The village pub in the twenty-first century: Embeddedness and the "local"

Abstract

The pub, or colloquially "the local," has been a familiar feature of English villages for many centuries. As with European cafés or American bars and inns, village pubs provide recognisable meeting places in their rural communities and form part of England’s cultural history (Kingsnorth, 2008). While their portrayals may seem timeless and consistent, the reality is that state legislation, demographic changes and the growth of the capitalist economy have all led to significant economic and social impacts upon English village pubs. Much has been written on the development of the pub (Haydon, 1994; Jennings, 2007; Pratten, 2007a, b, c) but rather than reiterate these, the aim of this chapter is to look at how economic and social transitions have shaped the function of village pubs today. The importance of the chapter resides in adding to our knowledge about the village pub of today and how it is perceived and experienced as a consequence of complex and interrelated economic and social factors. At a time when rural pubs have been closing at a rate of 13 a week (Muir, 2012), this can inform publicans, campaigners and policymakers alike about the key challenges and opportunities for village pubs in the future.