England Occupations, Lodging, Eating, Coffee Houses - International Institute

Lodging for travellers
In mediaeval times the monasteries and inns provided overnight accommodation for those few who had to travel. Inns flourished after the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII and the 2,000-3,000 inn keepers had to be licensed at the brewster sessions. As lodging places, inns along the coach routes tended to be displaced by public houses close to railway stations from the 1830s, although those situated in market places prospered. The first hotel was built in Exeter in 1768 and was called simply, The Hotel, but when it was enlarged in 1827 it became the Royal Clarence Hotel after the visit of the eponymous Duchess that year. There were few other hotels before 1800 but the Regency fashion for holidays by the sea, and the necessity for accommodations close to the larger railway stations caused them to multiply.

In earlier centuries inn keepers were members of the Innholders Company. Coaching inns and their more modern counterparts needed to advertise for trade and it is not hard to find annual listings in the various directories, including the Law List and in newspapers.

Hotel workers
This level of hotel worker was not the person who works in the kitchens or as maids. The titles for this group would be the hotel manager, the concierge, the maître d’, the sommelier, and the restaurant manager. Each of these specialized positions required an ability to interact with the gentry, to resolve their problems, and to make their stay seamless and uneventful.

There were two major classes of hotels in Victorian times; those for the gentry, and those known as family hotels.

Grand hotels were built near the great railroad stations and they would be considered sumptuous even by our standards (if primitive in some ways). Upper and wealthy middle class people/families would stay there. It would have been considered a treat for local people to have lunch or dinner in a grand hotel, maybe once a year, for a special occasion. Many of the ‘Five Star’ hotels would not even allow locals in the front door! This type of person was arrogant, expecting that his or her every whim would be taken care of. Enter the hotel management.

Upon arrival the guest would be greeted by name and by title. The hotel manager would ensure that there were bus boys at the curb to collect the luggage. He would have arranged with the concierge and the sommelier to have a bouquet of flowers, and a quality wine to be sent to the room. He would request of the guest whether they would like a private meal in their room, or a table reserved in the Main Restaurant.

If in the restaurant, the restaurant manager would then take over, sending a First Waiter to the room to take the order and also to determine the time the guest(s) would arrive.

Today this seems to be ‘over the top’, but it was very common in Victorian times. Each of these managers would know that, in most instances, there would be a handsome gratuity for them, both during the stay and also as the guest(s) departed. Hotels such as CLARIDGES, The GREAT WESTERN, and VICTORIA were indicative of the caliber of hotels in this class.

Eating places
Brits have always loved their pubs (Public Houses), Fish and Chip Shops, and other types of cafes or restaurants. Even today, when checking out real estate sites for new housing purchases or rental locations, a local pub or restaurant is top of the list of requirements.

The earliest mention of pubs occurred when the industrial revolution started, and England started building the canal system. The narrowboats that hauled the products such as coal, iron ore, and pottery clay, were all towed by horse. The average speed was about 3 miles per hour, and the work strenuous. All major canals had many locks, a system that allowed the canals to go up and down in other than flat country.

The locks required the narrowboat to stop, and the canalboat operator to either fill or drain the lock (depending upon whether they were going uphill or down), move the narrowboat into the lock, reverse the process, and leave the lock. This would normally take about 20 – 30 minutes. Thus the net result in average speed was between 2 and 2.5 miles per hour, and it was thirsty work. While many narrowboat operators slept on their vessels, many still spent an overnight at a good pub that had rooms for rent.

A license was required to operate a pub and the licensee was known as the landlord or landlady, but most frequently as the Publican. Often colloquially referred to as their "local" by regulars, pubs were typically chosen for their proximity to the canal or railway station, with good food, social atmosphere, the presence of friends and acquaintances as secondary requirements.

The same requirements, albeit not because the work was strenuous, but based on the needs of passengers, occurred when the rail system was built. Pubs and small hotels sprang up at major rail stations, catering both to the passengers and the railway staff. Fish and Chip shops and small cafes followed close on their heels.

These developments became a transit for the more adventurous or smart persons in the lower classes to put together a few pennies or pounds, and start their own businesses. While the pubs required more capital as a purpose-built facility was required immediately, the smaller cafes and fish and chips shops often started as an adjunct to the family kitchen. If they survived, due to good quality of the product, or its location near to a canal or railway station, the proprietors would move up to a facility that was also purpose built.

In London, the same concept applied, but proximity to either the River Thames, or to a major developing industrial area, was the criteria for site selection.

Food had traditionally been available for the traveller at monastic houses, and then from inns, taverns, public houses, hotels and restaurants as they successively developed to meet the increasing demand. The early records of the London Cooks’ Company are kept at the Guildhall Library and Webb (London Apprentices Volume 26. Cooks’ Company 1654-1800. Society of Genealogists, 1999) has indexed over 3,000 apprenticeships from 1654-1800. Those who ran premises licensed to sell alcohol will be found in the Victuallers Licences (Gibson and Hunter). Hudson (Where We Used to Work. J. Baker, London. , 1980) has discussed the practice of eating out mainly in the 20th century, and if your ancestress was a nippy at a Joe Lyons teahouse there is a great history of the company by Bird (The First Food Empire - A History of J. Lyons and Co. Phillimore).

Coffee Houses
Coffee was introduced into England about 1650, chocolate about 1657 and tea about 1660 (Rumens), and the coffee house, where all three could be consumed, became so popular that by 1698 there were over 2,000 of them in London (Miniature Books). They became the centres of commercial and literary life in the capital and Lloyd’s coffee house went on to become a major shipping and insurance concern. Since much business was transacted therein they tend to be listed in directories and the Law List.

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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online courses English: Occupation Records-Professions and Trades and English: Occupations-Military and Services offered by The International Institute of Genealogical Studies. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com]

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