Pubs and the Publican part 10

War ended in 1918 but things didn’t go back to the way they had been. Many changes that came about because of the war remained. It was the same with pub life, the changes brought in during the war remained, except that people could now buy drinks for one another. The restricted hours and higher price of beer were there to stay. 

Brewers had realized that selling more expensive beer helped their bottom lines so they started to improve their pubs to attract a different clientele who would buy the expensive brews. New lavish pubs were built but they also updated their old pubs. More of them offered food service. Had food service been offered at the Hearts of Oak before 1914? No evidence has been found either way but we do know that food was most likely offered later as evidenced by one of Ellen’s sons stirring the stew pot on the windowsill. This could have been a set meal for the pub. 

By the 1930s most pubs had indoor toilets; a vast improvement over the back yard privy. Even a pub that was unlikely to attract a wider clientele was modernized to this extent because society had changed enough to expect these kinds of amenities. 

These improvements were still to come in 1918 when Ellen’s husband, Charles Cavanagh, returned to the Hearts of Oak. No doubt she was glad to share the duties of publican with him as she had a young son to look after in addition to all the other children. Charles' and Ellen's son had been a few months old when he left for war but they had all made it through the First World War and so had the pub.

Sources

Jennings, Paul. The Local: A History of the English Pub. Tempus Publishing Limited, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2007

 

 

Pubs and the Publican part 9

As the United Kingdom geared up for war, the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was passed which gave the government sweeping powers. It was realized early on that a workforce that nipped into the pub before the start of its shift to top up what was imbibed from the night before, would not be very productive. One of the first laws passed in 1914 put the authority over opening hours in the hands of military and naval authorities if the pub was in the neighbourhood of a defended harbour. That encompassed many would pubs, including those in London. With the new laws, London pubs were closed at 11:00 pm bringing relative quiet to the streets. 

It wasn’t only the opening hours that were regulated, usual pub practices such as the “long pull” which gave patrons an extra measure were made illegal as was the treating of patrons, no one could buy a drink for anyone else and publicans could not extend credit to their customers – if you couldn’t buy for yourself, you couldn’t drink.

As the war years dragged on, beer supply became so restricted that pubs in urban areas were receiving delivery of only one barrel of beer per week. Patrons couldn’t rely on their pub remaining open every day because of lack of supply. On top of that, opening hours in dock districts were cut back even further so that closing time became 9:00. 

The Hearts of Oak was close to the St Katherine Docks so would have been affected by the new restricted hours. Were the difficulties of running the pub in wartime the reason that Ellen’s new husband joined the navy in June of 1917? 

Sources

Jennings, Paul. The Local: A History of the English Pub. Tempus Publishing Limited, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2007

Monckton, H.A. A History of the English Public House. The Bodley Head Ltd., London, 1969