The Drinking Man’s History of West Haddon.
Social centre of the village.
Various legislation had been introduced to stamp out gin drinking, but the most significant was the Beerhouse Act of 1830 which made it much easier for small householders to gain a licence to retail beer only, and these small beerhouses began to proliferate in towns and villages, becoming in some places serious competition for the larger inns and public houses.
As village pubs became ever busier and prosperous, they received increasing attention from the large commercial brewers. One by one they ceased brewing their own beer and were taken over by the big companies and run as tied houses with local tenant-landlords.
But the composition of the village pub as a social centre for the community: a place to relax after work, meet friends, exchange opinions, challenge neighbours to a game of darts or dominoes, continues to the present day.