Pubs - Online Resources

Alt Text: A photograph of a door at the Cardigan Arms in Leeds, UK. The etched glass in the door reads ‘Bar - Ladies Only’. Photo by Ashley Thomas-Pate

While writing my Masters dissertation I scoured the internet looking for anything pub related. For those of you as interested in pubs, taverns, inns, bars and historic interiors, take a dive into some of these sources! This is by no means an exhaustive list, so if you have other suggestions please leave a comment.

Historic England - search the map

Simply type in the area you want to search and move around the map to find the pub you’re looking for to see if it is a listed building. Some list descriptions are very brief, and most only describe the exterior of the building. A few list descriptions have been upgraded to include a lot more history, reasons for designation, and description of interior design and features. For instance, Whitelock’s (one of my case studies) was recently upgraded from grade II to grade II* and given a much more thorough list description.

CAMRA - National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) was founded in 1971 and has been partnering with Historic England (formerly English Heritage) to identify, record, and in some cases statutorily list historic pubs for their ‘unspoilt’ interiors.

Historic Maps - National Library of Scotland

There are many resources for online maps, but I find the National Library of Scotland the easiest and clearest to use. I prefer to use the ‘Map Finder with Marker Pin’ option, you type in the location you want to search, zoom to the building/street/area, and click on the map to place a pin. You’ll then get some options of historic maps available for that area to look through. The 25in to 1mi maps usually have the most detail.

Goad Fire Insurance Maps - British Library (Wikimedia)

The British Library has a collection of late-Victorian/Edwardian era fire insurance plans produced by the London-based firm Charles E. Goad Ltd. They are only limited to large cities, especially those with commercial activity. They show building footprints, types (dwelling/shop etc), number of floors, materials (brick/timber), and often have the names of businesses or owners. Really useful if researching late-Victorian or Edwardian pubs. The nearby businesses are a good indication for the types of customers the pubs would have served.

Local Civic Trust Lectures - Leeds Civic Trust Youtube

I was researching pubs in Leeds and therefore found the local civic trust group’s online lectures really valuable. Check to see if the trust in your area gives lectures, and even better if they have uploaded them to youtube!

Gresham College - Online Lectures

Gresham College has been providing free lectures since 1597, recording started in the 1980s, and streaming in 2017. Many recorded lectures on all sorts of different subjects are uploaded to their website and help give context for the time period you are researching.

Google - Books

Google Books is a great resource for catching a few tidbits of information that may help confirm something you’re uncertain about. Not everything is free to read online, but a lot of historical sources are. For instance, old copies of The Builder (An Illustrated Weekly Magazine for the Architect, Engineer, Archaeologist, Constructor, Sanitary-reformer and Art-lover) helped confirm construction dates.

Historic Photos

Most historic photos are of the exterior of buildings, so you’ve hit the jackpot if you can find a historic photo of the interior of a pub! There are plenty of facebook groups focused on history to trawl through, Historic England has some collections, local councils often have a digital archive such as Leeds’ Leodis.net. Sometimes, a simple google search under images is enough to lead you to multiple sites and sources.