Beer Parlour - Pub Architecture - Public Bar

Public Bar

By the 20th century, the saloon, or lounge bar, had become a middle-class room—carpets on the floor, cushions on the seats, and a penny or two on the prices, while the public bar, or tap room, remained working class with bare boards, sometimes with sawdust to absorb the spitting and spillages, hard bench seats, and cheap beer.

Later, the public bars gradually improved until sometimes almost the only difference was in the prices, so that customers could choose between economy and exclusivity (or youth and age, or a jukebox or dartboard). With the blurring of class divisions in the 1960s and 1970s, the distinction between the saloon and the public bar was often seen as archaic, and was frequently abolished, usually by the removal of the dividing wall or partition. While the names of saloon and public bar may still be seen on the doors of pubs, the prices (and often the standard of furnishings and decoration) are the same throughout the premises, and many pubs now comprise one large room. However the modern importance of dining in pubs encourages some establishments to maintain distinct rooms or areas. But in a few pubs there are still rooms or seats that, by custom, "belong" to particular customers.

A few, mainly city centre, pubs, retain a public bar mainly for labourers in working clothes and dirty boots. They are now very much in a minority, but some landlords prefer to separate the manual workers from the better-dressed white collar workers or diners in the lounge or restaurant.