1. : The Fascination
There has always been a considerable, even healthy,
interest in the sheer total number of pubs : in Norwich,
and no doubt elsewhere too.However, by 'always' we probably mean only since the
early 20th Century, when pubs were already on the
decline; and when - as a reaction? - the subject of
pubs-research was coming into fashion.
The publication of Walter Wicks' book, in 1925,
is a pretty good marker for the "modern" interest
in such matters to commence flourishing.
As in my clear boyhood recollections, Young reminds us
(quoting 1939 = my 5th year) that the 'proud boast'
of the City was that it had -
A pub for every day of the year, and
A church for every Sunday.
Young goes on to point out that 365 is,
in historical terms, a very modest figure !.
2. : The Abhorrence
As early as 1681, Dean Prideaux of Norwich Cathedral
was railing against the over-abundance of pubs in the City.
As noted in para. 4 below, the number would have been
of the order of 250. Yet he maintained :
"The town swarms with alehouses - every other house
is almost one; and every one of them they tell is alsoe
a bawdy house." (my italics)
So he made a petition to the Mayor regarding
"putteing the alehouses down."
It took until 1904 for his wishes to be granted
by central Government.
Young points to the strong political influence of the
local brewers, and the Excise revenue, as factors
then blocking any such restriction of trade.
3. : The Imprecision
There is not much difficulty in getting a vague,
general outline of the rise and fall in pub numbers
since records were first kept.
There are, however, great complications in defining
which premises actually qualify as pubs; and the lesser
ranks of "beer-houses" are often hard to trace in the
published prints.
Described, by ourselves, as "essential reading" is the
Chapter on definitions, which examines these inherent difficulties.
In earlier days (e.g. 17th Century) the term
'strong drink' was in use.
Licences for such would later be called 'full licences'
(i.e. including spirits), as distinct from beer-houses.
It is also important, where possible, to take into account
the facilities provided by the allied profession of
Wine and Spirits Merchant, some of whose ranks
were businesses of considerable size and influence.
4. : Small Beginnings
Norwich, like Topsy, grew from a small town; so the
pub numbers, in earlier centuries, are inevitably modest.
Relative to population, the provision may well have
been very generous : which is - in any case - a much
more sensible way of looking at the whole question.
A special Section highlights the explosive nature of
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In 1651, strong-drink licences totalled a mere 142.
In 1671, excluding beer-houses
(as we so often have to do), "ale-houses"
are believed to have totalled 243 or 244.
By 1702 this number had risen to 281
(= 107 inhabitants per pub).
In the period 1760 - 1763 there were
387 licences in force within the City proper,
plus 42 in "hamlets" beyond the City Walls.
By 1811, immediately prior to the said population
'explosion', the number had[1] dropped to 334;
but - by 1822 had recovered to 378
plus some 30 to 40 beer-houses.
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The reader will, therefore, have some difficulty in
determining the date when the City's boast first
became a genuine one.
[1] Apparently.
The 1811 Directory may have been
less than thorough in its preparation??
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5. : Victoria & Albert
The aforesaid Trade Section briefly outlines the steady
increase in 19th Century prosperity, as reflected in
growing pub numbers; while the Licensing Section
describes the benign legislative environment, in which
they thrived.
From 1811, and - more particularly - from 1830
(just before Victoria) the Trades Directories closely track
these changes; but they cannot be relied upon to include
OR exclude beer-houses.
What is worse, they seldom agree on the extent of the
geographic area they should cover (i.e. within the
City Walls, the City Boundary, or the entire
"Greater Norwich" area).
The 1830 lists (surprisingly for 'Greater Norwich')
total 439; sharply contrasting with a figure of 1070
for "victuallers", derived from the Excise Returns.
Possibly wives were included in the latter figure.
The Official 1845 List totals 558 - excluding
beer-houses, but including merchants.
6. : High Water
By 1870 the figure had risen to 670; although that
quoted by Young - namely 780 - may either have
been inflated by beer-houses, or - more likely -
by the propaganda element of the organisation [2]
responsible for data collection.
A Licensing Act in August 1872
had some detrimental effects.
Figures for 1873 were 596 (fully-licensed) pubs,
plus 42 beerhouses (= 638); thus providing a pub
for every 121 City inhabitants !.
W. Ratcliff's "Drink Map" of 1878 lists a total of
655 licensed houses; but the official licensing
figure (including 3 "refreshment houses")
was 634, with 38 of them being beerhouses.
In 1881 the figure of inhabitants per pub
had risen to 143.
The Ordnance Survey map of 1883
also shows pubs, often by name.
Given that the figure had dropped to 627 by 1886
[allegedly 615 by 1885??] - but with 18 wine licences
in addition (for restaurants?) - we may conclude that
the peak was reached sometime in the early-to-mid 1870s.
The peak for beerhouses, however,
seems to have been in 1887, with 48.
In August 1890 the figure for 'proper' pubs (572)
was 21 short of the 1878 figure.
But beerhouses and wine licences
remained virtually static.
A further "Drink Map" was produced in 1892,
showing 631 pubs in all; as against 618 (officially)
in 1890, plus 20 wine licences.
Factors discussed under trade caused a slow and steady
decline of City Centre pubs, as the Century concluded;
although, in 1900, there were still 441 pubs to be found
within the City Walls.
In 1905 only beerhouses had declined slightly - at 41 -
but the grand total was pretty steady at 614.
[2] The Norwich Gospel Temperance Union.
7. : Downhill
Around the turn of the Century (1904, to be precise)
legislators moved against licensed pubs, in the
broadest sense, as described in the Licensing Section.
Only partly for this reason, in 1911 the
inhabitants/pubs ratio had shot up to 245.
The 1914 - 18 War then administered
something of a coup de grace.
A useful snapshot of pre-war pubs can be found
in the 1914 List (Jarrolds); where 485 pubs,
including 29 beerhouses, are detailed.
The 1921 figure for inhabitants per pub was 277.
Despite the continuing enforced closures, the magic
pubs figure of 365 (or more) remained inviolate
throughout the first half of the 20th Century.
It was not until 1966 that the Chief Constable
informed the Licensing Justices that only
355 licences were still operative.
However, Young admits that this figure gives a rosy
and false impression; as it includes all off-licences,
restaurants and (private?) clubs.
So we have to go back to the early-1960's to find
the end of the Golden Era of pubs in this City.
The inhabitants/pubs ratio soon exceeded the total
number of the pubs themselves ! : 400 in 1961
and 556 in 1971.
This is a reflection of a brutal cull of pubs, peaking in
the decade from c. 1961. It can hardly be a co-incidence
that 1961 was the takeover year for Morgan's brewery.
The organisation of this cull is described in detail elsewhere.
Ken Chapman's survey in 1984 avoided the kinds of
premises Young mentions, but did include hotels and
some licensed refreshment facilities attached to other
'public service' buildings.
It found a total of 233 eligible outlets;
with no less than 630 inhabitants per pub !!
Also see the 1991 Pub Guide, which listed 215 pubs
(but missed some!).
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