Since the Bronze Age folk in the UK have been drinking ale but it was not until the Romans arrived and built their famous road network that the shape of the UK public house started to take form. Inns were built so that travellers might refresh themselves; many offered lodgings and food along with the ale they served. The quantity of pubs became so prolific that King Edgar decreed in 965 that each village in the UK could have only one alehouse.
In 1968 the drink of Gin arrived in England, bought by the Dutch. Gin became an incredibly popular and cheap drink. The government generated a market for grain that was deemed unfit to be used for brewing purposes by allowing it to be used in the distillation of Gin; furthermore they imposed a heavy tax upon all imported spirits. By the mid 1700's there was six times more Gin being produced than ale being brewed and the Gin Craze was in full swing. Brewers responded by opening more and more alehouses. It wasn't until the third Gin Act was passed in 1751 that parity between the gin houses and the ale houses began to establish itself once again.
The 1800's saw the emergence of the coaching inn, these multi-purpose hostelries would provide not only the functions of an alehouse but also lodging for coach passengers and driver along with stabling for the horses and a secure area for leaving the coach itself overnight. These old coach houses are easily identified as they were usually built around a courtyard with high arch gate at the front allowing entrance for the coaches.
In 1968 the drink of Gin arrived in England, bought by the Dutch. Gin became an incredibly popular and cheap drink. The government generated a market for grain that was deemed unfit to be used for brewing purposes by allowing it to be used in the distillation of Gin; furthermore they imposed a heavy tax upon all imported spirits. By the mid 1700's there was six times more Gin being produced than ale being brewed and the Gin Craze was in full swing. Brewers responded by opening more and more alehouses. It wasn't until the third Gin Act was passed in 1751 that parity between the gin houses and the ale houses began to establish itself once again.
The 1800's saw the emergence of the coaching inn, these multi-purpose hostelries would provide not only the functions of an alehouse but also lodging for coach passengers and driver along with stabling for the horses and a secure area for leaving the coach itself overnight. These old coach houses are easily identified as they were usually built around a courtyard with high arch gate at the front allowing entrance for the coaches.