A 1940s film about the good old English pub.

so [Music] [Music] flanked by the church the rectory and the people's homes stands the inn [Music] in its shade and beneath its roof men of all degrees and all opinions meet in comradeship and comfort [Applause] walk through any english market town and you'll find the inn at the center of its life on market day the people from the country around meet there to discuss the trend of prices their children's health and their home affairs it's the same in the villages when the sun warms the earth they sit outside and watch the world go by at the english inn today there is a hospitality that to the host is just as much a sacred charge as it was to the monks and barons in the middle ages who first gave bread and ale to travelers [Music] often the only sanctuary in out of the way parts the monasteries had a lodge open to pilgrims and other wayfarers [Music] so [Applause] later these lodges became separate establishments and were eventually run as ins under such signs as the pilgrims in one example of monastic origin is the bull which gets its name from the papal bull or bill not the animal these inns of england have seen history happen in their yards pilgrims and warriors have taught in their stairways here medieval knights refreshed themselves on their journeys to the crusades to fight under the banner of st george [Music] the inns have preserved much of england's architecture the early inn has preserved some of the finest carvings and treasures like the church it was a sanctuary hence most of these carvings have a religious meaning side by side with the monastic inns grew the royal inns which were used by the king's servants when traveling in the middle ages a house in each village was selected for their accommodation these two in time became commercial inns under such ancient signs as the crown later the in-yard was used by the post boy as a link between villages and hamlets the males in turn were carried by stage coach further afield and today much of our civilization can be traced back to these earlier forms of communication which centered around the inn as the inns grew more important their yards grew larger and galleries were added these formed a convenient theater for strolling players who often used the inn for refreshment after their performance [Music] by the beginning of the 19th century coach travel had become more popular and the tavern was used as a coaching station there luggage was assembled and passengers would be taken aboard prior to the long drive across the english countryside [Music] male coaches built for speed use the inns as halts where fresh teams of horses were changed in a matter of seconds today beneath the sign of the old coaching horses you will find bicycles while on the road cars pass old toll gates where once fees were collected for the upkeep of the main road when the railway brought speed to industrial england it also brought the new railway taverns you'll also find the inn on the banks of the english waterways our oldest transport routes the cargos which float past have changed with the centuries sail has given way to steam and the petrol motor the inn signs themselves reflect a great variety of topical humor interests sports and history the load of mischief a dig at the nagging wife the volunteer from the days when warfare was more casual the white heart crest of king richard ii [Music] england and george fighting the dragon and england george refreshing himself afterwards the six bells with its two meanings the row barge to remind us of more leisurely days and the cross-handed highwayman of when our roads went so safe the fighting memories of an old english spot and the airmen to bring our in signs right up to date travel along the english road today and you'll find the modern inn there to refresh all travelers according to their means its appearance and amenities differ widely from the village tavern but its roots are the same it merely reflects the temper and taste of a new and swifter egg [Music] the impala today is used by the local people for communal purposes of a different kind air raid wardens use it as their meeting place to discuss how to tackle a new type of incendiary bomb in the back room of another inn members of the local fire service are learning how to use some new equipment and all over the country people come once a week to their local tavern to pay their small contribution into the war savings group the home guard have used the inn as a meeting place ever since they were a small eager body of men hastily organized for home defense today well armed and trained the inn is still their meeting place the inn has changed very little in appearance and hardly at all in its amenities the contents of its seller are not so expensive but quite adequate for this less indulgent age oliver goldsmith wrote of the inn that it was a place where greybeard merth from smiling toil retired where village statesmen talked with looks profound and news much older than their ale went round rich and poor young and old the english inn has housed them all and reached them still the hospitality tolerance and companionship are ageless and at the end each of them is merely a new arrival at a feast that never ends

Channel: britainonfilm

Views: 187,941

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Id: JQosJ_UlG5E

Length: 7min 58sec (478 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 16 2022