11th July 2026 - JBL, Doris and the history of Taverns

Thought for the day :"I once accidentally reversed into my garden. It was a Goodyear for the roses"

Dry 

In Bridgend today for John Benjamin Lloyd Order of Athelstan - and for my sins was once more back in the Chair to install the Master Elect.

All went well and a good time had by all.

Photos to follow 

Had to wait until evening to start work on trying to get the base away from Doris to access the pipe that flows through the centre of the statue.

Used two cutters so far - will try again tomorrow 

 

In other thoughts, Susie found this bit of information yesterday and it appeared on my feed today 

Decided it may be a useful bit of information to leave on the tables of the Tavern for people to read..

Part of the informative role of the Tavern   

TAVERNS, INNS, and PUBS

Today, "tavern," "inn," and "pub" mean the exact same thing. But for centuries in Britain, accidentally stepping into the wrong one meant crossing a strict social boundary.

The modern pub is actually a mashup of three completely distinct historical establishments. The earliest and most common of these venues were alehouses. Dating back to the Middle Ages, an alehouse was often just a regular domestic home where the resident—frequently a woman known as an alewife—brewed her own beer. When a fresh batch was ready, she would hang a branch or an "alestake" above the door to signal to the neighborhood that the house was open for business. Alehouses were the domain of the working classes, offering cheap, safe hydration in an era when water was famously unreliable.

Taverns, on the other hand, were exclusive establishments. The word derives from the Roman taberna, and historically, taverns were distinguished by the fact that they sold wine rather than just ale. Because wine had to be imported and was heavily taxed, taverns catered exclusively to aristocrats, wealthy merchants, and the upper classes. A laborer would rarely set foot in a tavern, and a gentleman would almost never be caught drinking in an alehouse.

Inns served an entirely different purpose: travel. Functioning as the medieval equivalent of a modern highway service station and hotel combined, inns provided lodging, food, and drink for travelers and their horses. They were substantial buildings located along major roads and coaching routes, hosting everyone from traveling scholars to government officials.

The convergence of these distinct venues began in the 18th and 19th centuries. As government licensing laws became stricter and the Industrial Revolution upended traditional social structures, the lines between an alehouse, a tavern, and an inn began to blur. The authorities started regulating them all under the collective legal term "Public House"—which citizens quickly shortened to "pub."

Even as the establishments merged, class divides survived inside the buildings themselves. Victorian pubs often featured multiple doors leading to entirely segregated rooms. The "public bar" was a stark room with bare floorboards or sawdust, intended for working-class patrons in dirty work clothes. Meanwhile, the "saloon" or "lounge" was a carpeted, comfortable room featuring upholstered seating, entertainment, and a slightly higher price for drinks, designed to attract a wealthier clientele. Over time, the physical interior walls between these rooms were knocked down, leaving behind a unified space with a rich, confusing vocabulary that survives today.

Cheers