Introduction
For representations of inns, alehouses and public-houses
in the nineteenth century (between 1836 and 1865) Dickens provides
the widest range. His descriptions cover everything from the inn
sign to the inside furniture to the lives of those working there.
In Barnaby Rudge, a historical novel covering the time
up to and including the Gordon Riots (1780), an inn - The Maypole
- is the central focus, a symbol of olde England that incorporates
the best of tradition and the dangers of stagnant conservativism.
It is contrasted with a tavern where the rioters meet, The Boot.
There are numerous set pieces related to the drinking
places, and so rather than attempt to be comprehensive, I have
tried to incorporate some of the most entertaining. One of my
favourites is when as a lad of about twelve years of age, David
Copperfield orders a pint of 'very best ale', much to the amusement
of the landlord and his wife. The scene was a reprise from Dickens's
own childhood when working at the blacking factory. In listing
under each work the drinking-places included, however, I have
aimed to be all-inclusive, greatly aided by B. W. Matz's Dickensian
Inns and Taverns (London, Cecil Palmer, 1922). This covers
all the works, except Pickwick Papers, which he had offered
in an earlier book.
(This site is still under construction. 'Unnamed'
refers to those hostelries which are not given a name in the novel
but are based upon actual places. 'Extant' refers to those inns
which were real and were still existing at the time of Matz's
book, that is, 1920s. I suspect that many of these continue to
survive, but in other instances, as in Cattermole's drawing of
The Maypole, the information may be 'woefully wrong'. I have indicated
those which I know to still flourish as hostelries in case net-browsers
would like to browse ('bowse'?) for real. I would be grateful
for information regarding the current state of affairs of the
others).
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