Post by Leofwine on Dec 1, 2010 22:54:09 GMT
As part of my digging into the history of Brompton I've been looking at the pubs that were in the Village over the years. The sheer number of pubs in Brompton has often been commented on, as has the general decline in the number of pubs around in general. Earlier today I sat down with my list and drew up figures on the number of pubs in Brompton by decades.
For the century before 1790 the numbers are very hard to judge as there are no directories/censuses/etc to draw upon, so it is sheer chance as to whether there are surviving deeds or documents referring to them. It is not really until the 1820s that the directories become regularly enough published to get good info, and by the 1840s we have the censuses too. Here are the results of my studies so far.
Decade Number of pubs
1694 0 (The first building in Brompton was a pub, built in 1695!)
1700s 4 (or more)
1740s 5 (or more)
1790s 12
1820s 17
1830s 19
1840s 21
1850s 29
1860s 32
1870s 30
1880s 30
1890s 30
1900s 27
1910s 24
1920s 19
1930s 18
1940s 11
1950s 11
1960s 7
1970s 6
1980s 6
1990s 5
2000s 4
These figures are the minimum numbers based purely on the pubs I know to have been around at those times. It is quite possible that some began trading earlier than I have information for or carried on later than the info I currently have, and perhaps one or two very short lived pubs spang up that I have not discovered yet!
Clearly the second half of the 19th century was a prosperous time for pubs, but it seems the Temperance movements and WWI (and probably the introduction of off-licences in about 1902) started a downward trend for pubs that continues to this day.
For the century before 1790 the numbers are very hard to judge as there are no directories/censuses/etc to draw upon, so it is sheer chance as to whether there are surviving deeds or documents referring to them. It is not really until the 1820s that the directories become regularly enough published to get good info, and by the 1840s we have the censuses too. Here are the results of my studies so far.
Decade Number of pubs
1694 0 (The first building in Brompton was a pub, built in 1695!)
1700s 4 (or more)
1740s 5 (or more)
1790s 12
1820s 17
1830s 19
1840s 21
1850s 29
1860s 32
1870s 30
1880s 30
1890s 30
1900s 27
1910s 24
1920s 19
1930s 18
1940s 11
1950s 11
1960s 7
1970s 6
1980s 6
1990s 5
2000s 4
These figures are the minimum numbers based purely on the pubs I know to have been around at those times. It is quite possible that some began trading earlier than I have information for or carried on later than the info I currently have, and perhaps one or two very short lived pubs spang up that I have not discovered yet!
Clearly the second half of the 19th century was a prosperous time for pubs, but it seems the Temperance movements and WWI (and probably the introduction of off-licences in about 1902) started a downward trend for pubs that continues to this day.
