The Bloke On Who Wants To Be A...
Film, Media & TV2 mins ago
The current pub opening hours of 11:00 a.m. till 11:00 p.m. (all day drinking) has been with us for about 10 years now. Before that (in England and Wales) it was 11:00 a.m. till 3:00p.m., followed by an afternoon break; then for the evening, it was 6:00 p.m. till 10:30 p.m.
On Sundays, it was (I think) 12:00 Noon till 2:00 p.m.; then in the evening 7:00 p.m. till (I think) 10:30p.m.
I can't remember as far back as the 1950's, but a passage in Alan Sillitoe's book 'Saturday Night, Sunday Morning', suggests that the pubs finished at 10:00 p.m. in those days! Is this correct?
No best answer has yet been selected by Lynn_M. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Thanks everyone, especially you, Chris; brilliant research.
Back in the days before pubs closed in the afternoon, me and my then B.F. would sometimes go to the Northumberland market town of Hexham on Tuesday during holiday time. Tuesdays was market day in Hexham (and propably still is), which meant that the pubs had all day drinking on a Tuesday. What a special treat that used to seem like! Also, we would often go to the Forth Hotel, Newcastle on Sunday evenings, and since licenced premises were still obliged to close in the afternoons, we usually found ourselves waiting outside at 7:00 p.m. for the manager to open up! Ah. Happy times!