In the first half of the twentieth century, the pub had an important role in working class men’s lives. It was a place they could escape to at the end of a hard day’s work and somewhere they could gather with their friends. One of the things I noticed when I was researching Plagued and Land Fit For Heroes, was how many pubs there were in working class areas back then. Almost every street corner had one. Looking for a pub where my characters could go for a chat and a pint, I was spoilt for choice. In Plagued, I picked the Prince Consort in Netley and the Junction Inn in St Denys for Thomas, Joe and Bert to meet, The Cowherds, the Engineers Arms and the Park Inn were also mentioned. The Park Inn is now a lap dancing club and The Engineers Arms is derelict, but the other two pubs are still open. The same cannot be said for many of those street corner pubs. So where have they gone?
Continue reading Where have all the pubs gone?
