The demise of the British pub?

By: J. David Chapman/August 31, 2023

Over the past 10 years, I have spent about 10 months in the United Kingdom and Ireland. During that time, I have written about, and been intrigued by, the pub culture. According to the British Beer and Pub Association, the number of pubs has dropped by 25% since 2000, from 60,800 to 45,800 in 2022.

Among the pubs that have closed are several of the country’s most historic: The Air Balloon in Gloucestershire, open since at least the 1780s, closed last year; the 200-year-old Black Horse in Coventry was demolished in January. And in early August, the 18th-century Crooked House near Birmingham was destroyed in a suspicious fire.

When the Crown and Anchor pub in Llanidloes located in mid-Wales was built, America was a British colony, and France still had a king. While the world has changed all around it, the Crown and Anchor has stayed much the same since the 17th century. However, that long spell of history ended abruptly in May 2023, when the COVID-19 hangover, inflation, and high energy costs triggered the closing of the famous pub.

Describing the function of a pub to non-British is difficult. It serves beer, but isn’t a bar; patrons eat there, but it isn’t exactly a restaurant. Some have live music, many have games, others brew their own beer. You can drink there all night, and children and dogs are welcome. So, I would explain it as a community center – the “third place” Brits go to besides work and home.

These pubs distinctly mark periods in British history. High Victorian pubs built with wealth from new industry are ornate in style with mosaic floors, marble urials and wood-paneled walls. The art-deco pubs built in the 1930s had larger rooms and gardens to appeal to families and discouraged shady behavior. The postwar era referred to as the estate pub is recognized by simple interiors built around new housing estates and functioned as “living rooms” for villages and boroughs in the U.K. They’ve become known as their “local” where everyone knows their name.

I am confident that I will continue to be able to “knock the frost off a few” at my favorite British pub in the future. However, it is clear that there will continue to be changes in the industry. Cheers!

J. David Chapman is a professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).