Venues are shutting at five a day, hit by changing lifestyles and rising overheads. Micropubs offer hope but owners say they need government help to survive
In 1870 there were 115,000 pubs and “beerhouses” in the UK. With an adult population of about 15 million at the time, it meant one pub for every 130 people.
Fast forward to today, and the number has sunk to below 45,000, the equivalent of about one for every 1,000 adults.
The pub has long been a totemic part of British culture — so what is behind this decline and is there any chance it will be reversed?
