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England
Drink
to 1000 Years of Beer and Pubs!
by
Bob Barton
 Cheers!
Though no one can put an exact date on the opening of the country'
s first pub, it is thought they have been around for just as long,
starting when almost every household offered home-brewed
ale to weary and thirsty pilgrims and other travellers.
Whether or not you are partial to a pint of dark British beer
('bitter'),
to visit some of the country's pubs is a must for most visitors.
I have been lucky enough to drink in some of the most distinctive
and historic ones.
It is Burton-upon-Trent, a bustling town in central England, 123
miles north-west of London, which is the self-styled capital of
brewing. Benedictine
monks are credited with the discovery that brewing with
the town's well water produced superior beers. In the year 1002
a local nobleman, Wulfric Spot, bequeathed land and money so that
the monks could establish an abbey, and the rest is history.
Several pubs are contender for the title of the oldest in the
country. One, The
Fighting Cocks at St. Albans, 23 miles north of London,
is within a short walk of St. Albans abbey. With foundations archeologists
have dated to AD 795, it takes its name from the cock fights once
staged there.
Another contender is the Olde Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham,
128 miles north of the capital. Dating from 1189, it was stopping
place for Richard the Lion Heart’s crusaders on their way
to battle in the Holy Land — its rooms are hollowed out of
the same cliff that Nottingham Castle stands upon.
Because monks were among the earliest brewers, many inns have
religious names: often a clue to a pub's great age. So look out
for names such as Hope and Anchor (a bible quotation); Cross Keys
(the badge of St. Peter) and The Lamb (of God).
London has many historic pubs that deserve to be on every visitor’s
itinerary. They include The George in Southwark - just a short
walk from London Bridge railway station - which is the capital's
last remaining galleried inn, dating from 50 years after William
Shakespeare's death. You half expect a stage-coach to come clattering
into the courtyard. On the other side of the River Thames, beside
Blackfriar's Bridge is the Black Friar. Built in 1903, it is an
art nouveau parody of a monastery, with marble columns and ornate
bronze friezes depicting monks and elaborate quotations.
 In
High Holborn is The
Princess Louise, a former Victorian 'gin palace' whose
decorative interior includes etched and gilt mirrors, moulded
plaster ceilings and slender columns: even the men' s lavatory
is subject of a special preservation order!
In fact, ask a local in almost any British city to direct you
to an historic pub and you will find yourself spoilt for choice.
A list of the best would probably include: The
Philharmonic in Liverpool (where the young Beatles supped
ale); the ornate Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast (preserved by
the National Trust charity); Peveril of the Peak, with its stained
glass and ceramic tiling, in Manchester and The Café Royal
in Edinburgh, but there are many more.
An area with more than its fair share of pubs with character -
and, notably, pubs that brew their own beer - is the Black
Country, the former industrial heart of England' s Midlands
between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton. Why the Black
Country? The long-disappeared coal-mines and furnaces of this
home of the Industrial Revolution would turn the sky 'black by
day and red by night.' Thirsty workers would drink gallons of
ale as a restorative. The area makes a convenient stopover between
Shakespeare Country and the pretty borderland linking England
and Wales.
Among the Black Country pubs I have visited are:
- The Bottle
& Glass Inn, one of the highlights of a period town within
the Black Country Living Museum at Dudley, recreating the sights,
sounds, smells and way of life of the area. An authentic recreation
of a working men's pub at the beginning of the 20th century,
down to the sawdust coated floor and oil lamps.
- The Crooked
House at nearby Himley Park, where ground subsidence has caused
the building, its doors and window frames to twist in different
directions. Coins appear to roll uphill, the floors are uneven
and you feel drunk without even having a drink!
- The Old
Swan Hotel at Netherton, full of varnished woodwork, horse-brasses,
etched mirrors and an unusual enamelled-iron ceiling. Faggots
(a type of meat-ball) are a house speciality and the landlord
will turn on the pianola music machine on request!
- The Beacon
Hotel (Sarah Hughes Brewery) at Sedgley, one of four pub micro-breweries
in the area. A mention of our interest in beer to the barman
led him to take us on a tour of the pub’s historic working
tower brewery - reminiscent of a windmill minus the sails -
and not easy to climb after a pint or two of Dark Ruby. The
recipe for this beer is a closely guarded secret. Thought lost,
it was discovered in a cigar tin after a gap of 30 years.
The British may have been brewing for 1,000 years but there is
no sign of 'Last orders!' being called in their pubs.
Useful tip: Pubs are relaxed and informal places — there
is no table service. You buy your drinks at the bar, pay immediately
and take them back to your table.
Useful websites
Bass Museum, Burton-upon-Trent: www.bass-museum.com
Good Pub Guide: www.goodguides.com
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA): www.camra.org.uk
Black Country Living Museum: www.bclm.co.uk
VisitBritain: www.visitbritain.com/city
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