A pub is short for public house and is simply, a premises that has been granted a licence to serve alcohol. Pubs have a long history in Britain, with the first being taverns that appeared during the Roman invasion. These establishments served both drink and food, just like many do today. Over time, these premises would be granted licences to provide accommodation for travellers and would become known as inns.
Inns would have been situated along important highways and busy market towns, whereas a tavern could be located inside a local community, such as a town or village.
The Anglo-Saxons developed the alehouse, which was a slightly rough-around-the-edges version of a tavern but still offered food, drink and good cheer for guests. If you’ve always dreamed of running your own pub, you might be interested in Finance for Pubs. If so, visit a site like https://www.specialistbusinessfinance.co.uk/hospitality-finance/finance-for-pubs/
By the 1600s, the terms alehouse, tavern and inn had been mostly replaced with the catch-all term ‘public house’ or ‘pub’. They are known as public houses purely to distinguish them from private homes and they are, of course, a place for the public to come together and share good times with food and beverages.
The pubs we know and love today might be a far cry from the earliest alehouses which would likely have been indistinguishable from a normal residence. During the Industrial Revolution, public houses were purpose built to cater for the rise in demand.
