Pub closures

Nowadays, pub closures are much lamented. And there are groups on bot a national and local level doing their best to keep them open. At the end of the 19th century, things were very different. The reverse, in fact. With temperance groups and some politicians actively trying to close as many as possible.

Why was that? Because temperance twats saw pubs as a terrible temptation to the poor wee lambs of the working class. Who didn't have the moral fibre to resist. Remove the temptation and sobriety would follow. At least, that was the theory. A condescending view of the labouring classes and totally ignoring the vital social function that pubs played. 

None of this applied to where the upper classes gathered to drink: posh gentleman's clubs. Which is why for so long working men's clubs remained unaffected by licensing legislation. As the authorities struggled to find a way of imposing the control on workers' clubs while allowing their own to operate unhindered.

Key pieces of legislation regarding pubs were the 1869 and 1872 Licensing Acts, which not only made it very difficult to obtain new licences, but also made it easier for magistrates to revoke existing licences. An unexpected consequence was a big increase in the value of existing licences. Which in turn boosted the tied house system, as brewers rushed to guarantee outlets. 

With pub licences a valued asset, brewers were reluctant to close pubs. Instead, they would trade in two or three licences of smaller, inner city pubs, where there was lots of competition, to gain one new licence in a new suburb. Today, with few pubs owned by brewers and new licences easy to obtain, there's no need for owners to hang onto unprofitable pubs. No need to trade licences with licensing magistrates.

You may think a lot of pubs are currently closing. In the first couple of decades of the 20th century it was between 3 and 5 pubs a day that disappeared forever. A fall so great it must have impacted every community in the country. 

Reduction in licences in England and Wales 1905 - 1920
Year ended Dec 31	Refused with compensation	Refused without compensation	Licences lapsed	New licences granted	Net decrease
1905	194	80	363	53	584
1906	892	69	435	56	1,340
1907	1,735	48	322	68	2,037
1908	1,236	30	253	47	1,472
1909	1,290	35	286	50	1,561
1910	993	27	250	33	1,237
1911	978	20	444	44	1,398
1912	849	18	296	53	1,110
1913	842	24	265	52	1,079
1914	844	13	225	48	1,034
Totals	9,853	364	3,139	504	12,852
Average 1894 - 1902					296
Average 1903 - 1904					614
Average 1905 - 1914	985	36	314	50	1,285
Source:
Brewers' Almanack 1922, page 91.