Editing Pub (section)

==Licensing laws==

[[File:Pubbsm.jpg|thumb|The interior of a typical British pub]]

There was regulation of public drinking spaces in England from at least the 15th century. In 1496, under, Henry VII, an act was passed, "against vagabonds and beggers" (11 Hen. VII c2), that included a clause empowering two justices of the peace, "to rejecte and put awey comen ale-selling in tounes and places where they shall think convenyent, and to take suertie of the keepers of ale-houses in their gode behavyng by the discrecion of the seid justices, and in the same to be avysed and aggreed at the tyme of their sessions."<ref>''The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge'', Vol 1, London, Charles Knight, 1847, pp. 410–1.</ref>

The [[Beerhouse Act 1830|Beerhouse Act of 1830]] is widely considered to be a milestone in the history of public houses. Gin was popularised in England in the late 17th century, largely because it provided an alternative to French [[brandy]] at a time of political and religious conflict between Britain and France.<ref name="Phillips">{{cite book|last1=Phillips|first1=Roderick|title=Alcohol A History|date=2014|publisher=The University of North Carolina Press}}</ref> Because of its cheapness, gin became popular with the poor, eventually leading to a period of drunkenness and lawlessness, known as the [[Gin Craze]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.farmersfletcherscity.london/gin-renaissance-city-london/ |title=Gin Renaissance in City of London |publisher=Farmers & Fletcher |access-date=27 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912072355/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8490524.stm |archive-date=12 September 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/william-hogarth-gin-lane-etching-and-engraving/AgE10kvV2Qvi7g |title = William Hogarth, ''Gin Lane'', etching and engraving |publisher =British Museum|via = Google Arts & Culture}}</ref>

In the early 19th century, encouraged by a reduction of duties, gin consumption again began to rise and gin houses and [[gin palace]]s (an evolution of gin shops) began to spread from London to most towns and cities in Britain. Alarmed at the prospect of a return to the Gin Craze, the government attempted to counter the threat, and encourage the consumption of a more wholesome beverage, by introducing the Beerhouse Act of 1830. The Act introduced a new lower, and largely deregulated, tier of premises called "the beerhouse".<ref name="AMLWCH">{{cite web|url=http://www.amlwchhistory.co.uk/beer_houses.htm |title=Beer Houses |publisher=AMLWCH History |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217154839/http://www.amlwchhistory.co.uk/beer_houses.htm |archive-date=17 December 2007 }}</ref>

[[File:Farriers Arms pub - geograph.org.uk - 1466879.jpg|thumb|right|A Victorian beerhouse, now a public house, in [[Rotherhithe]], [[Greater London]]]]

Under the act any householder, upon payment of two [[guineas]] (roughly equal in value to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|2.10|1830|r=0}}}} today), was permitted to brew and sell beer or [[cider]] in their own home. Beerhouses were not allowed to open on Sundays, or sell spirits and fortified wines; any beerhouse discovered to be breaking these rules was closed down and the owner heavily fined.<ref name="UK Hist">{{cite web | url = http://www.history.uk.com/articles/index.php?archive=61 | title = Beer Houses | publisher = History UK | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090519020933/http://www.history.uk.com/articles/index.php?archive=61 | archive-date = 19 May 2009}}</ref>

Within eight years 46,000 new beerhouses opened<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldcannonbrewery.co.uk/5.html |title=Beer houses |publisher=Old Cannon Brewery |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070110215128/http://www.oldcannonbrewery.co.uk/5.html |archive-date=10 January 2007 }}</ref> and, because operating costs were so low, huge profits were often made. The combination of increasing competition and high profits eventually led to what has been described as a golden age of pub building when many landlords extended or redeveloped their properties, adopting many features modern pubs still have.

