Pub
The pub (plural: the pubs ) is a pub in the United Kingdom , Ireland and the French region of Brittany , where it has a permanent place in social life. The term is derived from Public House , a house open to the public.
history
The term "pub" is an invention of the Victorian Age and the short form for "public house". The facility, on the other hand, goes back to the Roman occupiers of antiquity , who built an extensive network of streets, at the junctions of which guest houses for travelers were located.
At that time it was customary in the villages for one of the residents to invite the entire village over, cook and serve drinks there. This gave rise to the term public house . Today's interior still refers to the look of the pubs back then. Wooden furniture, sofas / couches and carpets were inviting for a cozy get-together, which has not changed in the UK to this day. So that the pub groups were not disturbed by "gawkers", dark-colored window panes were installed, which prevented people from looking inside.
The alehouse
In the seventh century AD, King Æthelberht of Kent first made a regulation regarding the number of alehouses , as they were then called, and the size of the drinking vessels.
Three centuries later, King Edgar introduced a special drinking vessel with a scale on the inside. This was passed around and drank from it together. Everyone drank to the next peg and then passed the jar on. If he had drunk beyond the grain, he took the beer from the next. Hence the phrase "taking someone down a peg or two".
The subsequent Christianization took over many drinking rituals of pagan culture, and extra beer was even brewed for church festivals, so-called "scot ale". Beer brewed in secret, for which church taxes were evaded, was called "scot free". In the Middle Ages , the quality of drinking water decreased rapidly ( epidemics , sewage from tanneries, etc.), so that ale, due to the boiling of the wort during the brewing process, became the only safe drink and alehouses played an even more important role.
The Inn
With the increase in trade and, above all, pilgrimages , more and more accommodation was needed for travelers. (see also inn and history of traveling )
Ale houses, especially those run by monks , soon offered overnight accommodation. The inn was invented. The oldest existing inn in London is The George Inn in Southwark . It was built in 1542 but fell victim to the fire that raged Southwark in 1676. In the same year it was rebuilt. The neighboring tabard, also an inn, is mentioned as early as 1388 in the Canterbury Tales . This pub was demolished in 1874 despite popular protests. A memorial plaque on Tabard Street indicates the former inn.
For church builders, the church often operated its own overnight accommodation, which was then often continued to operate as public inns. They were often named after the church that the builders built.
The tavern
Under Elizabeth I (1558–1603) England experienced a boom in trade and military power. The population grew and the cities increased in number and size.
In the cities of that time, the taverns originally only served wine. In contrast to the alehouse, which offered a vital necessity, the taverns were dedicated to joy and relaxation. The poor in town went to the alehouse to warm themselves, get cheap food, and drink something non-sick. The rich went to the tavern to dine and indulge in the good life. The tavern was by no means just a romantic, cozy place with an open fire and sophisticated entertainment. Drunkenness was not frowned upon at this time and many shady characters and prostitutes went about their trade in the taverns. Even so, the taverns were the heart of the urban culture of the time.
As part of the changes in social structures at the end of the 18th century, the decline of the taverns began. After the end of the monopoly, alehouses also sold wine and the so-called “Gin Palaces” drew the public who enjoyed drinking. Also, drunkenness became a disgrace for the middle classes and was no longer desirable. The upper class withdrew to their “gentlemen's clubs”.
Coffee, cocoa, tea
After the English Civil War , which began in 1642 and when taxation was introduced for ale houses, taverns and inns, three drinks changed the habits of the British. After the introduction of coffee (1650), cocoa (1657) and tea (1660), the first coffee house was opened in London in 1652 . (The Jamaica Wine House is located there in Cornhill today.)
In the great fire of 1666 , many of the historic wooden houses from the Middle Ages and Tudor times were lost. After the fire, houses in London had to be built out of stone or brick.
The time of the stagecoach
The era of the stagecoaches (the first regular stagecoach service between London and Chester was established in 1657 ) is fondly remembered in England as a golden age and relics from this time, as well as pictures of romantic scenes from this context, are also popular decorative materials in new pubs.
The slow cruising speed, the short range of the horses (approx. 20 miles ~ 30 km) and the need to feed and water the horses led to the establishment of many coaching inns along the stagecoach routes. Either the inns along the way were rebuilt or new ones were built. These also offered a certain security against the omnipresent, now unjustly romanticized, robbers and highwaymen who often attacked the stagecoaches.
With the introduction of the postal service, the "coaching stations", as they were also called, were built closer to one another and the horses at these were changed instead of resting in order to achieve a higher travel speed. The postman was armed with a musket and two pistols as standard , which was sorely needed. Operating such an inn was expensive and, above all, the inns that were not at the end or intersection of routes had a tough job. The standard of the inns was very inconsistent and travelers often complained about dirt and smelly beds. Many innkeepers also worked with the muggers and gave them tips on which travelers were worth robbing. Despite these adversities, the villages grew along the routes, and the inns became the trading, court and fairgrounds in the area. The inns were often several stories high with 60 beds and space for 50 horses. So they were big buildings for that time.
While the pubs still played an important, if not welcomed, role in the operation of the Stockton and Darlington Railway , the advent of the railroad led to a change that made the stagecoaches disappear with increasing expansion. Therefore there are only very few coaching inns left at this time. They all belong to the National Trust .
The Gin Palace or Gin Shop
In the early 18th century, the restrictions were for distillation of gin abolished, and the country was practically drowned in cheap alcohol. The extent of alcohol consumption was so enormous that, despite improved hygienic conditions, the population of London fell noticeably. The British literally drank themselves to death. The poor in particular fell for the gin. A contemporary painting shows a mother on "Gin Street" who is so drunk that she drops her baby, while healthy, happy people can be seen on "Ale Street".
