Pub History

April 11, 2003 12:29 AM

The Bass Museum of Beer. The history of the Black Horse, Findon, West Sussex. A guide to historic pub interiors, from the Campaign for Real Ale. Pub names for all, an amusing pastime. An online guide to pub games. Flash versions of pub games. Unusual pub names of Lancashire. The history of Coaching inns. An interactive map of pubs and clubs of Oxford. Venus and Adonis at the White Hart Inn, St. Albans (you may disagree with the scholarship, but the images are nice). The Star Inn, Bath, an historic pub. A virtual pub crawl of Hull. A virtual pub crawl of Shrewsbury. The Bird and Baby, favoured by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. (More on Tolkien's Oxford). Guide to Gloucestershire pubs. The Crooked House in the West Midlands (more here via the Strangest Pubs in Britain). The World Marbles Championship takes place every year at a pub in Sussex.
posted by plep (13 comments total)

Cheers, plep. My round!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:49 AM on April 11, 2003

Thanks again, as usual, plep for a splendid post.

This deserves plenty of time, but the first few links reminded me of how thirsty I am at the moment, and drew a slight twinge of regret and homesickness at the dearth of pubs in Korea.

Sure, there are some wonderful spots to go for the wee dram, or the occasional ale, and even more makeshift outdoor pojangmacha, or tent shops, popular even in the dead of winter, but sometimes nothing beats the sight of a pint in familiar surroundings.

I distinctly remember a plep post from some time ago (a year?), which dealt especially with unusual and fantastic English pub signs.

Anyway, thanks again.[this is good].
posted by hama7 at 4:54 AM on April 11, 2003

I've just sat down with a beer to peep Meta for the evening - pure serendipity!

Nice one plep
posted by backOfYourMind at 5:01 AM on April 11, 2003

I love the half bakery guide to naming pubs: just take the name of your favourite animal/car/toy/pet, and combine it with another, unrelated animal/car/toy/pet to give you a supposedly unique English Pub Name. I'm going to be doing this mentally all the time now (also works well for coming up with a name for your garage band)!

I'm not a beer drinker by any means - I can't get used to the taste. But I've always wanted to try Thomas Hardy's Ale, which is probably the subject of much derision by real beer drinkers (?)

Hmm. The Strangest Pubs in Britain book is very, very tempting. And I'm loving all of the info on the Mythopoeic Society. I wish I could stay home from work today and explore these links some more, but I have something to look forward to when I get back. Thanks, plep - another beaut!
posted by iconomy at 5:12 AM on April 11, 2003

Thomas Hardy Ale is brewed in my hometown of Dorchester in Dorset where the man himself was from.

It's an interesting tipple to put it mildly. Very syrupy but with a wicked aftertaste. From what I can tell it's not actually made anymore - maybe it's time to crack open the Charles and Diana Royal Wedding bottle I have at home...!

Thanks for a good post too btw - let's not forget the smallest pub in Britain - the Smith's Arms in Godmanstone, Dorset
posted by jontyjago at 5:29 AM on April 11, 2003

maybe it's time to crack open the Charles and Diana Royal Wedding bottle I have at home

Don't do it - seriously. Beer has a very definite expiry date. Drinking beer past its use by date is bad news.

Plus you'll get much less on eBay for an empty bottle.
posted by backOfYourMind at 5:57 AM on April 11, 2003

Don't worry backofyourMind - even I wouldn't consider drinking 22 year old beer.

There is a risk though - in the 1950's my dad did once come across a packet of cigarettes given to soldiers in 1917 and tried to smoke one. Sick as a dog he was, so stupidity does run in the family.
posted by jontyjago at 6:19 AM on April 11, 2003

And mine apparently - I once drank one can of John Smith that had been sitting in the fridge so long it had rust on the bottom of it.

So sick I couldn't even sit up in bed for an entire day.

Live and learn young 'uns, live and learn...
posted by backOfYourMind at 6:29 AM on April 11, 2003

But I've always wanted to try Thomas Hardy's Ale, which is probably the subject of much derision by real beer drinkers (?)

Actually, for people (like myself) who like that style of beer (British strong ale), Thomas Hardy's is closer to the Holy Grail, and very much worth the high price ($5/bottle here in Chicago). And in my experience of fine barleywines, the older the better.

You can buy most brands of beer (3 case minimum) at Jeff's Cellar of the Horse Brass Pub.
posted by goethean at 8:21 AM on April 11, 2003

[this is good]
posted by Mick at 9:01 AM on April 11, 2003

Great work, plep -- I hope you did hands-on research!
But... no Michael Jackson?
No, not that Michael Jackson.
posted by languagehat at 9:29 AM on April 11, 2003

Great post. CAMRA kicks ass, and their hometown of St. Albans is full of wonderful real ale.

My shout after Mig's, and mine's a pint of the London Pride...

(my favorite pub)
posted by Vidiot at 11:36 AM on April 11, 2003

Thanks for the links, all. :) It's amazing how many good beer and pub sites are out there.

The tale of this Cotswold pub is quite sad, but worth reading at the same time - an all too common, and familiar tale! Pubs are an important part of British heritage, and good pubs certainly need to be preserved.
posted by plep at 12:49 PM on April 11, 2003