Pub History Research - where to start.

Research into Pub history is  interesting. Where to start is always the first question.

A bit of knowledge of early Pub legislation is always useful - see the LMA guide ; this basically states that you need to search the Petty Sessions Victuallers records if you can get to the relevant record office.

Trade Directories are invaluable, although often slightly out of date. Census are a fantastic tool, and often list the sign name outside a beer retailer. Other times they do not list a Licensed Victuallers premises by name. I list a whole host of other resources on this page; and do not forget to look at maps to spot the road name changes. The BT Telephone directories are rather useful too (see Ancestry link at top).

Lastly, this site covers most of the South of England. Try the search engine (at the top of every page) and search either by surname, Pub name or street address. The engine also searches various other sites that I run, e.g. historyofstratford.co.uk, essex1841.com, suffolkvillages.com  etc. The sites only improve by you feeding back with useful information and pictures for the sites. This is not just a historical Pub site, but also a historical street directory. Enjoy. email : Kevan

1a Essex 1841 census & Essex Record Office SEAX database, which is an amazing search engine. And do follow the links in the navigation to all Pub History on this site, including London, Essex, Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Berkshire, Suffolk etc.

2a. The London Gazette Online has an archive, which is absolutely amazing; I just do not have the time to peruse all of the great information - please let me know if you find something useful for the site, please.

2b. I get email from all sorts of old pub sites, this is one of the better ones, the Dead Pubs Society - I enjoyed visiting it.

2c. The Pub History Society was set up to bring together anyone interested in the British pub and its history. Visit out site to find out more. www.pubhistorysociety.co.uk

2e The Old Bailey online - excellent resource, with lots of Pubs included in the cases.

4. A brilliant site for viewing the early Trade Directories of much of England is at the University of Leicester digital library. The project has completed, but the array of information available to search and download is very impressive. The site can not always be guaranteed to respond, so be patient, it is a very busy site. The site covers the whole of England, and is amazing.

4a. Never ignore the Genuki site listings, they are sometimes hard to find your way about - but not the London Listing @  http://homepages.gold.ac.uk/genuki/LND/ - a brilliant & updated page. there are lots of similar links to here, and much other useful info too.

mail to : kevan

Search the London & Southern England Pub History site and Street directory by historical Pub name, surname or street address. The Pub history site is a major historical street directory which lists mainly Pubs and street name changes between about 1840 and 1940. The site is updated every day. Contact: Kevan with any updates and additions.

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The historical trade directory and census listing of all of London, Essex, Kent, Suffolk, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Sussex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire Oxfordshire, and Dorset. If you are searching for a historical address, try the census and street directory database. This is a Victorian view on the streets of london and the south of England.

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And Last updated on: Monday, 05-Dec-2011 12:31:43 GMT