Pubs in England and Wales started opening all day, ending the mandatory afternoon break ("the gap"), on August 21, 1988, after the Licensing Act 1988 came into effect, allowing continuous service between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m., with further reforms in 2005 allowing potential 24-hour licenses.
On 21 August 1988, for the first time in almost 75 years, British pubs were permitted to remain open through the day; uninterrupted consumption of alcohol was allowed on premises from 11:00 until 23:00. In November 2005, revised rules were introduced which scrapped hour limits.
In my village (area) in the 70s there was 36 pubs and clubs and people in them all the time. Opening hours were something like 11am -2.30 (last orders) and 5pm (or 7) till last orders at 11pm. That was Monday to Saturday and Sunday was 12–2pm and 7 till 10.30pm.
Next change was the 1964 Licensing Act which extended hours till 10:30 or 11PM in most areas. Last edited by NickDavies; 18-06-2012 at 13:33. The Sunday hours would have been 12-2 and 7-10 until the extension to 10:30. Weekday "permitted hours" when I was young were 11-2:30 and 6-10:30 but that was 1960s-1970s.
Sean's Bar, located in Athlone, Ireland, is widely recognized as the oldest pub in the world. Historical records and archaeological evidence suggest that it was established around 900 AD, making it over 1100 years old.
Pub Landlords | Pubs | Opening Hours | All Day Drinking | TN-87-033-008
What is the longest running pub in the UK?
The Porch House, Stow on the Wold, The Cotswolds.
Authenticated by the Guinness Book of Records as England's oldest inn, it is certified as dating from 947 AD. Look out for the 16th century stone fireplace in the dining room; it is inscribed with symbols identified as 'witch marks', to protect against evil.
In the UK, 8,800 pubs closed between 1980 and 2000, resulting in a drop from 69,000 to 60,200. Meanwhile, from the turn of the millennium to 2019, 13,600 venues closed, taking the most recent live total to c. 47,200 pubs.
Wetherspoons started in 1979 when founder Tim Martin opened his first pub, originally named Martin's Free House, in Muswell Hill, North London, before renaming it Wetherspoons in early 1980 after his former New Zealand teacher.
Determining the first Black pub licensee in London is difficult, but the family of George Berry makes the case that it was him, claiming he took over the Coach and Horses on Coldharbour Lane in June 1965 (although records suggest it was a few years later than that).
Six o'clock closing was introduced during the First World War, partly as an attempt to improve public morality and partly as a war austerity measure. Before this reform, most hotels and public houses in Australia closed their bars at 11 or 11:30 pm.
According to one account, Sheahan sat in a corner with a warm glass of wine and penned a poem, 'A Pub Without Beer'. It was published in the widely-read North Queensland Register early in 1944. It had six-line verses – unlike the song, which is based on four-line verses.
What was the legal drinking age in 1970 in the UK?
I'm 73, always 18 as far as I know. Age of consent came down and 21 to vote, came down to 18. It has been 18 since the first world war and before that there was no legal age limit for alcohol drinking. Hi Carol.
The Hole in the Wall, one of Britain's oldest pubs, is closing after almost 500 years due to rising costs and changing consumer habits. The pub in Torquay first served drinks to customers around 1540.
Mr Kill said there were many factors to venues shutting, such as rising operational costs, safety, transport and people lacking a disposable income. He added that a work-from-home culture also led to people being less likely to visit pubs or restaurants on their lunch breaks with colleagues.
The Pier Hotel in the Pilbara town of Port Hedland, located about 1627km north of Perth, has a sordid past and became known as “the world's toughest pub” thanks to British journalist John Dyson, who documented his visit to the bar in the 1970s.
In 2015, developers illegally demolished the Carlton Tavern, a nearly 100-year-old London pub and the only building on its street to survive the WWII Blitz. Authorities ordered it rebuilt brick by brick, restoring the historic pub to its place.
His estimated fortune has not been made available in recent times, although reports suggest it remains in the region of £440m. What is known, however, is his tax bill. The Wetherspoons' owner featured in The Sunday Times' Tax List for 2025, a ranking that names the UK's 100 biggest taxpayers for the year.
About this Business. With a bar that measures just 15ft by 7ft, The Nutshell proudly holds the title of smallest pub in Britain as confirmed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Data from a separate annual survey carried out by the BBPA suggests that the average weekly house takings in 2022 for a leased/tenanted pub with machines was £341.