Authorities attempted to check the growth from 1869 by introducing magisterial control and new licensing laws. These aimed to make it harder to obtain a licence, and control drunkenness, prostitution, and other undesirable conduct on licensed premises.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.leeds.ac.uk/yawya/news/news-vices%20and%20virtues%20of%20drink.html|title='The vices and virtue of drink (17th–18th centuries)'- news :: You Are What You Ate|publisher=University of Leeds|access-date=16 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316204844/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/yawya/news/news-vices%20and%20virtues%20of%20drink.html|archive-date=16 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Beat|first=Kümin|date=1 April 2005|title=Drinking and Public Space in Early Modern German Lands|url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-864975591/drinking-and-public-space-in-early-modern-german-lands|journal=Contemporary Drug Problems|volume=32|issue=1|issn=0091-4509|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316204912/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-864975591/drinking-and-public-space-in-early-modern-german-lands|archive-date=16 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/modules/hi390/forum/?post=094d43f550b41c170150cdec565e7808|title=Tavern regulation debate – Module Forum: The World of the Tavern (HI390)|publisher=University of Warwick|access-date=16 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316205528/http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/modules/hi390/forum/?post=094d43f550b41c170150cdec565e7808|archive-date=16 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="Archives">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/public-records-act/public-records-system/|title=The National Archives – Homepage|last=Archives|first=The National|website=The National Archives|access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, restrictions were tightened considerably following the advent of the First World War.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWdora.htm |title=Defence of the Realm Act |publisher=Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk |access-date=26 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403062055/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWdora.htm |archive-date=3 April 2009}}</ref> The [[Defence of the Realm Act]], along with introducing [[rationing]] and censorship of the press, restricted pubs' opening hours to 12 noon–2:30&nbsp;pm and 6:30&nbsp;pm–9:30&nbsp;pm. Opening for the full licensed hours was compulsory, and closing time was equally firmly enforced by the police.<ref>{{cite news |title=Awards by the Pembrokeshire Authority|work=Western Mail|date=28 September 1914|access-date=10 August 2015|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19140928/198/0008|publisher=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Licensing – A Brief History|url=http://www.cambridge-camra.org.uk/ale/309/licensing-history.html|access-date=10 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923200001/http://www.cambridge-camra.org.uk/ale/309/licensing-history.html|archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref> There was also a special case established under the [[State Management Scheme]]<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.bookscumbria.com/cgi-bin/trolleyed_public.cgi?action=showprod_2886|last=Seabury|first=Olive|title=The Carlise State Management Scheme: Its Ethos and Architecture. A 60-year experiment in regulation of the liquor trade|isbn=978-1-904147-30-5|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102232441/http://www.bookscumbria.com/cgi-bin/trolleyed_public.cgi?action=showprod_2886|archive-date=2 January 2008|year=2007|publisher=Bookcase }}</ref> where the brewery and licensed premises were bought and run by the state, most notably in [[Carlisle]].

===Lock-in===
A "lock-in" is when a pub owner allows patrons to continue drinking in the pub after the legal closing time, on the theory that once the doors are locked, it becomes a private party rather than a pub. Patrons may put money behind the bar before official closing time, and redeem their drinks during the lock-in so no drinks are technically sold after closing time. The origin of the British lock-in was a reaction to 1915 changes in the licensing laws in England and Wales, which curtailed opening hours to stop factory workers from turning up drunk and harming the war effort. From then until the start of the 21st century, UK licensing laws changed very little, retaining these comparatively early closing times. The tradition of the lock-in therefore remained. Since the implementation of the [[Licensing Act 2003]], premises in England and Wales may apply to extend their opening hours beyond 11&nbsp;pm, allowing round-the-clock drinking and removing much of the need for lock-ins.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4457262.stm|title=R.I.P. Lock-ins|work=BBC News|access-date=21 July 2009|date=23 November 2005|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604204112/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4457262.stm|archive-date=4 June 2009}}</ref> Since the [[Smoking ban#United Kingdom|smoking ban]], some establishments operated a lock-in during which the remaining patrons could smoke without repercussions but, unlike drinking lock-ins, allowing smoking in a pub was still a prosecutable offence.<ref>{{cite news |first=Mike|last= Keegan |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1053102_smoking_lockins_flaunt_ban |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421031604/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1053102_smoking_lockins_flaunt_ban |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |title='Smoking lock-ins' flaunt ban |work=Manchester Evening News |date=9 June 2008 |access-date=4 November 2012 }}</ref>