All Beer and Skittles?: A Short History of Inns and Taverns

The National Trust is perhaps best known as the guardian of great country houses, beautiful gardens, stunning countryside, but it is also the owner of over 30 inns and public houses. They come in all shapes and sizes: the George Inn at Southwark in London, where Elizabethan plays were held in the galleried courtyard; the Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast with its glorious high Victorian interior; and the patrician elegance of the Spread Eagle at Stourhead in Wiltshire, built to accommodate 18th century visitors to the famous landscape gardens.

Gibbons' exploration of these inns owned by the National Trust has taken him from Mary McBride's bar in Co. Antrim -- reputedly the smallest in Ireland where the expression "three's a crowd" is no exaggeration to the luxurious gin palaces, the epitome of excess, that emerged in the 19th century.

Along with exploring developments in style and architecture Gibbons also provides an insight into the colorful characters associated with these historic inns; for example Gabriel Sedlmayr, one of the pioneers of lager-brewing, who often stole samples from commercial breweries which he concealed in his hollow walking stick.