1. : Geography
Although it is hard to grasp now, Norwich used to be
the second-largest walled City in England, after the
City of London.
So, when there was a growing population to
accommodate, this meant that residents stayed in
the same confined area - for longer than one might
otherwise have expected.
Hence the inevitable "explosion" beyond the Walls
occurred surprisingly late in the 18th Century.
The Walls and Gates themselves -
detailed by Young -
were not destroyed until 1793 and onwards.
So, not much over 200 years ago, all the City inns
and pubs were "crowded" into one area [1]. Those in
neighbouring hamlets (now "suburbs") like Catton,
Eaton, Lakenham, Trowse might as well have been
in Great Yarmouth, for all the use
they were to Norwich drinkers.
[1] Exceptions were :-
- A little "ribbon development",
outside a few of the gates -
Lower Heigham, Oak Street, Pockthorpe
and St. Stephen's.
- Individual hostelries placed immediately outside
other gates; serving as late-night refuges,
after the gates had closed !.
^Top^
2. : And Demography
It would be quite wrong to say that the population
increased steadily; although the depredations of the
Black Death etc. occurred long before the "breaching"
of the City Walls.
From then onwards, the increase in numbers has been
a notable feature, albeit not one of consistency.
However, the increase of populated area has been
disproportionately large, and (until very recently)
ever more so.
Population Growth
Unlike many other towns/cities, the fastest period
of growth was not in the Victorian era (of extremely
large families).
This meant that the original "overspill" areas, e.g.
New City and New Lakenham mushroomed during the
first three decades of the 19th Century. They were -
but quite a bit later - incremented by "onion rings"
of further development.
Meanwhile, to the North, New Catton and
New Sprowston were village-expansions
taking place in an inward direction !!
(as also was the case with New Lakenham).
Not until the late 19th C. did City expansions
(northward and eastward) go in those
to-be-expected, outward directions.
3. : Implications for Trade
For most of the 19th Century and earlier, the
implications were perfectly straight-forward :
the intra-mural City pubs continued to thrive;
and very many new ones sprang-up to cater for
the "overspill" populations.
Later in that century, however, an industrial boom
(again, much delayed in our case) claimed large plots
of City Centre land for factories; forcing the residents
to the outskirts, and turning them into "commuters".
The remaining pubs, however, had workers as
their new customers. (See below)
From this point on, a steady decline in true "City"
pubs began. However, around the turn of the century,
several large Victorian-style pubs had been built
towards (what is now) the Outer Ring Road,
by way of compensation.
4. : The Boom Years
The first boom period - century, in fact - has been
described; but this had resulted in some over-provision,
addressed - nationally - by the Compensation Act of 1904.
The boom was brought to a sad finale
by the First World War.
This conflict, plus the Boer War, entailed large numbers
of human losses : almost all were men, and at a time
when women rarely frequented pubs.
It took until the late 1920's before another
mini-boom of pub-building was undertaken by
the (then) Big Five brewers.
It is worth noting that nearly as much RE-building of
specific "City" pubs (17) took place, around that time,
as building anew in the suburbs (21) - for the
spreading populations.
See details of pub buildings Pre-WWII.
Perhaps it was assumed that male workers were as likely
to drink in their lunch-breaks (or after work) as when
they got home, tired and some walking distance from any "boozer".
5. : The Exodus
Further factory-building, and large slum-clearance
projects, before WWII (covered in Section B) decimated
the numbers of pubs within the City Walls; and there is
no evidence that as many pubs, or as much trade, were
ever transferred to the suburbs.
It has to be admitted that the advent of other forms of
entertainment (cinemas and dance-halls etc.), and
increased mobility (coaches as well as rail-travel), had
reduced the share[2] of "leisure-expenditure" received
by the Licensed Trade in the 1920s and 30s.
This situation was to persist for many years to come. . . .
[2] Regardless of the current state of the
National Economy, unemployment levels etc.
