The Segregated Pub - A History of Class and Gender-based Drinking

Presented in Nerd Nite London on 15 March 2023.

1. Amir Dotan StokeNewingtonHistory.com
The Segregated Pub
A History of Class and Gender-based Drinking

2. Which door is in use?!
1
2 3 4

3. The Jolly Butchers
Stoke Newington, N16 7HU
1 2 3 4

4. Saloon Bar Bottles &
Jugs Public Bar Private Bar

5. Saloon Bar Private Bar Public Bar The Class Sketch, 1966

6. Rose & Crown
Stoke Newington, N16 9ES

7. Rose & Crown
Stoke Newington, N16 9ES

8. Screens created separate rooms

9. The Phoenix
Harlow, CM18 6EN

10. Waggon and Horses
Southgate, N14 5HD

11. ‘Ghost’ section doors
Hackney Den, Stoke Newington N16 8BXSaloon
Bar? Public
Bar? Private
Bar?

12. Source: Inside the Pub by Gorham & Dunett, 1950
The evolution of the multi-room pub
1 32 4
5 6 7 8

13. Bar, Public Bar
Vaults
Smoke Room
Tap Room
Lounge, Parlour,
Public Parlour, Bar Parlour
Best Room, Best End
Snug, Snuggery
News Room
Buffet Bar
Sitting Room
First Class/Second Class
Public Bar
Saloon Bar
Lounge
Lounge Bar/Saloon Lounge
Private Bar
Ladies’ Bar
Bar Parlour
Buffet Bar
Tap Room
Hotel Bar
Pub room names - Northern vs. Southern usage

16. Fewer than 4% of existing pub
interior retain much historic value
Licence to Sell - The History and Heritage of the Public House, 2004

17. Only 39 of London’s 5,000 pubs
made it to CAMRA’s National
Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors
Britain’s Best Real Heritage Pubs - Pub Interiors of Outstanding Historic Interest, 2016

18. Screenwork

19. The Prince Alfred
Maida Vale, W9 1EE

20. The Prince Alfred
Maida Vale, W9 1EE

21. The Castle
Harrow, HA1 3EF

22. The John Snow
Carnaby, W1F 9QJ

23. The Windsor Castle
Kensington, W8 7AR

24. The Kings Arms
Waterloo, SE1 8TB

25. The Kings Head
Tooting Bec, SW17 7PA

26. The Angel
Rotherhithe, SE16 4NB

27. Canterbury Arms
Brixton, SW9 7QD
CLOSED

28. The Jackalope, Marylebone W1G 7EQ
Traces of screens
The Winchester, Highgate N6 5BA

29. Traces of screens
The Red Lion, Stoke Newington N16 0JX The Shakespeare, Stoke Newington, N16 8RY

30. The Boleyn Tavern
East Ham, E6 1PW
RESTORED

31. Princess Louise
Holborn, WC1V 7EP
RESTORED

33. The Saloon Bar in the Three Crowns
The Three Crowns
Stoke Newington, N16 0PE

34. The Three Crowns
Stoke Newington, N16 0PE

35. The Three Crowns
Stoke Newington, N16 0PE

36. The Cockpit
City of London, EC4V 5BY

37. Prince of Wales, Erith DA17 5EE, 1900Red Lion, Mayfair SW1Y 6JP, 1958
Saloon Bars

38. The Shakespeare
Stoke Newington, N16 8RY

39. The Shakespeare, 1920
Stoke Newington, N16 8RY

40. Snob Screens
The Lamb, Holborn WC1N 1EA The Crown, Islington N1 0EB

41. The Lamb, Holborn WC1N 1EA The Crown, Islington N1 0EB
The Prince Alfred
Maida Vale, W9 1EE

42. “We went in both the Public and Saloon bars.
Mostly Saloon but if my dad wanted to play
cards he went in the Public Bar as cards
weren’t allowed in the Saloon. One of my
uncles mainly used the Public Bar as he was
a dart player.”
Linda Docherty
“Women were allowed in both bars in the
Albert but workmen were expected to use the
Public Bar. No scruffy boots or overalls in the
Saloon. My dad’s friend George was a bus
driver who was allowed in the Saloon
because he had a uniform. Can you imagine
that today?”
Photos by Tony Hall

45. Public Bar: The plebeian side of the pub, where
everything is cheapest, where nothing is
charged for decoration, where pints of ale are
the most popular drink where there are no pin-
tables, and darts, shove-ha’penny, and
dominoes are played by people who have
played them all their lives.
Maurice Gorham in Back to the Local, 1949

46. Howard Arms, 1970s
Stoke Newington, N16 8PJ
DEMOLISHED

47. “There are many Public Bars where any patron
who is too obviously not dressed as a labourer
is regarded with distrust. His presence is
resented by the patrons as well as by the
management, on natural grounds that he can
afford the Saloon Bar.”
Maurice Gorham in Back to the Local, 1949
Illustration by Edward Ardizzone

48. The Public Bar
The Doctor Johnson
Barkingside, IG5 0ES
CLOSED

49. Cooks Ferry Inn, 1928
Upper Edmonton, N18 3AB
DEMOLISHED
The Public Bar

50. Saloon BarPublic Bar
County Oak
Brighton, BN1 8DJ

52. Rose & Crown
Stoke Newington, N16 9ES

53. Rose & Crown
Stoke Newington, N16 9ESPrivate Bar Public Bar

55. The Doctor Johnson, Barkingside IG5 0ESWoodman, Birmingham B5 5LG
Private Bars

56. The Mitre, Lancaster Gate 1977 - Hop Poles, 17 King Street

57. The Snug

58. Recommended reading

59. Thank you