Coventry Pubs

Re pubs. If you ever get to the Herbert, there is a massive, red/brown tome about Coventry's pubs with loads of pictures and descriptions I've never seen. I only referenced one page because it was relevant to me but it's a gem. It's in the main area shelving, so you don't need to book to see it. Called a Thousand Years of Pubs, it's big enough to stand out on the shelf. Corrected because I realised that I'd photographed the name and book inner edge.

Sounds like I need a trip - thanks yet again Helen!

Just heard that Drapers Bar has closed its doors today - not sure if it's for good but it doesn't sound very positive.

I have a question. What are the thoughts to why pubs are closing down? Are drinks and food too expensive for families to afford now? Are the overheads far too expensive to keep a pub open? I do support laws to prevent and deal with 'drink driving'. Have pubs not kept up with this issue? Many pubs in Aus offer a free bus service to drive you home. I understand attitudes have changed and I am one to know that I can buy a case of beer for half the cost to drink the same in a pub. Are publicans doing it tough so they have increased their prices to even out the costs, if so this may be counter productive. Taxes have increased to reduce alcohol consumption (as with smoking) but is this having a detrimental effect on the social aspect of things. Many men only have this avenue for social interaction. This could be a huge social loss that has not been considered. I do have concerns.

I think you've dealt with every aspect Gumnut! That said, in the UK we do have large pub chains which offer food and drink at reasonable prices and this can be detrimental to small Independent pubs if they are nearby, causing them to cease trading due to lack of custom.

Sadly, they've suffered the same fate as the smaller shops, garages and off-licences: the supermarkets have put them out of business. Years ago, I used to enjoy a pint (568ml if you prefer metric) in the pub. And then it occurred to me, "Hang about, this is getting a bit hard on the old pocket at nearly £3 per pint". A bit later, I was in the One Stop, and a 4-pack of the same stuff was a mere £3.90, i.e. less than £1 per pint. So I started buying my own and staying in the comfort of my own home, instead of going to the pub. And millions of people up and down the country did the same.

For many pubs now food is as big a draw as alcohol. When I first moved down here pubs usually only sold crisps and nuts (and occasionally sandwiches). Add to that that many people don't drink alcohol all that often as well as the price (and also the smoking ban) you have a perfect storm. Personally I've brewed my own now for many years, much cheaper and it tastes better (in my opinion anyway) and I don't have to go out to buy it.

Hi all The manner of our social interaction changes, by what we value. Regulations, facilities & access are the powerful influences that then shape those values. Right now, society is being pressured to reduce carbon footprint. That will possibly become a revolution that may well force changes that I haven't even considered. Look at what that 9" square box in your room corner has done since you bought it in 1950. That is a revolution in itself, I believe. The pub culture appears now to be a special occasion venue, for where more space is needed than we have at home. Our forum breaky meetings a case in point. I will post this reply then tell you an almost unbelievable story.

A story. Are you sitting comfy. No question mark as it is rhetoric. Once upon a time, a lovely hard working couple lived in Nuffield Road, Coventry. Phil & Mabel. I knew them well, one because they were friends of my mum & dad, but also, their favourite pub was the Albany, in Albany Rd, Earlsdon. For a while in my youth, I played piano there, where I remember them socialising at weekends. Whilst they were both working, Phil was Morris, whilst Mabel managed my mum's shop in White St. They had a Morris Traveller. Getting to the Albany was no issue to them at weekends. Anyway, when retirement loomed, did they have sights on Devon or Mablethorpe? No, they moved to Farman Rd, so that they could enjoy the social delights at the Albany. They didn't have family, which is why I am comfortable in posting this story. Whilst over half a century of television is still changing our lifestyles, a quarter of a century of the internet is devastating them.

As a teetotaller I'm not that fond of pubs unless there's a meal involved. John Finnemore has a sketch about how the internet has killed pub chat, not because people are glued to their phones but because a large percentage of pub chat was about trying to remember facts - like who was in that film...? Now less than a minute after a question is asked, it's answered correctly, with extra information that might have spawned another hour of conversation of half remembered details and opinions.

Helen, no more stories about the fish that got away, who beat Coventry that week, old so and so has just passed away (removal of flat caps at this point), whose round is it? Core, look at that one!!! You're banned, OUT. Time gentlemen please! Just to round the night off, it's chucking it down outside.

Spot on Dreamtime. Now people who live near each other often have few things in common (look how far we both have to go to meet like minded souls ). Coventry's pubs have almost seen more of me since I left than while I was there, although the pub near Nuneaton college got a visit from me every Saturday I was studying art there after I quit working. The tutors tried to ban it on the grounds we were too jolly when we came back. Which sort of fell flat when they conceded that most of us had soft drinks and we were just happy.

I think that Dreamtime and Helen have hit the nail on the head in a roundabout way. The loss of our locals has caused a loss in our communal socialising. I fear that we no longer know our neighbours or people at the other end of the road as we used to. In the local, views and news were exchanged between people who would not normally know each other. It was a great melting pot, one that is required for a balanced society. I fear that the loss of these facilities may help fragmentation of our society. May I say that the view expressed is from my experience of earlier days. I no longer visit pubs as they have lost the appeal that they had for me. As to the demise, a number of body blows seemed to hit public houses. The ceasing of drinking and driving is one, no smoking is another. With respect to our foreign friends who have settled here they often do not use public houses, it is not part of their culture, and breweries demanding exccessive rents have not helped. The world has moved on but I think that we need to replace the pub by some sort of social centre so that we can mix again.

The Albany has been resurrected recently, Philip - looks great now. Really focusing on live music. Still good for a

Firstly, I'd like to thank Neil for highlighting that website's closure and putting me in touch with Fred Luckett about it. Fred and John Ashby had put many years of research into what was known as Real Ale Rambles, and I felt it would be too much of a loss for the Coventry pub-loving world for that research to be lost forever. So, with their blessing I have been able to retrieve most of the archived data and use it to rebuild a brand new website, now with the more relevant name of Coventry's Pub History, and hosted here on the Historic Coventry server. I have been given permission to launch this site to the public now, so anyone reading this will be among the first to see.... It just comes with the small caveat: Although this site is now in the public domain, please note that there is still considerable information to be added and updated. All I can say is.....