The pub history sites record detailed research of people, buildings and streets from diverse sources, including census detail, insurance records, street directories, licensing records, births, christenings, marriages, deaths and wills. There are also a significant number of images of the buildings, business cards and other related material.
The research has been built over a number of years by a team of experts; and continues to evolve. The best research on this site is for London pubs, taverns and beer houses over the past two hundred years, but nearly all of the south of the UK has entries; and much of the entirety of the UK is listed in one format or another. It has also been aided by my relentless aim to be good at something, and this is it. The pub history site also continues to evolve into a London history project, using the many thousands of pubs as part of this. The pub history research is a major part of this; and is updated every day as new records of research are always becoming available.
Many of the more astute licensed victuallers were involved in the Licensed Victuallers Association. This association was an insurance to protect families in times of hardship. We now have some form of insurance for those in hard times, but this has not always been available. The sensible licensee or publican would have bought an insurance in some format. The licensed victuallers association offered this, to their own family, or members of an extended family.
My article on research of a pub will start to explain the differences between the different areas of London and the South East, and why some areas had lots of pubs, and some had none. I know that modern press is always going on about the numbers of pubs that have closed, as many are sold off for housing, and often in very desirable areas. The modern pub is getting bigger, e.g. the Wetherspoons, and relies on food to make a decent living. This is also matched by a change in where pubs proliferate, and you will also see find that many newer pubs were previously banks, or other commercial buildings, which have been re-invented as the modern pub; whilst the older, and smaller pubs close.
I have a massive interest in history of any old building, whether it be a pub, a church, or any other landmark that is identifiable in history. I do love London, and its history, and do want to understand where, and how, London evolved through time, and what originally existed before the masses of modern architecture was built. My recent site on London history continues to build as I try and make sense of some of this.