It wasn't until the mid-1820s that the production and sale of gin was restricted, under pressure from industrialists who needed sober workers and the middle class, who felt disgusted by the many spirits corpses. The gin was sold to the poor in gin shops - uncomfortable places where there was nothing to buy but gin and where customers did not want to invite customers to linger. Since the gin shops were often the only lighted houses in the slums, they were often called gin palaces by the poor . The number of deaths also fell because in the 1820s the switch was made from smuggled, very harmful ( fusel oil ) to legally distilled gin.
The abolition of the curfew
The curfew in pubs was introduced by law in 1915. This was to prevent the English armaments workers from drinking late into the night and standing hungover in the factory the next day.
The opening times were set at 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. (depending on the region). At 10:45 p.m. the landlord rang a bell and the last order could be placed after shouting “Last Order”. This shouting often led to larger panic orders from pub guests, who poured the ordered alcohol into themselves until 11 p.m. (“Drink up, please”).
In the meantime, this curfew has been relaxed so that pubs can be open until 2 a.m., especially in large cities. One wants to prevent the drinking bouts mentioned above . Critics complain, however, that the longer opening times mean that even more alcohol is consumed and the riots due to alcohol abuse are becoming even stronger. They are demanding that the government resume curfew by law.
Pubs outside the British Isles
In major Japanese cities, the pub has developed as a very popular alternative to traditional Japanese pubs since the 1990s . There is a pub at every major train station in Tokyo . Pubs in Japan go to great lengths to reproduce the English or Irish atmosphere with wood paneling , carpets and above all with imported beers not available anywhere else in Japan. Guinness started its triumphal march in Japan in the pubs. In addition, the English pubs in Japan always offer fish and chips .
You can often find pubs in Germany, the USA and many other countries. Most of the time these are Irish style pubs .
Pubs have been to be found in Switzerland since the 1970s - initially in isolated places in the cities and now more and more often in tourist locations, in order to give English guests a little sense of home. Gastronomy chains share the market in the cities. But you can still find independent pubs.
Modern appearance
Pubs differ from usual bars and pubs in that they are mostly furnished with wood and carpets. In many pubs fan paraphernalia from soccer clubs decorate the walls, accordingly soccer games of the English Premier League are often broadcast. Other pubs, especially in large cities, clearly show with “No fan colors” signs that they will not tolerate guests in football shirts in order to avoid any disputes between rival supporters. In many pubs, guests wearing certain brands of clothing are denied entry to keep out casuals . The number of seats is usually limited; in any case, crowds of people often form in front of the counter during the evening. Dartboards and billiard tables can be found very often, as well as slot machine games (although usually no slot machines). In keeping with the desired rustic ambience, the windows are usually tinted.
Since the mid-1990s, pubs have been increasingly taken over by operator chains. The UK's largest pub operators include Punch Taverns and Mitchells & Butlers .
Manners and conventions
The manners are straightforward; the pub is one of the few places in Britain where class differences play a minor role. Beer is traditionally drunk in the variations of lager , ale and bitter from a rich selection, which you get yourself at the counter and pay immediately there. Food (bar meals) be ordered stating the table number at the counter, also paid the same and, once they are done served at the table. Payment is not possible until the end of the visit or on top, as is customary in Germany, so it is not permitted to leave a cover letter . In addition to beer and whiskey , other drinks such as cider , wine or spirits are widespread in addition to soft drinks , while cocktails are uncommon. German beer drinkers also find the beer serving with no or only a small head of foam to get used to, but in Great Britain the attitude is I pay a pint , I want a pint! , so something like : I'm paying a (whole) pint, so I want to have a (whole) pint too! in front.
In the UK, it is a common practice to drink beer after work with colleagues. As a result, after work is the main source of income for the operator. However, during the day you can also see business people in pubs spending their lunch break there and having a pint of beer at the same time. The selection of drinks is usually larger than the selection of food. Traditional pub food is British favorites like fish and chips , steak and kidney pies and other meat pies, often served with mashed potatoes.
Even in overcrowded pubs it is frowned upon to make yourself heard by the innkeeper by conspicuously shouting or waving banknotes. Instead, they are expected to keep an eye on the order in which the guests arrive. If the landlord nevertheless loses the overview and serves a guest who is not yet his turn, the convention requires that the latter refuse and that the landlord indicates the ignored guest with a wink.
It is highly unusual to tip in a pub . In order to show your appreciation for good service, you can give the host a beer with the words "... and one for yourself". The latter occasionally replies with the words "I'll save it for Ron" (colloquial for "later on"), so he will later drink a beer at the guest's expense - but first make sure that he toasted the donor.
The so-called pub quiz evenings, on which a quiz master asks questions that the audience has to solve individually or in teams, are very popular . Small amounts of money await the winner as a prize. Pub crawl is also widespread in England , with as many pubs as possible being visited in one evening in a row.
Since the Health Act 2006 came into force in July 2007, smoking has been strictly prohibited in all UK pubs. Occasionally, (standing) tables are installed outside, covered and sometimes heated, where smoking is permitted. This often means that even in rainy weather there are more people in front of the pub than in it.
Others
All “ Inspector Jury ” novels by Martha Grimes are originally named after real pubs.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Gilbert Delos: Les Whiskeys du Monde. Translation from French: Karin-Jutta Hofmann: Whiskey from all over the world. Karl Müller, Erlangen 1998, ISBN 3-86070-442-7 , p. 123.