History of British pubs
You may visit your local pub several times a week, but have you ever stopped to wonder or ask about how it came to be or its history?
It was the invasion of the Romans that started pubs as we know them today, amongst other things. That’s right, the first pubs came about almost 2000 years ago in 43 AD. Back then they were known as tabernae and they were there to quench the thirst of troops.
The word tabernae eventually turned into tavern and these places started producing more variety of local ales to anyone who was interested in sampling them. There must hav
e been something special in these taverns because they survived many different eras including the Anglo Saxons, Scandinavian Vikings and more.
There was a definite difference between taverns and inns. While taverns were a place to drink, inns were a place to sleep but both remained popular throughout the years and they collectively became known as public houses. These were a place to drink but also a place to socialise and get away from day to day life – which is something they still offer to this day.
Ale has always remained popular in pubs and it was only much later that other drinks were introduced and offered to customers.