The 1930's "mini-boom", mentioned in 4. above, seems
strangely at odds with all these other factors; but must
be seen in the context of the aggressive consolidation of
the brewing industry and of its estates of tied-houses.
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6. : Home Entertainment
An evening at the pub was no longer the height of
social life; and even the modest charms of the radio
or gramophone were enough to keep many people
at home in the hard-up 1940s and 50s.
Two World Wars and the intervening Slump, not to
mention post-war rationing, had knocked much of the
heart out of the "vittling" profession : whose concept of
food provision, for their drinkers,
had shrunk to either
a pickled egg or a packet of crisps.
It was to be nearly half a century before pubs were
to regain their rightful status as houses of 100%
refreshment. (See Paragraph 9 below).
Throughout the final decades of the 20th C. pubs have
had to compete with technological advances in home
entertainment - principally the TV, then supplemented
by VCR, "music centres", CDs etc. etc.
Now, when you add - to all that - the facts that you
- can get something to eat at home and
- can raid the nearest off-licence . . . .
^Top^
7. : The Music
Amateur and professional musicians, like actors and
entertainers generally, have doggedly clung to their
belief in the popular appeal of live performances.
Paradoxically, they managed to convince many
landlords that they (the musicians) were the best
means of persuading people to leave their homes[3]
and return to the "local".
[3] (and radios, TVs, recorded music of all kinds !)
Noisy "pop" bands had the strongest appeal, across
the age-range; but they needed a full drum-kit
(as a minimum), and might comprise several artists :
making space- and cost-requirements exceed what
most old-style pubs could provide.
Not to mention the decibel factor.
Larger venues were favoured, and several were
converted in ways congenial to bands (e.g. providing
a small stage); and with a modest-sized area for
dancing purposes.
However, not all these venues proved successful,
for long enough to recoup the special investment
e.g. the
Manor House ("Maxwell's"); so the properties
might be sold for other uses, or (as in that case)
demolished altogether.
The point being that, once established as a "pop-venue",
it can be very difficult to revert either the premises or
the customers to the standard public-house format.
But see the Oval "rock house" experience.
8. : The Price Factors
Late 20th C. drinking was becoming [and remains !]
an expensive pastime.
Successive Chancellors may take most of the blame,
but the heyday of brewery mergers had not benefitted
the customer. On the contrary, every "new" beer
introduced was an excuse to increase prices.
In the music-led venues, described above, the wages
paid to the numerous performers (who had fancy kit
to buy) were a substantial overhead at the bar.
The humble street-corner pub slowly discovered
the means to fight back : ranging from a (large) TV
in the corner and/or recorded music (via a "hi-fi" set
behind the bar), to an occasional live performance by
just one or two persons.
Not least, if the pub was one of the increasing number
of free-houses, it could offer beer which, while perhaps
being no cheaper, was Real Ale customers would
willingly pay for.
Section A : Renewal has a discussion of
that very important topic.
9. : Competition
Healthy competition has again broken-out in the
Licensed Trade, mainly involving members of the
revived Free Sector. This growing sector has also
re-discovered FOOD in a big way, after a lapse of
several decades.
Food gives them, at a stroke, the best means of
differentiating themselves from competitors
(their "USPs") and their most profitable sales.
Many, somewhat larger and/or central houses,
can now regard the provision of beers as a "side-line"
(albeit an important one).
All this constitutes a truly remarkable turn-around,
in the Trade, within living memory. See para. 6. above.
10. : The Future
As described elsewhere, we are told that
the future is Wetherspoons.
Certainly, they have fully embraced the FOOD culture,
and provide a decent (but not ultra-wide) range of cheap
Real Ales.One other point, well worth a mention, is the
total absence of Wetherspoon music[4].
Not only does this relieve them of any expenditure
in that regard (including "live" bands), it is an
atmosphere much to be preferred to those pubs
who seem determined to damage the hearing of
their customers with excessively loud "background" (!?!) music.
Not, one would think, good for business . . .
[4] This "rule" has, however, recently been broken
at the new Lloyd's No. 1
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