London is packed with pubs; from the grand to the cosy to the charming to the perhaps
not so salubrious. There are plenty in the city for the perfect pint – which evidently just
happens to be the beverage of choice for a large number of pub dwellers.
Some of the pubs in the city date as far back as the 17th century. Historically called
‘public houses’, many London pubs count smugglers, pirates and literary greats such as
Shakespeare as their past punters.
Pubs play an important part in family life. Many people venture to their local one on a
Sunday afternoon for the notoriously English ‘roast dinner’. In addition to this, pubs in
London have another important purpose.
London pubs very much serve as a place to go after work for a drink. In a bid to avoid
rush hour between 5pm and 7pm, many pubs in the capital are busiest around these times
on weekdays. Many jobs in London encourage an ‘afterwork culture’ where employees
go to the pub regularly, with ‘Fizzy Friday’ being common practise in many professional
establishments.
One of the most popular areas of London for after-work drinks is Soho. A lot of pubs
here provide a roof terrace, beer garden or outside seating area which many Londoners
crave, in the absence of any outside space in their own homes. Offices to rent in Soho get snapped up quickly in part due to their proximity to an excellent array of pubs.
From towering high-rises to small, serviced offices in London being close to a pub for
the end of the working day really counts for a lot, allowing city workers to take off their
ties, roll back their sleeves and relax after a long day in the office.
In recent years, the rise of the ‘gastro pub’ has seen many public houses in London
transformed from average places to get a pint of local ale, into restaurant-style venues
serving gourmet meals and fine wines. From inviting open fireplaces to characterful dark
wood beams, there are some really charming pubs to explore in London.
First introduced by the Romans about 2000 years ago, by 700AD pubs were popular with
the poorer people in society. Into the early 1200’s, Ale Houses as they were also known,
were increasingly popular with travellers seeking a place to rest and drink. This is also
the reason why there are so many pubs with the name ‘The Traveller’s Rest’.
By the mid-1600’s most people in England lived within a few minutes walk of one. For
Londoners today, this is often still the case. The Black Death and The Great Fire of
London in the 1660’s changed the landscape of pubs in the capital. Previously
constructed from wood, when Londoners were rebuilding their city, they invested in
stronger concrete structures, many of which still stand today.
Today, there are around 4,000 pubs in London; approximately one for every 2000 people
in the city. Comparatively, in Victorian London, there was an estimated one pub for
every 116 people. However many there are, pubs in London help to make the city one of
the best in the world when it comes to arts, entertainment, history and culture.
