to bitters and stouts. The darker colours were often reserved for thematchboard section of the lower half. Public bars tended to be male dominated or had apreponderance of men - the classic, “lads of the village” type of thing, andwere also home to traditional pub games, such as darts, bar-billiards, dominoes,or cards - the latter being strictly non-gambling games, of course.
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Perversely,despite their male dominance, public bars were often looked after by a femalemember of staff, most of whom suffered no nonsense from any of the customers,regardless of their sex.
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One example I recall well, was the Dog & Bear at Lenham,a large village between Ashford and Maidstone. The Dog & Bear was formerly acoaching inn, and like most pubs at the time, had two bars. The Public bar was called"Joyce's Bar", whilst the Saloon was called "Squirrel’s Bar" after the nickname ofthe characterful landlord, with his trademark handlebar moustache and mutton-chopwhiskers. So Squirrel looked after Saloon, with its preponderance of femaledrinkers, whilst his wife Joyce kept stock of the male dominated Public Bar. Saloon bars were nearly always carpeted and were decorated withmuch more ornate wall-coverings, including that ghastly gold and burgundy, "flockwallpaper" that became all the rage as the 1970’s drew on. The seating too wasmore comfortable, compared to the rather basic wooden bench seating and chairs,traditionally found in the public bar. In the saloon the chairs and bencheswould be covered and padded, providing seating that was far more comfortable,and also appealing to women. If you wanted a lunchtime or evening meal, this wouldnormally be served in the saloon bar, unless of course the pub had its ownseparate restaurant.
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When I went up to Manchester to study at Salford University,I had to get used to a whole new vocabulary when it came to pubs. Public barswere invariably known as the Vault, whereas saloon bars were more likely describedas the Lounge Bar. Some northern pubs had a Smoking Room, and I recall oneestablishment that even had a Reading Room. If anything, the Vaults in some of thesestraight-talking northern towns, were even more male dominated then theirsouthern counterparts.
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The same situation applied in the small number of pubs theoperated an exclusively male vault. Women were barred from the vault, in theseplaces, and I remember as a student, taking part in a demonstration against suchobvious examples of sexual discrimination. Several months later legislation wasbrought in outlawing, such practises. This, of course, was a result of pressure being appliedin parliament, rather than a scruffy bunch of students conducting an impromptu protest!
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Despite the claims of some historians, separate bars fordifferent sectors of society was not an anachronistic survivor from a class-riddenage. Instead, there were sound practical reasons behind the styling of the differentbars. Public bars, for example, were often frequented by men in overalls,covered in dust or plaster from nearby building sites. These were working peoplewho would drop in for a quick pint, either at lunchtime, or on their way home.It wouldn’t have been practical for them to go home and get changed first.
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Conversely, city business men, dressed in expensive suits, wantto be rubbing shoulders with other men, or women, wearing the same attire,rather than with tradesmen straight off the construction site. This is just oneexample of the benefits of a multi-bar pub, and another one that Richard Bostonwas keen to remind us of was, prices were usually lower in the public bar. Asstated earlier, the public bar was traditionally the place where games wereplayed. In addition, if a pub has two bars regardless of what they might becalled, it is relatively easy to avoid a group of people or an individual youdon't particularly like, but the most important factor for a traditional pub isit’s a place where people can feel at home.
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Despite these sound reasons for retaining multi-bar pubs,their numbers have continue to dwindle. Back in the mid 1970’s, when Boston waswriting his book, the trend towards the abolition of the public bar and it'sreplacement by a barn-like interior was on the up. Unfortunately, that trendcontinued to gather pace, steadily but also stealthily, so much so that many ofus didn't even notice it happening. Eventually a tipping point was reached, andnow multi bar pubs are very much the exception rather than the rule, certainlyin this part of the country.
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I have however felt heartened after recent visits to townsand cities such as Bath, Burton-on-Trent, Sheffield, Henley on Thames, Norwichand of course Manchester. If you know where to look, and you're a connoisseurof good pubs you can still find pubs offering a variety of different rooms todrink in, including some with traditional public bars, so good hunting!
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